Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of was 0 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Sierra Leone, 1969–2025
Source: Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 0 for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 48 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Sierra Leone peaked at 125,830 in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0, in 2022.
Sierra Leone ranks 170th of 179 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 500 | — |
| 1976 | 170 | -66.0% |
| 1977 | 150 | -11.8% |
| 1978 | 50 | -66.7% |
| 1979 | 60 | +20.0% |
| 1982 | 120 | +100.0% |
| 1983 | 150 | +25.0% |
| 1984 | 180 | +20.0% |
| 1985 | 160 | -11.1% |
| 1986 | 170 | +6.2% |
| 1987 | 90 | -47.1% |
| 1988 | 60 | -33.3% |
| 1990 | 125,830 | +209616.7% |
| 1991 | 28,036 | -77.7% |
| 1992 | 5,866 | -79.1% |
| 1993 | 16,274 | +177.4% |
| 1994 | 15,866 | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 4,677 | -70.5% |
| 1996 | 13,536 | +189.4% |
| 1997 | 13,015 | -3.8% |
| 1998 | 9,862 | -24.2% |
| 1999 | 6,566 | -33.4% |
| 2000 | 6,543 | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 10,498 | +60.4% |
| 2002 | 63,491 | +504.8% |
| 2003 | 61,192 | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 65,433 | +6.9% |
| 2005 | 59,962 | -8.4% |
| 2006 | 27,364 | -54.4% |
| 2007 | 8,794 | -67.9% |
| 2008 | 7,825 | -11.0% |
| 2009 | 9,050 | +15.7% |
| 2010 | 8,362 | -7.6% |
| 2011 | 8,091 | -3.2% |
| 2012 | 4,203 | -48.1% |
| 2013 | 2,816 | -33.0% |
| 2014 | 1,371 | -51.3% |
| 2015 | 760 | -44.6% |
| 2016 | 683 | -10.1% |
| 2017 | 678 | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 591 | -12.8% |
| 2019 | 441 | -25.4% |
| 2020 | 342 | -22.4% |
| 2021 | 345 | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2023 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | — |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 0 is below the median for low income countries, which is 45,052. (24 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 0 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 35,241. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +209616.7% | 60 | 125,830 |
| 2002 | +504.8% | 10,498 | 63,491 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 500 | 500 | 500 | 1 |
| 1970s | 107.5 | 50 | 170 | 4 |
| 1980s | 132.86 | 60 | 180 | 7 |
| 1990s | 23,953 | 4,677 | 125,830 | 10 |
| 2000s | 32,015 | 6,543 | 65,433 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,800 | 441 | 8,362 | 10 |
| 2020s | 114.5 | 0 | 345 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 170 Aruba 0
- 170 Cape Verde 0 compare
- 170 Curaçao 0 compare
- 170 Haiti 0 compare
- 170 Macau, China 0 compare
- 170 Singapore 0 compare
- 170 Solomon Islands 0 compare
- 170 Timor-Leste 0
- 170 Vanuatu 0 compare
More social development data for Sierra Leone
- 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)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of -100 % change on previous year (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Sierra Leone?
- Refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Sierra Leone was 0 in 2025, according to Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
- What is the highest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 125,830 in 1990.
- What is the lowest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 2022.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of?
- Sierra Leone ranks 170th out of 179 countries with data for 2025.
- Is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 100.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), published as part of Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Refugees under the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) include individuals recognized under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the refugee definition contained in the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees as incorporated into national laws, those recognized in accordance with the UNHCR Statute, individuals granted complementary forms of protection, and those enjoying temporary protection. The refugee population also includes people in a refugee-like situation, which is a category that is descriptive in nature and includes groups of people who are outside their country or territory of origin and who face protection risks similar to those of refugees, but for whom refugee status has, for practical or other reasons, not been ascertained. Refugees under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Palestine Refugees, are not typically included in the statistics on refugees (and people in a refugee-like situation) under the mandate of the UNHCR.