Sierra leone
Sierra Leone has a population of about 6.3 million (World Bank, 2014) with approximately
39.1% living in urban areas (Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni and other urban areas) in 2015.
The rate of urbanisation, currently at 3%, exceeds the average population growth rate (2.3%),
which clearly indicates that the country is experiencing a period of rapid urbanisation. By 2030
total population is projected to be 8.6 million with 43.82% living in urban areas. This trend is
particularly alarming, as until now, efforts by the government of Sierra Leone at creating more
sustainable urban settings remain inadequate. The country is at stage two of the demographic
transition, characterised by a high birth rate, a declining death rate and a rapidly expanding
population. Urbanisation was 34.2% in 1990 reaching 39.1 in 2015 and is projected to reach 43.8
in 2030.
The rapid urbanisation will promote structural transformation if the shift from rural
(agricultural) to urban employment drives growth in productivity. However, Sierra Leone is
experiencing its urbanisation without industrialisation (manufacturing), which does not promote
appropriate structural transformation. Specifically, while the contribution of agriculture, hunting,
forestry and fishing (low productivity sectors) has been declining (as expected), unfortunately the
contribution of the services sector (ideally high productivity sector) is also declining, while the
industrial sector is growing, mainly driven by mining, which is by its nature, capital intensive and
has limited forward and backward linkages with the rest of the economy. The contribution of the
manufacturing sector, which offers greater opportunities for transformative change through the
forward and backward linkages, has declined over the years. Thus, manufacturing is the “missing
link” in Sierra Leone’s structural transformation as labour migrates from low productivity
agricultural activities in the rural areas directly to low productivity services (informal jobs in the
urban areas) without a transformative industrial sector.
Unplanned urbanisation magnifies challenges such as environmental degradation,
deteriorating living conditions and increasing insecurity. Additional challenges have also arisen
in the 21st century such as unprecedented levels of demographic pressure and vulnerability to
environmental hazards, including air pollution and/or climate change. Regardless of buoyant
economic activities, spurred by countrywide reconstruction and rehabilitation work and an
expected broad recovery in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and services sectors, the
Freetown area is still struggling to meet the needs of its inhabitants. Basic urban infrastructure
relating to water, sanitation, and public transport, remain inadequate and outdated, with leaking
sewage systems, etc. Power-generation capacity falls far short of meeting demand: just 7% of the
population has access to mains electricity and the current capacity of 13 MW per million people
is one of the lowest in the world. There have been reduced internal rates of return on urban
investment, diseconomies and negative externalities, and urban growth taking place without
proper planning layouts. Additionally, many slum dwellers live in low elevation coastal zones
that are vulnerable to the risk of rising sea levels and frequent floods as happened in 2015.
The primary cities in Sierra Leone are Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Koidu town. The
other secondary cities are Magburaka, Kabala, Port Loko, Moyamba, Kailahun, Bonthe, Waterloo
and Kambia. As in other sub-Saharan African countries, the capital city, Freetown, is more
than four times the size of the second biggest city, Bo. Consequently, much of urban growth is
attributed to the growth in Freetown and it also experiences much of the pressure from ruralurban migration and currently accounts for almost 40% of the urban population in the country.
For instance, the incidence of poverty in Freetown increased from 13.6% in 2003 to 20.7% in 2011
compared to a reduction in other urban centres (like Bo and Kenema) from 70.9% in 2003 to 39.5%
in 2011. This is mainly attributed to the large number of economic migrants moving from rural
© AfDB, OECD, UNDP 2016
ST SIERRA LEONE GB 2016.indd 1
African Economic Outlook
23/05/16 14:35
areas to the western region (mainly Freetown) seeking employment opportunities. It also means
Freetown is a stronger and more attractive pull centre compared to other urban areas according
to the 2011 Poverty Profile on which this information is based.
Financing of urban development in Sierra Leone comes from a number of sources. Much of
the development of urban cities is through central government resources, transfers from central
government to local and city councils, local revenues, external donors and remittances from
the diaspora. However, this financing architecture is inadequate and there is need to explore
alternative models such as borrowing from financial institutions and local government bonds.
One of the main challenges the government has been grappling with over recent years is
to create a productive, inclusive, and resilient set of cities. The goal is to promote the urban
economic transformation, enhance productive, and create healthy, peaceful and resilient cities,
well-adapted to larger populations, create jobs, and environmental changes. To support its cities
and municipalities, the government has to develop national goals and strategies that focus on
the following:
• adequate transport facilities (e.g. modernisation and expansion of port facilities, second airport,
upgrading major trunk and feeder roads);
• continuous and affordable power supply (e.g. developing water resources, improving the power
generating and distribution capacity);
• appropriate information communication technology (e.g. linking all major cities and towns to
the national fibre optic network); and
• improved financial services infrastructure that can enhance access to finance while reducing
its cost at the same time noting that limited access and high cost of credit constitute a major
obstacle to private sector development.
African Economic Outlook
ST SIERRA LEONE GB 2016.indd 2
© AfDB, OECD, UNDP 2016
23/05/16 14:35