Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 95.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone stood at 95.0%.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 7.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone peaked at 99.4% in 1969 and was at its lowest, 80.2%, in 2015.
That places Sierra Leone 30th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 97.9% | — |
| 1962 | 98.0% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 98.3% | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 98.3% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 98.5% | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 99.0% | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 99.4% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 99.0% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 99.1% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 99.2% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 98.9% | -0.3% |
| 1976 | 98.6% | -0.3% |
| 1977 | 98.4% | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 99.0% | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 99.0% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 99.0% | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 98.7% | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 99.0% | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 98.5% | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 98.2% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 98.3% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 98.4% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 98.4% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 98.4% | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 98.5% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 97.3% | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 97.3% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 97.3% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 97.3% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 97.2% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 97.4% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 97.0% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 95.9% | -1.1% |
| 1998 | 95.9% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 96.8% | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 98.8% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 95.4% | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 98.3% | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 97.6% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 95.6% | -2.0% |
| 2005 | 95.5% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 94.8% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 98.8% | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 98.6% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 97.4% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 91.7% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 90.7% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 89.4% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 88.1% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 80.6% | -8.6% |
| 2015 | 80.2% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 87.5% | +9.1% |
| 2017 | 83.1% | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 86.1% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 87.7% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 87.1% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 90.7% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 95.3% | +5.1% |
| 2023 | 95.0% | -0.3% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 95.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 94.6%, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 95.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 88.3%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 98.6% | 97.9% | 99.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 99.0% | 98.4% | 99.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 98.5% | 98.2% | 99.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 96.9% | 95.9% | 97.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 97.1% | 94.8% | 98.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 86.5% | 80.2% | 91.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.0% | 87.1% | 95.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More agriculture & rural data for Sierra Leone
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 8.47 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2954 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 250 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5407 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 29.5% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 29.5% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 9.4% (2018)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Sierra Leone was 95.0% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 99.4% in 1969.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.2% in 2015.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Sierra Leone ranks 30th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.