Economy - overview:

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$3.971 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$1.664 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$700 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 49%
industry: 31%
services: 21% (2001 est.)

Labor force:

1.369 million (1981 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Unemployment rate:

NA%

Population below poverty line:

70.2% (2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

62.9 (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

11.7% (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:

rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Industries:

diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production:

245 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:

227.9 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

0.7008 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

8,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

431.1 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:

8,864 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$63 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$216 million f.o.b. (2006)

Exports - commodities:

diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish

Exports - partners:

Belgium 49.9%, US 20.7%, Netherlands 4.6%, Canada 4.1% (2006)

Imports:

$560 million f.o.b. (2006)

Imports - commodities:

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals

Imports - partners:

China 9.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 9.4%, US 8.9%, Brazil 7%, UK 5.4%, Netherlands 4.7%, South Africa 4.6%, India 4.4% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$343.4 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:

$1.61 billion (2003 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

leone (SLL)

Exchange rates:

leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)

Fiscal year:

calendar year