Foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Foreign liabilities was 3.49 billion current US$ in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
3.49 billion current US$
Change on year
up 11.8%
World rank
140th
of 151 countries
All-time high
3.49 billion current US$
in 2020
All-time low
1.09 billion current US$
in 2008
Years of data
26
1995–2020

Foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone, 1995–2020

1.0B1.5B2.0B2.5B3.0B3.5B1995200720201995: 1.3B current US$1996: 1.3B current US$1997: 1.2B current US$1998: 1.3B current US$1999: 1.3B current US$2000: 1.3B current US$2001: 1.3B current US$2002: 1.4B current US$2003: 1.7B current US$2004: 2.1B current US$2005: 2.1B current US$2006: 2.1B current US$2007: 1.1B current US$2008: 1.1B current US$2009: 1.1B current US$2010: 1.4B current US$2011: 2.8B current US$2012: 2.8B current US$2013: 2.6B current US$2014: 2.8B current US$2015: 2.5B current US$2016: 2.1B current US$2017: 2.3B current US$2018: 2.6B current US$2019: 3.1B current US$2020: 3.5B current US$

Source: World Bank. Measured in current US$.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 3.49 billion current US$ for foreign liabilities in 2020. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.8% on the previous year and up 143.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone peaked at 3.49 billion current US$ in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.09 billion current US$, in 2008.

That places Sierra Leone 140th out of 151 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone, year by year

Annual values for Foreign liabilities (current US$) in Sierra Leone, 1995 to 2020.
Year current US$ Change
1995 1.27 billion current US$
1996 1.26 billion current US$ -0.6%
1997 1.22 billion current US$ -3.3%
1998 1.33 billion current US$ +9.3%
1999 1.34 billion current US$ +0.4%
2000 1.28 billion current US$ -4.5%
2001 1.32 billion current US$ +3.3%
2002 1.44 billion current US$ +9.3%
2003 1.68 billion current US$ +16.5%
2004 2.12 billion current US$ +26.3%
2005 2.06 billion current US$ -3.2%
2006 2.13 billion current US$ +3.6%
2007 1.10 billion current US$ -48.2%
2008 1.09 billion current US$ -1.2%
2009 1.11 billion current US$ +1.6%
2010 1.43 billion current US$ +29.1%
2011 2.76 billion current US$ +92.5%
2012 2.85 billion current US$ +3.2%
2013 2.58 billion current US$ -9.3%
2014 2.83 billion current US$ +9.8%
2015 2.54 billion current US$ -10.3%
2016 2.10 billion current US$ -17.3%
2017 2.31 billion current US$ +9.8%
2018 2.64 billion current US$ +14.2%
2019 3.12 billion current US$ +18.3%
2020 3.49 billion current US$ +11.8%

Sierra Leone compared with similar countries

  • Sierra Leone's 3.49 billion current US$ is below the median for low income countries, which is 11.65 billion current US$, 30% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
  • Sierra Leone's 3.49 billion current US$ is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 15.30 billion current US$, 23% of the median. (42 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Foreign liabilities 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.

YearChange FromTo
2011 +92.5% 1.43 billion current US$ 2.76 billion current US$

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.28 billion current US$ 1.22 billion current US$ 1.34 billion current US$ 5
2000s 1.53 billion current US$ 1.09 billion current US$ 2.13 billion current US$ 10
2010s 2.52 billion current US$ 1.43 billion current US$ 3.12 billion current US$ 10
2020s 3.49 billion current US$ 3.49 billion current US$ 3.49 billion current US$ 1

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 137 Haiti 4.83 billion current US$ compare
  2. 138 Djibouti 4.58 billion current US$ compare
  3. 139 Belize 4.04 billion current US$ compare
  4. 141 Burundi 3.39 billion current US$ compare
  5. 142 Saint Lucia 2.94 billion current US$ compare
  6. 143 Central African Republic 2.27 billion current US$ compare

See the full ranking of 151 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone?
Foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone was 3.49 billion current US$ in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest foreign liabilities recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 3.49 billion current US$ in 2020.
What is the lowest foreign liabilities recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 1.09 billion current US$ in 2008.
How does Sierra Leone rank for foreign liabilities?
Sierra Leone ranks 140th out of 151 countries with data for 2020.
Is foreign liabilities rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 143.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Foreign liabilities (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Foreign liabilities in Sierra Leone. Statizoid. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/foreign-liabilities-current-us/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
Foreign liabilities (current US$)
Unit
current US$
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
151 places, 3,851 data points, 1995–2020
Last refreshed