Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 22.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
22.4%
World rank
58th
of 180 countries
All-time high
22.4%
in 2020
All-time low
0.0%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone, 1950–2020

051015201950198520201950: 0 %1955: 0 %1960: 0 %1965: 0 %1970: 0 %1975: 0 %1980: 0 %1985: 0 %1990: 0 %1995: 0 %2000: 0 %2005: 0 %2010: 18.4 %2015: 19.4 %2020: 22.4 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone stood at 22.4%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 21.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone peaked at 22.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.

That places Sierra Leone 58th out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1960s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1970s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1980s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1990s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2010s 18.9% 18.4% 19.4% 2
2020s 22.4% 22.4% 22.4% 1

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 55 Thailand 24.1% compare
  2. 56 Morocco 23.8% compare
  3. 57 Spain 22.5% compare
  4. 59 Austria 22.2% compare
  5. 60 Kazakhstan 22.1% compare
  6. 61 Vietnam 22.0% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone was 22.4% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 22.4% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
How does Sierra Leone rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Sierra Leone ranks 58th out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
180 places, 2,505 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.