Drinking water services in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Drinking water services was 749,592 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
749,592 people
Change on year
down 9.3%
World rank
35th
of 231 countries
All-time high
1.74 million people
in 2003
All-time low
749,592 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Drinking water services in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 749,592 people for drinking water services in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 9.3% on the previous year and down 45.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Sierra Leone peaked at 1.74 million people in 2003 and was at its lowest, 749,592 people, in 2024.
That places Sierra Leone 35th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.61 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.69 million people | +5.4% |
| 2002 | 1.73 million people | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 1.74 million people | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.74 million people | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 1.71 million people | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 1.68 million people | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 1.65 million people | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 1.61 million people | -1.9% |
| 2009 | 1.58 million people | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 1.55 million people | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 1.51 million people | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 1.47 million people | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 1.43 million people | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 1.38 million people | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 1.33 million people | -3.7% |
| 2016 | 1.28 million people | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 1.22 million people | -4.3% |
| 2018 | 1.16 million people | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 1.10 million people | -5.3% |
| 2020 | 1.04 million people | -5.8% |
| 2021 | 971,231 people | -6.5% |
| 2022 | 900,507 people | -7.3% |
| 2023 | 826,721 people | -8.2% |
| 2024 | 749,592 people | -9.3% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 749,592 people is above the median for low income countries, which is 650,397 people, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 749,592 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 511,332 people, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.68 million people | 1.58 million people | 1.74 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.34 million people | 1.10 million people | 1.55 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 897,346 people | 749,592 people | 1.04 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 32 Yemen 825,460 people compare
- 33 South Africa 784,072 people compare
- 34 Bangladesh 783,630 people compare
- 36 Somalia 650,397 people compare
- 37 Tajikistan 644,341 people compare
- 38 Bolivia 580,324 people compare
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in Sierra Leone?
- Drinking water services in Sierra Leone was 749,592 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 1.74 million people in 2003.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 749,592 people in 2024.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for drinking water services?
- Sierra Leone ranks 35th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water services. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.