Sierra Leone: Adjusted savings, gross savings (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Sierra Leone's adjusted savings, gross savings (% of GNI) rose 2.79 percentage points on 2019 (from -2.47% to 0.32%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was −0.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.83 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 28.44 percentage points in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 22.1 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2020, Sierra Leone had the 20th highest value of the 20 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Sierra Leone in the 2020 ranking

• Marshall Islands — 16th of 20: 14.42%
• Niger — 17th of 20: 13.65%
• Guinea-Bissau — 18th of 20: 13.34%
• Libya — 20th of 20: -14.16%

What this measures

Gross savings are the difference between gross national income and public and private consumption, plus net current transfers. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) which is the total income earned by all residents within an economic territory during an accounting period. It is equal to gross domestic product plus earned income receivable from abroad minus earned income payable abroad.

Limitations: Because gross savings is calculated as a residual it includes errors, which may not be offsetting, in its components.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 44 values

Adjusted savings, gross savings (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Angola — 43.66% (2021)
• Benin — 21.54% (2020)
• Botswana — 23.11% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 17.8% (2019)
• Burundi — 5.53% (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 33.01% (2021)
• Cameroon — 14.41% (2021)
• Comoros — 13.92% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 25.53% (2021)
• Congo, Rep. — 19.15% (2020)

More economic policy & debt data for Sierra Leone

• GDP (current US$) — US$7.46 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 169.12 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$10.28 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 67.92 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$846.3 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 19,175 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,166 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 7,701 (2025)
• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$433.27 million (2024)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$433.27 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sierra Leone's adjusted savings, gross savings (% of GNI)?

0.32% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is down 11.05 percentage points from 11.37% in 1977. The highest value was 21.22% in 2010 and the lowest -15.12% in 2016.

How does Sierra Leone rank?

20th highest of 20 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in adjusted savings, gross savings (% of GNI) unusual for Sierra Leone?

In 2020, Sierra Leone's adjusted savings, gross savings (% of GNI) rose 2.79 percentage points on 2019 (from -2.47% to 0.32%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was −0.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.83 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.ADJ.ICTR.GN.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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