Sierra Leone's forest cover fell from 42.2 % in 1994 to 34.3 % in 2023.
Sierra Leone · Environment
Forests, air quality, land, water and protected areas.
10 indicators · 10 with data
Land
Sierra Leone's forest area fell from 30,478 km in 1994 to 24,757 km in 2023.
Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area)
% of land area
144th of 213 · 34th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sierra Leone's terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) rose from 9.4 % in 2013 to 12.6 % in 2025.
Sierra Leone's agricultural land (% of land area) rose from 38.9 % in 1994 to 54.7 % in 2023.
Sierra Leone's arable land (% of land area) rose from 6.7 % in 1994 to 21.9 % in 2023.
Air
Sierra Leone's air pollution (pm2.5) fell from 22.9 in 1994 to 22.5 in 2023.
Water
Sierra Leone's water stress rose from 0.1 % in 1993 to 0.1 % in 2022.
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita
cubic metres per person
30th of 181 · 5th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sierra Leone's renewable internal freshwater resources per capita fell from 38,488 in 1993 to 19,331 in 2022.
Access
Sierra Leone's safe drinking water rose from 5.2 % in 2000 to 10.9 % in 2024.
Sierra Leone's safe sanitation rose from 5.0 % in 2000 to 16.8 % in 2024.