Number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Number of people treated for river blindness was 414,286 People in 2024. ▲ Rising
Number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone, 2008–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in People.
Analysis
In 2024, number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone stood at 414,286 People. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 92.7% on the previous year and down 87.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone peaked at 5.80 million People in 2022 and was at its lowest, 414,286 People, in 2024.
That places Sierra Leone 23rd out of 33 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1.77 million People | — |
| 2009 | 2.08 million People | +17.3% |
| 2010 | 2.25 million People | +8.2% |
| 2011 | 2.45 million People | +8.8% |
| 2012 | 2.64 million People | +8.0% |
| 2013 | 3.42 million People | +29.4% |
| 2015 | 3.30 million People | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 4.20 million People | +27.5% |
| 2017 | 4.66 million People | +11.0% |
| 2018 | 4.44 million People | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 4.73 million People | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 5.33 million People | +12.7% |
| 2021 | 5.69 million People | +6.8% |
| 2022 | 5.80 million People | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 5.68 million People | -2.0% |
| 2024 | 414,286 People | -92.7% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 414,286 People is below the median for low income countries, which is 1.66 million People, 25% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 414,286 People is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.06 million People, 14% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of people treated for river blindness 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | -92.7% | 5.68 million People | 414,286 People |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.92 million People | 1.77 million People | 2.08 million People | 2 |
| 2010s | 3.57 million People | 2.25 million People | 4.73 million People | 9 |
| 2020s | 4.58 million People | 414,286 People | 5.80 million People | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More reference data data for Sierra Leone
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0238 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0797 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.044 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6534 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone?
- Number of people treated for river blindness in Sierra Leone was 414,286 People in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people treated for river blindness recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 5.80 million People in 2022.
- What is the lowest number of people treated for river blindness recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 414,286 People in 2024.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for number of people treated for river blindness?
- Sierra Leone ranks 23rd out of 33 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people treated for river blindness rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 87.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people treated for river blindness. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Reported number of people treated with ivermectin for river blindness.