Fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Fossil fuel consumption was 6.75 terawatt-hours in 2024. ▲ Rising
Fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone, 1980–2024
Source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 6.75 terawatt-hours for fossil fuel consumption in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.3% on the previous year and up 36.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone peaked at 6.75 terawatt-hours in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.83 terawatt-hours, in 2000.
Sierra Leone ranks 165th of 220 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 3.14 terawatt-hours | — |
| 1981 | 3.13 terawatt-hours | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 3.38 terawatt-hours | +8.0% |
| 1983 | 3.13 terawatt-hours | -7.4% |
| 1984 | 3.14 terawatt-hours | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 3.44 terawatt-hours | +9.7% |
| 1986 | 3.64 terawatt-hours | +5.6% |
| 1987 | 3.98 terawatt-hours | +9.6% |
| 1988 | 4.33 terawatt-hours | +8.8% |
| 1989 | 4.21 terawatt-hours | -2.8% |
| 1990 | 4.28 terawatt-hours | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 4.53 terawatt-hours | +5.9% |
| 1992 | 3.27 terawatt-hours | -27.7% |
| 1993 | 3.27 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 3.1 terawatt-hours | -5.1% |
| 1995 | 3.57 terawatt-hours | +15.0% |
| 1996 | 3.52 terawatt-hours | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 3.7 terawatt-hours | +5.1% |
| 1998 | 3.7 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 3.7 terawatt-hours | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 1.83 terawatt-hours | -50.5% |
| 2001 | 2.31 terawatt-hours | +26.1% |
| 2002 | 2.32 terawatt-hours | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 2.39 terawatt-hours | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 2.38 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 2.15 terawatt-hours | -9.9% |
| 2006 | 2.65 terawatt-hours | +23.4% |
| 2007 | 2.46 terawatt-hours | -7.1% |
| 2008 | 2.42 terawatt-hours | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 2.43 terawatt-hours | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 2.6 terawatt-hours | +6.9% |
| 2011 | 3.31 terawatt-hours | +27.3% |
| 2012 | 3.82 terawatt-hours | +15.6% |
| 2013 | 4.53 terawatt-hours | +18.5% |
| 2014 | 4.96 terawatt-hours | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 3.98 terawatt-hours | -19.7% |
| 2016 | 4.08 terawatt-hours | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 4.03 terawatt-hours | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 4.4 terawatt-hours | +9.2% |
| 2019 | 4.8 terawatt-hours | +9.2% |
| 2020 | 5.05 terawatt-hours | +5.2% |
| 2021 | 6.27 terawatt-hours | +24.2% |
| 2022 | 6.15 terawatt-hours | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 6.54 terawatt-hours | +6.3% |
| 2024 | 6.75 terawatt-hours | +3.3% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 6.75 terawatt-hours is below the median for low income countries, which is 12.59 terawatt-hours, 54% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 6.75 terawatt-hours is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17.75 terawatt-hours, 38% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -50.5% | 3.7 terawatt-hours | 1.83 terawatt-hours |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.55 terawatt-hours | 3.13 terawatt-hours | 4.33 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.66 terawatt-hours | 3.1 terawatt-hours | 4.53 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.33 terawatt-hours | 1.83 terawatt-hours | 2.65 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.05 terawatt-hours | 2.6 terawatt-hours | 4.96 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.15 terawatt-hours | 5.05 terawatt-hours | 6.75 terawatt-hours | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More energy & mining data for Sierra Leone
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 3.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 1.1% (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone?
- Fossil fuel consumption in Sierra Leone was 6.75 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fossil fuel consumption recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 6.75 terawatt-hours in 2024.
- What is the lowest fossil fuel consumption recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.83 terawatt-hours in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for fossil fuel consumption?
- Sierra Leone ranks 165th out of 220 countries with data for 2024.
- Is fossil fuel consumption rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
- The figures come from Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fossil fuel consumption. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in terawatt-hours. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and gas.