SL · SLE · BACI 694 · latest data 2024

Exports

$1.5B USD, nominal · 2024

= $1,522 M108.3% over 5 yrs (up)

Imports

$2.1B USD, nominal · 2024

= $2,083 M76.7% over 5 yrs (up)

Trade balancedeficit

−$561M USD, nominal · 2024

= $561 M

Total trade

$3.6B USD, nominal · 2024

= $3,604 M88.8% over 5 yrs (up)

World position
#146 of 225 exporters · bottom half · #160 of 225 importers · bottom half · 2024
World export share since 1995
±0.0 pp

Trade timeline

Sierra Leone's exports grew from $186M in 1995 to $1.5B in 2024; the 2024 balance was −$561M.

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Exports, imports, trade balance and total trade of Sierra Leone per year, USD millions.
YearExports ($M)Imports ($M)Balance ($M)Total ($M)
1995$186 M$194 M−$8 M$380 M
1996$213 M$235 M−$22 M$448 M
1997$204 M$193 M$11 M$397 M
1998$120 M$151 M−$32 M$271 M
1999$89 M$144 M−$55 M$233 M
2000$159 M$308 M−$149 M$467 M
2001$97 M$363 M−$267 M$460 M
2002$169 M$621 M−$452 M$790 M
2003$205 M$493 M−$289 M$698 M
2004$234 M$443 M−$209 M$677 M
2005$228 M$549 M−$320 M$777 M
2006$294 M$456 M−$162 M$750 M
2007$404 M$615 M−$212 M$1,019 M
2008$362 M$741 M−$379 M$1,102 M
2009$280 M$629 M−$349 M$909 M
2010$356 M$767 M−$411 M$1,123 M
2011$498 M$1,413 M−$915 M$1,912 M
2012$1,012 M$1,484 M−$472 M$2,497 M
2013$1,906 M$1,321 M$585 M$3,228 M
2014$2,512 M$2,505 M$7 M$5,016 M
2015$663 M$2,023 M−$1,361 M$2,686 M
2016$978 M$1,261 M−$283 M$2,239 M
2017$976 M$1,433 M−$457 M$2,409 M
2018$837 M$1,423 M−$586 M$2,260 M
2019$731 M$1,179 M−$448 M$1,909 M
2020$573 M$1,172 M−$599 M$1,745 M
2021$975 M$1,609 M−$634 M$2,584 M
2022$1,338 M$1,756 M−$418 M$3,094 M
2023$1,519 M$1,888 M−$368 M$3,407 M
2024$1,522 M$2,083 M−$561 M$3,604 M
30 rows

USD millions, nominal · 1995–2024 · Source: CEPII BACI (HS92)

World share & rank

World export share moved from 0.0% in 1995 to 0.0% in 2024; export rank #151 → #146.

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World export and import share in percent, and world ranks, of Sierra Leone per year.
YearExport share (%)Import share (%)Export rankImport rank
19950.00%0.00%#151#170
19960.00%0.00%#152#167
19970.00%0.00%#156#170
19980.00%0.00%#163#174
19990.00%0.00%#169#181
20000.00%0.00%#165#171
20010.00%0.01%#172#171
20020.00%0.01%#168#160
20030.00%0.01%#164#171
20040.00%0.00%#166#175
20050.00%0.01%#168#173
20060.00%0.00%#168#178
20070.00%0.00%#166#179
20080.00%0.00%#173#179
20090.00%0.01%#173#180
20100.00%0.01%#172#181
20110.00%0.01%#173#176
20120.01%0.01%#156#175
20130.01%0.01%#143#173
20140.01%0.01%#138#160
20150.00%0.01%#165#165
20160.01%0.01%#155#172
20170.01%0.01%#161#173
20180.00%0.01%#162#173
20190.00%0.01%#163#176
20200.00%0.01%#165#171
20210.00%0.01%#162#169
20220.01%0.01%#156#169
20230.01%0.01%#151#166
20240.01%0.01%#146#160
30 rows

% of world trade and world rank · 1995–2024 · Source: CEPII BACI (HS92)

Trading partners

China was Sierra Leone's top trading partner in 2024, at 48.9% of total trade; the top five partners covered 72.4%.

Top partner share
48.9%
Top-5 share
72.4%
Partners
119
Partner HHI (0–1)
0.262

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Top partners of Sierra Leone in 2024, USD millions.
RankPartnerExports to ($M)Imports from ($M)Total ($M)Balance ($M)
#1China$953 M$811 M$1,763 M$142 M
#2India$90 M$341 M$432 M−$251 M
#3Netherlands$143 M$48 M$192 M$95 M
#4United States$29 M$100 M$129 M−$71 M
#5Türkiye$2 M$91 M$93 M−$89 M
#6Belgium$53 M$39 M$92 M$14 M
#7Spain$2 M$81 M$83 M−$79 M
#8United Kingdom$24 M$51 M$74 M−$27 M
#9Germany$43 M$26 M$69 M$17 M
#10Brazil$0 M$63 M$63 M−$62 M
#11Morocco$3 M$45 M$47 M−$42 M
#12Japan$32 M$7 M$39 M$25 M
#13France$22 M$17 M$39 M$6 M
#14Egypt$1 M$37 M$38 M−$36 M
#15South Africa$5 M$32 M$37 M−$28 M
15 rows

USD millions, nominal · 2024 · Source: CEPII BACI (HS92)

Flows are origin/destination attributions, not shipping routes.

Products & sectors

Product composition of Sierra Leone's trade in 2024.

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USD millions · HS92 · 2024 · Source: CEPII BACI (HS92)

Concentration & risk

Sierra Leone's export partners concentrated over 1995–2024 — HHI 0.279 → 0.408, a concentrated export base across 111 partners in 2024.

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Export and import partner HHI (0–1) and partner counts of Sierra Leone per year.
YearExport HHIImport HHIExport partnersImport partners
19950.2790.0845356
19960.2360.0816161
19970.3430.1056962
19980.3180.0966569
19990.2030.1996970
20000.2870.1298887
20010.1830.0889588
20020.1860.097104119
20030.2730.0939594
20040.3160.06310194
20050.4110.07210191
20060.2060.048117100
20070.1760.042112109
20080.1350.046126103
20090.0920.043123107
20100.1120.051125110
20110.0900.063122114
20120.2840.066129112
20130.5890.052128114
20140.5910.113139118
20150.1330.069141118
20160.1600.066140134
20170.1640.065139142
20180.1110.071144128
20190.1370.101143113
20200.1390.131129105
20210.2050.126134109
20220.3440.140131103
20230.4660.141124104
20240.4080.18911188
30 rows

HHI (0–1) and partner count · 1995–2024 · Source: CEPII BACI (HS92)

HHI is the Herfindahl–Hirschman index of partner shares on a 0–1 scale. Standard reading: below 0.10 diversified · 0.10–0.25 moderately concentrated · above 0.25 concentrated.

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The exact artifacts behind this page, as published:

Values are merchandise (goods) trade in nominal USD millions, from CEPII BACI under the HS92 classification, 1995–2024. Dataset generated 2026-06-08.

  • Goods trade only; values are nominal USD (not inflation-adjusted).
  • HS92 across 1995-2024All trade years 1995-2024 use HS92-compatible product codes for a consistent long-run series.
  • BACI country codesBACI numeric country codes can differ from standard ISO numeric codes (e.g. USA=842, France=251, India=699).
  • Origin/destination, not routesExporter/importer flows are origin/destination attributions and do not directly observe shipping routes.