Homicides in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Homicides was 629.73 deaths in 2021. ▲ Rising
Homicides in Sierra Leone, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 629.73 deaths for homicides in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides in Sierra Leone peaked at 629.73 deaths in 2021 and was at its lowest, 434.99 deaths, in 2000.
Sierra Leone ranks 76th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Homicides in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | deaths | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 434.99 deaths | — |
| 2001 | 448.01 deaths | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 462.22 deaths | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 480.75 deaths | +4.0% |
| 2004 | 498.22 deaths | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 513.24 deaths | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 526.53 deaths | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 542.67 deaths | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 559.61 deaths | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 567.44 deaths | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 577.13 deaths | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 578.81 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 571.29 deaths | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 580.74 deaths | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 587.14 deaths | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 589.18 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 601.08 deaths | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 602.74 deaths | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 612.15 deaths | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 617.67 deaths | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 624.22 deaths | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 629.73 deaths | +0.9% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 629.73 deaths is below the median for low income countries, which is 1,070 deaths, 59% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 629.73 deaths is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 971.62 deaths, 65% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 503.37 deaths | 434.99 deaths | 567.44 deaths | 10 |
| 2010s | 591.79 deaths | 571.29 deaths | 617.67 deaths | 10 |
| 2020s | 626.98 deaths | 624.22 deaths | 629.73 deaths | 2 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More social development data for Sierra Leone
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,925 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8,925 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides in Sierra Leone?
- Homicides in Sierra Leone was 629.73 deaths in 2021, according to World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 629.73 deaths in 2021.
- What is the lowest homicides recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 434.99 deaths in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for homicides?
- Sierra Leone ranks 76th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is homicides rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicides. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated number of deaths from interpersonal violence in both sexes.