Monetary Sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Monetary Sector credit to private sector was 5.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Monetary Sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone, 1960–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for monetary sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone is 5.5%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 38.7% on the previous year and up 64.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, monetary sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone peaked at 7.9% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2001.
That places Sierra Leone 181st out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Monetary Sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % 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 | 1.0% | -51.1% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | +25.7% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | +42.8% |
| 2004 | 2.2% | +20.9% |
| 2005 | 2.2% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 2.0% | -9.9% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | +31.5% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | +30.7% |
| 2009 | 5.1% | +52.0% |
| 2010 | 4.7% | -7.3% |
| 2011 | 4.6% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 3.4% | -26.4% |
| 2013 | 3.1% | -8.4% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 3.3% | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 3.5% | +5.1% |
| 2017 | 3.3% | -5.4% |
| 2018 | 3.6% | +9.4% |
| 2019 | 3.9% | +6.0% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | -6.2% |
| 2021 | 4.2% | +16.7% |
| 2022 | 3.5% | -16.3% |
| 2023 | 3.2% | -8.5% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | +22.6% |
| 2025 | 5.5% | +38.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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 | 2.4% | 1.0% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 3.1% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 3.2% | 5.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More financial sector data for Sierra Leone
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) (SDR), annual growth rate -10.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) (SDR), per capita 38.44 SDR per person (2024)
- Total reserves in months of imports, annual growth rate -33.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total reserves in months of imports, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total reserves in months of imports, per capita 0 units per person (2024)
- Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange (SDR), annual growth rate 10.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange (SDR), per unit of GDP 0.015 SDR per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange (SDR), per capita 12.11 SDR per person (2024)
- Reserves excluding gold (SDR), annual growth rate -10.08 % change on previous year (2024)
- Reserves excluding gold (SDR), per capita 38.44 SDR per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is monetary sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone?
- Monetary sector credit to private sector in Sierra Leone was 5.5% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest monetary sector credit to private sector recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 7.9% in 1980.
- What is the lowest monetary sector credit to private sector recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2001.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for monetary sector credit to private sector?
- Sierra Leone ranks 181st out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is monetary sector credit to private sector rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 64.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Monetary Sector credit to private sector (% GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.