State Capacity Index in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: State Capacity Index was -0.0702 in 2015. ▲ Rising

Latest (2015)
-0.0702
Change on year
up 10.3%
World rank
127th
of 166 countries
All-time high
-0.0702
in 2015
All-time low
-1.74
in 1995
Years of data
55
1961–2015

State Capacity Index in Sierra Leone, 1961–2015

-1.5-1-0.50196119882015

Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded -0.0702 for state capacity index in 2015. That is the highest value across all 55 years on record.

That represents a change of up 10.3% on the previous year and up 90.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, state capacity index in Sierra Leone peaked at -0.0702 in 2015 and was at its lowest, -1.74, in 1995.

That places Sierra Leone 127th out of 166 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.

State Capacity Index in Sierra Leone, year by year

Annual values for State Capacity Index in Sierra Leone, 1961 to 2015.
Year Value Change
1961 -0.6973
1962 -0.6849 -1.8%
1963 -0.653 -4.7%
1964 -0.6429 -1.5%
1965 -0.6347 -1.3%
1966 -0.635 +0.0%
1967 -0.6818 +7.4%
1968 -0.583 -14.5%
1969 -0.611 +4.8%
1970 -0.6877 +12.6%
1971 -0.7006 +1.9%
1972 -0.8811 +25.8%
1973 -0.8742 -0.8%
1974 -0.7058 -19.3%
1975 -0.7427 +5.2%
1976 -0.842 +13.4%
1977 -0.9561 +13.6%
1978 -0.9282 -2.9%
1979 -0.9565 +3.0%
1980 -0.9327 -2.5%
1981 -0.8637 -7.4%
1982 -0.9904 +14.7%
1983 -0.9529 -3.8%
1984 -1.01 +5.8%
1985 -0.6823 -32.3%
1986 -0.7623 +11.7%
1987 -1.15 +51.1%
1988 -0.8709 -24.4%
1989 -0.9216 +5.8%
1990 -1.08 +16.8%
1991 -1.38 +28.4%
1992 -1.51 +9.1%
1993 -1.6 +5.9%
1994 -1.62 +1.8%
1995 -1.74 +7.3%
1996 -1.52 -12.7%
1997 -1.58 +3.7%
1998 -1.52 -3.9%
1999 -1.39 -8.0%
2000 -1.29 -7.4%
2001 -1.23 -4.8%
2002 -0.9134 -25.7%
2003 -0.7241 -20.7%
2004 -0.9963 +37.6%
2005 -0.7018 -29.6%
2006 -0.6493 -7.5%
2007 -0.6365 -2.0%
2008 -0.5542 -12.9%
2009 -0.3797 -31.5%
2010 -0.3354 -11.7%
2011 -0.3297 -1.7%
2012 -0.1646 -50.1%
2013 -0.0772 -53.1%
2014 -0.0783 +1.4%
2015 -0.0702 -10.3%

Sierra Leone compared with similar countries

  • Sierra Leone's -0.0702 is above the median for low income countries, which is -0.5349, 13% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Sierra Leone's -0.0702 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.0931, 75% of the median. (46 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s -0.6471 -0.6973 -0.583 9
1970s -0.8275 -0.9565 -0.6877 10
1980s -0.9137 -1.15 -0.6823 10
1990s -1.49 -1.74 -1.08 10
2000s -0.8075 -1.29 -0.3797 10
2010s -0.1759 -0.3354 -0.0702 6

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 124 Nepal -0.0274 compare
  2. 125 Tajikistan -0.0292 compare
  3. 126 Cambodia -0.0551 compare
  4. 128 Cote d'Ivoire -0.0714 compare
  5. 129 Kenya -0.0789 compare
  6. 130 Eswatini -0.079 compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is state capacity index in Sierra Leone?
State capacity index in Sierra Leone was -0.0702 in 2015, according to Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest state capacity index recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was -0.0702 in 2015.
What is the lowest state capacity index recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was -1.74 in 1995.
How does Sierra Leone rank for state capacity index?
Sierra Leone ranks 127th out of 166 countries with data for 2015.
Is state capacity index rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 90.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of State Capacity Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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State Capacity Index in Sierra Leone. Statizoid, drawing on Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/state-capacity-index/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
State Capacity Index
Source
Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 8,015 data points, 1960–2015
Last refreshed

Measures state capacity by combining 21 different indicators related to three key dimensions: extractive capacity, coercive capacity, and administrative capacity. Higher values indicate greater state capacity.