Democracy in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Democracy was 3 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Democracy in Sierra Leone, 2005–2025
Source: Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, democracy in Sierra Leone stood at 3. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
The figure is down 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Sierra Leone peaked at 4 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 3, in 2023.
Sierra Leone ranks 48th of 128 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Democracy in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 | — |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3 | -25.0% |
| 2025 | 3 | +0.0% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 3 is above the median for low income countries, which is 1, 3.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 3 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2, 1.5× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 2010s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 2020s | 3.33 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
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 democracy in Sierra Leone?
- Democracy in Sierra Leone was 3 in 2025, according to Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 4 in 2005.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 3 in 2023.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for democracy?
- Sierra Leone ranks 48th out of 128 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Bertelsmann Transformation Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between hard-line autocracies (score 1), moderate autocracies (score 2), highly defective democracies (score 3), defective democracies (score 4), and consolidating democracies (score 5).