Statizoid

Median age in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Median age was 19.27 years in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
19.27 years
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
200th
of 236 countries
All-time high
20.06 years
in 1960
All-time low
16.82 years
in 2003
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Median age in Sierra Leone, 1950–2023

05101520195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 19.27 years for median age in 2023.

That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 10.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in Sierra Leone peaked at 20.06 years in 1960 and was at its lowest, 16.82 years, in 2003.

Sierra Leone ranks 200th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Median age in Sierra Leone, year by year

Year years Change
1950 19.4 years —
1951 19.53 years +0.7%
1952 19.64 years +0.6%
1953 19.75 years +0.6%
1954 19.84 years +0.5%
1955 19.91 years +0.4%
1956 19.97 years +0.3%
1957 20.01 years +0.2%
1958 20.04 years +0.1%
1959 20.05 years +0.1%
1960 20.06 years +0.0%
1961 20.04 years -0.1%
1962 20 years -0.2%
1963 19.97 years -0.2%
1964 19.93 years -0.2%
1965 19.89 years -0.2%
1966 19.85 years -0.2%
1967 19.8 years -0.3%
1968 19.72 years -0.4%
1969 19.57 years -0.8%
1970 19.37 years -1.0%
1971 19.2 years -0.9%
1972 19.05 years -0.8%
1973 18.89 years -0.8%
1974 18.74 years -0.8%
1975 18.6 years -0.7%
1976 18.48 years -0.7%
1977 18.36 years -0.6%
1978 18.26 years -0.6%
1979 18.16 years -0.5%
1980 18.07 years -0.5%
1981 17.99 years -0.4%
1982 17.92 years -0.4%
1983 17.86 years -0.4%
1984 17.79 years -0.4%
1985 17.73 years -0.4%
1986 17.66 years -0.3%
1987 17.6 years -0.4%
1988 17.54 years -0.4%
1989 17.48 years -0.3%
1990 17.43 years -0.3%
1991 17.37 years -0.3%
1992 17.32 years -0.3%
1993 17.26 years -0.3%
1994 17.21 years -0.3%
1995 17.15 years -0.3%
1996 17.1 years -0.3%
1997 17.06 years -0.3%
1998 17 years -0.3%
1999 16.93 years -0.4%
2000 16.88 years -0.3%
2001 16.85 years -0.2%
2002 16.83 years -0.1%
2003 16.82 years -0.0%
2004 16.84 years +0.1%
2005 16.87 years +0.2%
2006 16.91 years +0.2%
2007 16.95 years +0.2%
2008 16.99 years +0.3%
2009 17.05 years +0.3%
2010 17.11 years +0.4%
2011 17.19 years +0.5%
2012 17.28 years +0.5%
2013 17.39 years +0.6%
2014 17.51 years +0.7%
2015 17.66 years +0.9%
2016 17.83 years +1.0%
2017 18.01 years +1.0%
2018 18.2 years +1.1%
2019 18.4 years +1.1%
2020 18.61 years +1.1%
2021 18.82 years +1.1%
2022 19.04 years +1.2%
2023 19.27 years +1.2%

Sierra Leone compared with similar countries

  • Sierra Leone's 19.27 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 17.97 years, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Sierra Leone's 19.27 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 18.22 years, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 19.81 years 19.4 years 20.05 years 10
1960s 19.88 years 19.57 years 20.06 years 10
1970s 18.71 years 18.16 years 19.37 years 10
1980s 17.76 years 17.48 years 18.07 years 10
1990s 17.18 years 16.93 years 17.43 years 10
2000s 16.9 years 16.82 years 17.05 years 10
2010s 17.66 years 17.11 years 18.4 years 10
2020s 18.93 years 18.61 years 19.27 years 4

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 197 Palestine 19.76 years compare
  2. 198 Kenya 19.53 years compare
  3. 199 Rwanda 19.44 years compare
  4. 201 Senegal 19.13 years compare
  5. 202 Sao Tome and Principe 19.05 years compare
  6. 203 Guinea-Bissau 18.94 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in Sierra Leone?
Median age in Sierra Leone was 19.27 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 20.06 years in 1960.
What is the lowest median age recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 16.82 years in 2003.
How does Sierra Leone rank for median age?
Sierra Leone ranks 200th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Median age in Sierra Leone. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/median-age/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
Median age
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.