Sierra Leone's new businesses registered (number) was 3,712 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 444.28% from 682 in 2014 (18.46% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 3,712 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 2,315 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 682 | 2014 |
| Highest | 3,905 | 2023 |
| Lowest | 333 | 2006 |
| Average since 2015 | 2,492 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 333 | 2006 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Sierra Leone's new businesses registered (number) fell 4.9% on 2023 (from 3,905 to 3,712).
Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2023), the average change was +17.9% and a typical year strayed about 22.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 53.3% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 34.8% in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 344.64 a year. A straight line explains 96% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 4,867 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 264.73, against 374.67 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2024, Sierra Leone had the 97th highest value of the 127 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 2024 ranking
What this measures
New businesses registered are the number of new limited liability corporations (or its equivalent) registered in the calendar year.
Limitations: The definition of entrepreneurship used is limited to the formal sector. Yet, it should be noted that the exclusion of the informal sector is based on the difficulties of quantifying the number of firms that compose it, rather than on its relevance for developing economies. Data collected from economies categorized as offshore financial centers by Eurostat are excluded from the analysis, because registered entities in these countries may not fit the objective of the Entrepreneurship Database aiming at measuring formally registered companies with actual economic activities.
All 19 values
| Year | New businesses registered (number) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,712 |
| 2023 | 3,905 |
| 2022 | 3,145 |
| 2021 | 3,348 |
| 2020 | 2,811 |
| 2019 | 2,315 |
| 2018 | 2,186 |
| 2017 | 1,426 |
| 2016 | 1,083 |
| 2015 | 986 |
| 2014 |
New businesses registered (number) in nearby economies
- Angola — 30,956 (2024)
- Benin — 5,522 (2024)
- Botswana — 21,456 (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 10,046 (2024)
- Burundi — 7,263 (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 7,719 (2024)
- Central African Republic — 258 (2024)
- Chad — 1,391 (2024)
- Comoros — 387 (2024)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 6,095 (2024)
- Congo, Rep.
More private sector & trade data for Sierra Leone
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 45.91% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$1.89 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$1.53 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 13.74% (2023)
- Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0.00395% (2023)
- Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$513.99 million (2023)
- Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 10.91% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Sierra Leone's new businesses registered (number)?
- 3,712 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2006?
- It is up 1,015% from 333 in 2006 (14.33% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3,905 in 2023 and the lowest 333 in 2006.
- How does Sierra Leone rank?
- 97th highest of 127 economies with data for 2024.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IC.BUS.NREG, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship 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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