Employment by status in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Employment by status was 11.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
11.0%
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
184th
of 186 countries
All-time high
11.1%
in 2019
All-time low
6.9%
in 2001
Years of data
34
1991–2024

Employment by status in Sierra Leone, 1991–2024

02.557.5101991200720241991: 8.2 %1992: 7.9 %1993: 7.7 %1994: 7.5 %1995: 7.3 %1996: 7.2 %1997: 7 %1998: 7 %1999: 6.9 %2000: 7 %2001: 6.9 %2002: 7.1 %2003: 7.4 %2004: 7.7 %2005: 8 %2006: 8.3 %2007: 8.6 %2008: 8.9 %2009: 9.1 %2010: 9.3 %2011: 9.5 %2012: 9.9 %2013: 10.5 %2014: 10.9 %2015: 10.8 %2016: 10.9 %2017: 10.9 %2018: 11 %2019: 11.1 %2020: 9.9 %2021: 10.3 %2022: 10.5 %2023: 10.7 %2024: 11 %

Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 11.0% for employment by status in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, employment by status in Sierra Leone peaked at 11.1% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 2001.

Sierra Leone ranks 184th of 186 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 7.4% 6.9% 8.2% 9
2000s 7.9% 6.9% 9.1% 10
2010s 10.5% 9.3% 11.1% 10
2020s 10.5% 9.9% 11.0% 5

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 181 Tanzania 14.5% compare
  2. 182 Nigeria 13.6% compare
  3. 183 Madagascar 11.5% compare
  4. 185 Niger 10.3% compare
  5. 186 Chad 8.5% compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More work & labour data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is employment by status in Sierra Leone?
Employment by status in Sierra Leone was 11.0% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest employment by status recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 11.1% in 2019.
What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 2001.
How does Sierra Leone rank for employment by status?
Sierra Leone ranks 184th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
Is employment by status rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Employment by status
Unit
%
Source
International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
186 places, 6,257 data points, 1991–2024
Last refreshed

Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.