That calculated dollar amount reflects a 97.9% increase from 5 years earlier in 2019 when Sierra Leonean exports were $763.5 million.
Year over year, the value of Sierra Leone’s exports gained 9.4% compared to $1.38 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the leone (Sierra Leone’s legal currency) diluted by -136.5% against the US dollar since 2019 and depreciated by -51.7% from 2022 to 2023. Sierra Leone’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Sierra Leone’s 5 biggest export products by value are iron ores and concentrates, titanium ores and concentrates, unset diamonds, aluminum ores and concentrates, then cocoa beans. Collectively, Sierra Leone’s five most valuable exports represent over four-fifths (86.5%) of all exported goods from the West African country. Such a high percentage suggests a concentrated portfolio of exports.
Sierra Leone’s Key Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data from 2018 shows that 90.5% of products exported from Sierra Leone were bought by importers in: mainland China (18.3% of Sierra Leone’s global total), South Korea (14%), Netherlands (13.5%), Somalia (10.8%), Ghana (8%), Romania (7.8%), Germany (5.3%), Guinea (4.5%), Senegal (3%), Ivory Coast (1.9%), Belgium (1.8%) and India (1.6%).
From a continental perspective, 34.8% of Sierra Leone’s exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 34.5% was sold to importers in Asia. Sierra Leone shipped another 30.1% worth of goods to Europe.
Tinier percentages went to North America (0.5%), Latin America (0.08%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania’s Australia only (0.02%).
Given Sierra Leone’s population of 8.48 million people, its total $1.5 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $180 for every resident in the West African nation. That dollar metric outpaces the average $160 per capita one year earlier in 2022.
Sierra Leone’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups categorize the highest dollar value in Sierra Leonean global shipments during 2023, at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Sierra Leone.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$1.2 billion (79.7% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $100.7 million (6.7%)
- Cocoa: $52.2 million (3.5%)
- Iron, steel: $30.1 million (2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $16.5 million (1.1%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $13.1 million (0.9%)
- Fish: $12.6 million (0.8%)
- Machinery including computers: $11.3 million (0.7%)
- Aluminum: $9.3 million (0.6%)
- Glass: $6.2 million (0.4%)
Sierra Leone’s top 10 exports accounted for 96.3% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Aluminum was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 68% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales were the metals iron and steel via a 53.6% advance.
Sierra Leone’s shipments of glass posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 35.3%.
The leading decliner among Sierra Leone’s top 10 export categories was animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes: thanks to a -58.6% year-over-year drop.
Drilling down to 4-digit HTS codes, Sierra Leone’s most valuable exported products in 2023 were: iron ores and concentrates (58.6% of the country’s total exports), titanium ores and concentrates (13.6%), unmounted and unset diamonds (6.5%), aluminum ores and concentrates (4.4%), coco beans (3.4%), niobium or zirconium ores and concentrates (3%), iron or steel scrap (1.7%), palm oil (0.8%), frozen whole fish (0.7%) then sawn wood (0.4%).
Products Behind Sierra’s Leone’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Sierra Leonean product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Ores, slag, ash: US$1.2 billion (Up by 26.7% since 2022)
- Gems, precious metals: $99.9 million (Down by -5.8%)
- Cocoa: $48.7 million (Up by 14.4%)
- Fish: $10.5 million (Up by 14.8%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $6.2 million (Down by -73.6%)
- Copper: $4.6 million (Up by 14.1%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $2.2 million (Down by -43.3%)
- Vegetable plaiting materials: $230,000 (Down by -9.4%)
- Collector items, art, antiques: $99,000 (Up by 1,880%)
- Woodpulp: $6,000 (Down by 0%)
Sierra Leone has highly positive net exports in the international trade of ores and concentrates including iron, titanium and aluminum. In turn, these cashflows indicate Sierra Leone’s strong competitive advantages under the ores, slag and ash product category.
Products Causing Sierra’s Leone’s Worst Trade Deficits
Sierra Leone racked up an estimated -US$378.7 million trade deficit for 2023 falling by -19.3% compared to -$469.3 million in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Sierra Leone that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Sierra Leone’s goods trail Sierra Leonean importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$212.1 million (Up by 50.18% since 2022)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$172.3 million (Up by 45.7%)
- Cereals: -$156.4 million (Down by -2.8%)
- Vehicles: -$107.8 million (Up by 10.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$92.6 million (Down by -8.7%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$92.1 million (Down by -5.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$74.9 million (Up by 2.2%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$68.7 million (Down by -35%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: -$60.5 million (Up by 11.5%)
- Ceramic products: -$54 million (Up by 34.7%)
Weighed down by negative trade balances for imported rice and to a lesser extent wheat and corn, Sierra Leone has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the cereals category.
Sierra Leonean Export Companies
Not one Sierra Leonean corporation ranks among the Forbes Global 2000 list.
Wikipedia lists companies from Sierra Leone that participate in international trade transactions. Selected examples are shown below.
- Fly 6ix (airliner)
- Rokel Commercial Bank (commercial banking)
- Sierra Leone Brewery Limited (alcoholic beverages)
- Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (commercial banking)
- Union Trust Bank (commercial banking)
In macroeconomic terms, Sierra Leone’s total exported goods represent 8.5% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($17.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 8.5% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 7.9% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Sierra Leone’s total economic performance, albeit based on a relatively short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s financial health is its unemployment rate. In 2023, Sierra Leone’s jobless rate averaged 3.63% down modestly from its average 3.7% unemployment rate in 2022.
Sierra Leone’s capital city is Freetown.
See also China’s Top Trading Partners, South Sudan’s Top 10 Exports, Somalia’s Top 10 Exports and Top African Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Sierra Leone. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Forbes 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 29, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 29, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Sierra Leone. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Wikipedia, Flag of Sierra Leone. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Wikipedia, Sierra Leone. Accessed on September 29, 2024