Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 1.77 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2020, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone stood at 1.77 million people. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 54.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone peaked at 1.77 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.
Sierra Leone ranks 94th of 182 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0 people | — |
| 1955 | 0 people | — |
| 1960 | 0 people | — |
| 1965 | 0 people | — |
| 1970 | 0 people | — |
| 1975 | 0 people | — |
| 1980 | 0 people | — |
| 1985 | 0 people | — |
| 1990 | 0 people | — |
| 1995 | 0 people | — |
| 2000 | 0 people | — |
| 2005 | 0 people | — |
| 2010 | 1.15 million people | — |
| 2015 | 1.37 million people | +19.1% |
| 2020 | 1.77 million people | +29.4% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 1.77 million people is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.87 million people, 62% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 1.77 million people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.88 million people, 94% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1980s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1990s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 2000s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.26 million people | 1.15 million people | 1.37 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 1.77 million people | 1.77 million people | 1.77 million people | 1 |
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 living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Sierra Leone was 1.77 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 1.77 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Sierra Leone ranks 94th out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 54.2%. 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 Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.