Sierra Leone Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Sierra Leone vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Sierra Leone	World
1960	21.1	22.5
1961	21.1	22.5
1962	21.1	22.4
1963	21	22.2
1964	21	22
1965	20.9	21.8
1966	20.9	21.7
1967	20.8	21.6
1968	20.7	21.5
1969	20.6	21.5
1970	20.4	21.4
1971	20.2	21.4
1972	20.1	21.5
1973	19.9	21.5
1974	19.8	21.6
1975	19.6	21.7
1976	19.5	21.9
1977	19.4	22
1978	19.3	22.2
1979	19.2	22.3
1980	19.1	22.5
1981	19.1	22.6
1982	19	22.7
1983	18.9	22.9
1984	18.9	23
1985	18.8	23.2
1986	18.7	23.3
1987	18.7	23.4
1988	18.6	23.6
1989	18.6	23.8
1990	18.5	23.9
1991	18.5	24.1
1992	18.4	24.3
1993	18.4	24.5
1994	18.3	24.7
1995	18.2	25
1996	18.2	25.2
1997	18.1	25.4
1998	18.1	25.7
1999	18	25.9
2000	18	26.1
2001	18	26.3
2002	17.9	26.5
2003	17.9	26.7
2004	17.9	27
2005	18	27.2
2006	18	27.4
2007	18	27.6
2008	18.1	27.8
2009	18.1	28
2010	18.2	28.2
2011	18.3	28.4
2012	18.4	28.6
2013	18.5	28.9
2014	18.6	29.1
2015	18.7	29.3
2016	18.9	29.5
2017	19.1	29.8
2018	19.2	30
2019	19.4	30.3
2020	19.6	30.6
2021	19.8	30.8
2022	20	31
2023	20.3	31.3
2024	20.5	31.6
2025	20.7	31.9
2026	20.9	32.1
2027	21.2	32.3
2028	21.4	32.6
2029	21.7	32.8
2030	21.9	33
2031	22.2	33.2
2032	22.4	33.4
2033	22.7	33.6
2034	23	33.8
2035	23.2	34
2036	23.5	34.2
2037	23.8	34.4
2038	24	34.6
2039	24.3	34.8
2040	24.6	35
2041	24.8	35.2
2042	25.1	35.4
2043	25.4	35.6
2044	25.7	35.8
2045	25.9	36
2046	26.2	36.2
2047	26.5	36.4
2048	26.8	36.6
2049	27.1	36.8
2050	27.3	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Sierra Leone was 21.1 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had decreased to 20.5 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 73rd for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Sierra Leone ranks 161st currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Sierra Leone is expected to increase to around 27.3 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Sierra Leone demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Sierra Leone
	Male	Female
0-4	6.85%	6.72%
5-9	6.32%	6.24%
10-14	6.01%	5.94%
15-19	5.48%	5.41%
20-24	4.9%	4.84%
25-29	4.17%	4.17%
30-34	3.52%	3.5%
35-39	2.96%	2.95%
40-44	2.45%	2.45%
45-49	1.99%	2.03%
50-54	1.59%	1.66%
55-59	1.25%	1.34%
60-64	0.94%	1.05%
65-69	0.65%	0.77%
70-74	0.4%	0.51%
75-79	0.24%	0.31%
80+	0.15%	0.22%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Sierra Leone has average demographic potential with 74.1% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 32/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Sierra Leone			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	72.5%	66%	6.59%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	72.8%	66.1%	6.68%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	73.1%	66.3%	6.77%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	73.7%	66.9%	6.87%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	74.8%	67.9%	6.97%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	75.9%	68.8%	7.07%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	76.7%	69.6%	7.15%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	77.6%	70.4%	7.23%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	78.5%	71.2%	7.31%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	79.3%	72%	7.38%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	80.1%	72.7%	7.44%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	80.8%	73.3%	7.49%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	81.5%	73.9%	7.54%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	82.1%	74.5%	7.57%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	82.7%	75.1%	7.61%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	83.3%	75.7%	7.63%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	83.8%	76.2%	7.65%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	84.3%	76.6%	7.66%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	84.7%	77%	7.67%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	85.1%	77.4%	7.68%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	85.4%	77.7%	7.67%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	85.7%	78.1%	7.67%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	86.1%	78.4%	7.66%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	86.4%	78.7%	7.64%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	86.7%	79.1%	7.62%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	87%	79.4%	7.6%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	87.3%	79.7%	7.57%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	87.6%	80%	7.54%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	87.9%	80.4%	7.5%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	88.1%	80.6%	7.46%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	88.2%	80.8%	7.41%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	88.4%	81%	7.36%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	88.6%	81.3%	7.3%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	88.7%	81.5%	7.23%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	88.9%	81.8%	7.17%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	89.1%	82%	7.09%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	89.3%	82.3%	7.02%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	89.4%	82.5%	6.95%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	89.6%	82.7%	6.87%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	89.9%	83.1%	6.8%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	90%	83.3%	6.73%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	90.1%	83.4%	6.66%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	90%	83.5%	6.59%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	89.9%	83.4%	6.53%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	89.7%	83.2%	6.46%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	89.4%	83%	6.4%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	89%	82.6%	6.34%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	88.5%	82.2%	6.28%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	88%	81.8%	6.22%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	87.5%	81.3%	6.18%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	86.9%	80.7%	6.14%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	86.2%	80.1%	6.09%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	85.4%	79.3%	6.03%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	84.3%	78.4%	5.95%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	83.1%	77.3%	5.83%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	81.8%	76%	5.73%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	80.4%	74.8%	5.67%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	79.1%	73.5%	5.61%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	77.7%	72.2%	5.56%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	76.5%	70.9%	5.53%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	75.3%	69.8%	5.51%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	74.1%	68.6%	5.49%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	72.9%	67.4%	5.49%	54%	39%	15%
2023	71.6%	66.1%	5.5%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	70.4%	64.9%	5.53%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Sierra Leone decreased from 89.7% to 70.4% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an decreased proportion of people aged 65+

Sierra Leone working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Sierra Leone	World
1960	58%	57.6%
1961	57.9%	57.5%
1962	57.8%	57.4%
1963	57.6%	57.2%
1964	57.2%	57%
1965	56.9%	56.9%
1966	56.6%	56.8%
1967	56.3%	56.9%
1968	56%	56.9%
1969	55.8%	56.9%
1970	55.5%	57%
1971	55.3%	57.1%
1972	55.1%	57.2%
1973	54.9%	57.3%
1974	54.7%	57.3%
1975	54.6%	57.4%
1976	54.4%	57.5%
1977	54.3%	57.7%
1978	54.1%	58%
1979	54%	58.4%
1980	53.9%	58.7%
1981	53.8%	59%
1982	53.7%	59.3%
1983	53.7%	59.6%
1984	53.6%	59.9%
1985	53.5%	60.1%
1986	53.4%	60.4%
1987	53.3%	60.5%
1988	53.2%	60.7%
1989	53.2%	60.8%
1990	53.1%	60.9%
1991	53.1%	61%
1992	53%	61.1%
1993	53%	61.2%
1994	52.9%	61.3%
1995	52.9%	61.5%
1996	52.8%	61.7%
1997	52.8%	61.9%
1998	52.7%	62.2%
1999	52.7%	62.5%
2000	52.6%	62.8%
2001	52.6%	63.1%
2002	52.6%	63.4%
2003	52.6%	63.7%
2004	52.7%	64%
2005	52.8%	64.3%
2006	52.9%	64.5%
2007	53%	64.7%
2008	53.2%	64.9%
2009	53.3%	65%
2010	53.5%	65.1%
2011	53.7%	65.2%
2012	53.9%	65.2%
2013	54.2%	65.2%
2014	54.6%	65.2%
2015	55%	65.1%
2016	55.4%	65.1%
2017	55.8%	65%
2018	56.3%	64.9%
2019	56.7%	64.9%
2020	57%	64.8%
2021	57.4%	64.9%
2022	57.8%	64.9%
2023	58.3%	65%
2024	58.7%	65.1%
2025	59.1%	65.2%
2026	59.5%	65.3%
2027	59.9%	65.4%
2028	60.2%	65.4%
2029	60.6%	65.4%
2030	60.9%	65.4%
2031	61.2%	65.4%
2032	61.6%	65.4%
2033	61.9%	65.4%
2034	62.2%	65.3%
2035	62.5%	65.2%
2036	62.9%	65%
2037	63.2%	64.9%
2038	63.5%	64.7%
2039	63.8%	64.6%
2040	64.1%	64.5%
2041	64.3%	64.4%
2042	64.6%	64.3%
2043	64.8%	64.2%
2044	65.1%	64.1%
2045	65.3%	63.9%
2046	65.5%	63.8%
2047	65.7%	63.7%
2048	65.9%	63.6%
2049	66.1%	63.4%
2050	66.3%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Sierra Leone changed from 52.7% to 58.7% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Sierra Leone	World
1960	38.2%	37.4%
1961	38.3%	37.5%
1962	38.3%	37.6%
1963	38.5%	37.8%
1964	38.8%	38%
1965	39.1%	38%
1966	39.4%	38%
1967	39.6%	38%
1968	39.9%	37.9%
1969	40.1%	37.8%
1970	40.3%	37.7%
1971	40.6%	37.6%
1972	40.7%	37.5%
1973	40.9%	37.3%
1974	41.1%	37.2%
1975	41.3%	37.1%
1976	41.4%	36.9%
1977	41.6%	36.7%
1978	41.7%	36.3%
1979	41.8%	35.9%
1980	41.9%	35.5%
1981	42%	35.2%
1982	42.1%	34.9%
1983	42.2%	34.6%
1984	42.3%	34.3%
1985	42.5%	34%
1986	42.6%	33.8%
1987	42.7%	33.6%
1988	42.8%	33.4%
1989	42.9%	33.2%
1990	42.9%	33%
1991	43%	32.9%
1992	43.1%	32.7%
1993	43.2%	32.5%
1994	43.3%	32.3%
1995	43.4%	32.1%
1996	43.5%	31.8%
1997	43.5%	31.5%
1998	43.6%	31.1%
1999	43.7%	30.8%
2000	43.8%	30.4%
2001	43.9%	30%
2002	43.9%	29.6%
2003	43.9%	29.2%
2004	43.9%	28.8%
2005	43.8%	28.5%
2006	43.7%	28.1%
2007	43.6%	27.9%
2008	43.5%	27.6%
2009	43.4%	27.5%
2010	43.2%	27.3%
2011	43%	27.1%
2012	42.8%	27%
2013	42.5%	26.9%
2014	42.2%	26.8%
2015	41.8%	26.6%
2016	41.4%	26.5%
2017	41%	26.4%
2018	40.6%	26.2%
2019	40.2%	26%
2020	39.8%	25.8%
2021	39.4%	25.6%
2022	39%	25.3%
2023	38.5%	25%
2024	38.1%	24.7%
2025	37.7%	24.4%
2026	37.2%	24.1%
2027	36.8%	23.8%
2028	36.3%	23.4%
2029	35.9%	23.1%
2030	35.5%	22.8%
2031	35.2%	22.6%
2032	34.8%	22.3%
2033	34.4%	22.1%
2034	34%	21.9%
2035	33.6%	21.7%
2036	33.2%	21.6%
2037	32.8%	21.5%
2038	32.4%	21.4%
2039	32%	21.3%
2040	31.6%	21.2%
2041	31.2%	21.1%
2042	30.9%	21%
2043	30.5%	21%
2044	30.2%	20.9%
2045	29.8%	20.8%
2046	29.5%	20.7%
2047	29.2%	20.7%
2048	28.8%	20.6%
2049	28.5%	20.5%
2050	28.2%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Sierra Leone decreased from 43.9% to 38.1% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Sierra Leone	World
1960	3.82%	4.97%
1961	3.87%	4.99%
1962	3.91%	5.01%
1963	3.95%	5.02%
1964	3.99%	5.04%
1965	4.02%	5.08%
1966	4.05%	5.12%
1967	4.07%	5.16%
1968	4.09%	5.2%
1969	4.11%	5.24%
1970	4.13%	5.28%
1971	4.14%	5.32%
1972	4.15%	5.37%
1973	4.16%	5.42%
1974	4.16%	5.47%
1975	4.16%	5.53%
1976	4.16%	5.59%
1977	4.16%	5.65%
1978	4.15%	5.71%
1979	4.15%	5.77%
1980	4.14%	5.81%
1981	4.13%	5.81%
1982	4.12%	5.8%
1983	4.1%	5.79%
1984	4.08%	5.8%
1985	4.06%	5.82%
1986	4.04%	5.86%
1987	4.02%	5.91%
1988	3.99%	5.95%
1989	3.97%	6.01%
1990	3.94%	6.07%
1991	3.91%	6.14%
1992	3.87%	6.21%
1993	3.83%	6.29%
1994	3.79%	6.37%
1995	3.75%	6.45%
1996	3.71%	6.53%
1997	3.67%	6.61%
1998	3.62%	6.68%
1999	3.58%	6.76%
2000	3.54%	6.84%
2001	3.5%	6.92%
2002	3.47%	7.01%
2003	3.44%	7.1%
2004	3.41%	7.18%
2005	3.38%	7.26%
2006	3.35%	7.34%
2007	3.33%	7.41%
2008	3.31%	7.47%
2009	3.3%	7.52%
2010	3.28%	7.58%
2011	3.27%	7.66%
2012	3.26%	7.78%
2013	3.23%	7.92%
2014	3.19%	8.08%
2015	3.15%	8.26%
2016	3.14%	8.45%
2017	3.13%	8.65%
2018	3.13%	8.88%
2019	3.14%	9.1%
2020	3.14%	9.33%
2021	3.15%	9.53%
2022	3.18%	9.74%
2023	3.21%	9.98%
2024	3.24%	10.2%
2025	3.28%	10.4%
2026	3.33%	10.6%
2027	3.38%	10.8%
2028	3.43%	11.1%
2029	3.49%	11.5%
2030	3.56%	11.7%
2031	3.62%	12%
2032	3.69%	12.3%
2033	3.76%	12.6%
2034	3.83%	12.8%
2035	3.91%	13.1%
2036	3.99%	13.4%
2037	4.07%	13.7%
2038	4.15%	13.9%
2039	4.24%	14.1%
2040	4.33%	14.3%
2041	4.43%	14.5%
2042	4.53%	14.7%
2043	4.64%	14.9%
2044	4.75%	15%
2045	4.86%	15.2%
2046	4.98%	15.4%
2047	5.1%	15.7%
2048	5.23%	15.9%
2049	5.36%	16.1%
2050	5.5%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Sierra Leone decreased from 3.41% to 3.24% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.