Indicator	Value
Total population	8,640,000 peopleUN DESA WPP [2024] 8,642,000 people·World Bank WDI [2024] 8,642,000 people
Median age	19.5 yearsUN DESA WPP [2024]
Life expectancy	61.8–62 yearsWorld Bank WDI [2024] 61.96 years·UNDP HDI [2023] 61.79 years
Ethnic groups	Temne 35.4%, Mende 30.8%, Limba 8.8%, Kono 4.3%, Korankoh 4%, Fullah 3.8%, Mandingo 2.8%, Loko 2%, Sherbro 1.9%, Creole 1.2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio), other 5% (2019 est.)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Languages	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves; a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Religions	Muslim 77.1%, Christian 22.9% (2019 est.)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Urbanization	44.3% of total population (2023)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Population growth	2.12 %World Bank WDI [2024]
Birth rate	30.1 per 1,000World Bank WDI [2024]
Death rate	8.21 per 1,000World Bank WDI [2024]
Urban population	45.4 %World Bank WDI [2024]
Languages (structured)	Bandi Bassa Bom-Kim Bullom So Dama (Sierra Leone) East Limba Eastern Maninkakan Gola Klao Kono (Sierra Leone) Krio Kuranko Loko Mende (Sierra Leone) N'Ko Northern Kissi Pular Sankaran Maninka Sherbro Sierra Leone Sign Language Southern Kisi Susu Timne Vai West-Central Limba Yalunka Glottolog [2026]