Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Travel services (% of commercial service imports) was 4.6% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Travel services in Sierra Leone, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 4.6% for travel services in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 19.8% on the previous year and up 43.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Sierra Leone peaked at 66.2% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2012.
That places Sierra Leone 181st out of 198 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 8.3% | — |
| 1978 | 9.2% | +11.5% |
| 1979 | 8.5% | -8.2% |
| 1980 | 10.1% | +19.8% |
| 1981 | 10.0% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 6.5% | -35.4% |
| 1983 | 12.4% | +91.4% |
| 1984 | 11.1% | -10.8% |
| 1985 | 6.8% | -38.8% |
| 1986 | 17.3% | +155.2% |
| 1987 | 44.7% | +158.8% |
| 1988 | 20.6% | -54.0% |
| 1989 | 8.1% | -60.6% |
| 1990 | 32.7% | +303.8% |
| 1991 | 36.5% | +11.5% |
| 1992 | 38.6% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 46.1% | +19.3% |
| 1994 | 66.2% | +43.7% |
| 1995 | 62.5% | -5.6% |
| 1996 | 49.1% | -21.4% |
| 1997 | 47.2% | -3.9% |
| 1998 | 40.0% | -15.2% |
| 1999 | 56.0% | +39.8% |
| 2000 | 39.2% | -29.9% |
| 2001 | 45.2% | +15.1% |
| 2002 | 51.5% | +13.9% |
| 2003 | 41.9% | -18.6% |
| 2004 | 37.5% | -10.4% |
| 2005 | 37.4% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 16.5% | -56.0% |
| 2007 | 16.5% | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 21.7% | +31.6% |
| 2009 | 10.7% | -50.6% |
| 2010 | 5.4% | -49.4% |
| 2011 | 3.3% | -38.2% |
| 2012 | 2.9% | -14.1% |
| 2013 | 3.0% | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | +8.1% |
| 2015 | 3.3% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 6.7% | +105.3% |
| 2017 | 14.0% | +108.1% |
| 2018 | 14.6% | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 19.1% | +30.6% |
| 2020 | 7.7% | -59.7% |
| 2021 | 5.2% | -31.7% |
| 2022 | 7.0% | +32.9% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | -44.7% |
| 2024 | 4.6% | +19.8% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 4.6% is below the median for low income countries, which is 9.2%, 50% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 4.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.4%, 49% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service imports) in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +303.8% | 8.1% | 32.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.6% | 8.3% | 9.2% | 3 |
| 1980s | 14.8% | 6.5% | 44.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 47.5% | 32.7% | 66.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 31.8% | 10.7% | 51.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 2.9% | 19.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 3.9% | 7.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More private sector data for Sierra Leone
- Merchandise trade 45.9% (2025)
- Food imports 32.3% (2018)
- Manufactures imports 63.9% (2018)
- Merchandise imports 1.89 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 481.67 million current US$ (2024)
- Food exports 45.6% (2018)
- Manufactures exports 25.1% (2018)
- Merchandise exports 1.53 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 49.60 million current US$ (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 173.93 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Sierra Leone?
- Travel services in Sierra Leone was 4.6% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 66.2% in 1994.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2012.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for travel services?
- Sierra Leone ranks 181st out of 198 countries with data for 2024.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.