Domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Domestic credit to private sector was 6.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
6.0%
Change on year
down 3.5%
World rank
184th
of 187 countries
All-time high
8.2%
in 2009
All-time low
1.6%
in 2001
Years of data
61
1960–2020

Domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone, 1960–2020

2468196019902020

Source: World Development Indicators (WDI), World Bank. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 6.0% for domestic credit to private sector in 2020.

That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 23.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone peaked at 8.2% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2001.

That places Sierra Leone 184th out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 61 years of available data.

Domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone, year by year

Annual values for Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) in Sierra Leone, 1960 to 2020.
Year % of GDP Change
1960 2.8%
1961 3.5% +26.3%
1962 4.8% +36.0%
1963 6.6% +37.9%
1964 6.7% +2.7%
1965 5.9% -12.1%
1966 5.5% -6.4%
1967 5.9% +6.4%
1968 5.2% -11.6%
1969 4.7% -10.4%
1970 5.3% +14.0%
1971 5.6% +5.5%
1972 5.8% +3.3%
1973 6.0% +3.4%
1974 7.2% +19.3%
1975 6.7% -6.5%
1976 6.6% -1.4%
1977 5.9% -10.7%
1978 6.5% +9.4%
1979 6.1% -6.2%
1980 7.9% +29.9%
1981 7.7% -2.4%
1982 7.1% -7.7%
1983 7.1% -0.5%
1984 4.1% -42.2%
1985 3.1% -24.0%
1986 5.4% +74.8%
1987 2.7% -49.3%
1988 3.5% +27.4%
1989 4.8% +38.1%
1990 3.2% -32.7%
1991 3.5% +8.5%
1992 3.1% -13.3%
1993 3.4% +12.4%
1994 3.1% -8.8%
1995 2.7% -14.4%
1996 2.5% -6.3%
1997 3.2% +29.5%
1998 2.7% -16.1%
1999 2.1% -24.0%
2000 2.1% +1.7%
2001 1.6% -23.9%
2002 2.0% +24.7%
2003 2.9% +43.1%
2004 3.5% +21.3%
2005 3.3% -3.7%
2006 3.4% +1.1%
2007 4.3% +27.9%
2008 5.6% +28.8%
2009 8.2% +47.5%
2010 7.8% -4.9%
2011 7.7% -2.0%
2012 6.2% -18.9%
2013 4.8% -23.3%
2014 4.9% +2.5%
2015 5.4% +10.2%
2016 5.8% +8.1%
2017 5.1% -11.7%
2018 5.7% +10.7%
2019 6.2% +8.5%
2020 6.0% -3.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 5.2% 2.8% 6.7% 10
1970s 6.2% 5.3% 7.2% 10
1980s 5.3% 2.7% 7.9% 10
1990s 3.0% 2.1% 3.5% 10
2000s 3.7% 1.6% 8.2% 10
2010s 6.0% 4.8% 7.8% 10
2020s 6.0% 6.0% 6.0% 1

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 181 Sudan 7.9% compare
  2. 182 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 7.5% compare
  3. 183 Zimbabwe 6.5% compare
  4. 185 Yemen 5.6% compare
  5. 186 Afghanistan 3.1% compare
  6. 187 South Sudan 1.9% compare

See the full ranking of 187 places →

More financial sector data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone?
Domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone was 6.0% in 2020, according to World Development Indicators (WDI), World Bank.
What is the highest domestic credit to private sector recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 8.2% in 2009.
What is the lowest domestic credit to private sector recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2001.
How does Sierra Leone rank for domestic credit to private sector?
Sierra Leone ranks 184th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
Is domestic credit to private sector rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from World Development Indicators (WDI), World Bank, published as part of Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Domestic credit to private sector in Sierra Leone. Statizoid, drawing on World Development Indicators (WDI), World Bank. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://financial-sector.statizoid.com/stat/domestic-credit-to-private-sector-percent-of-gdp-2/sierra-leone/

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About this data

Indicator
Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
World Development Indicators (WDI), World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
187 places, 6,721 data points, 1960–2020
Last refreshed

Domestic credit to private sector refers to financial resources provided to the private sector, such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises.