African Tax Observatory · Country brief · Sierra LeoneData pulled 14 October 2026 · taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/SLE

Centre 8°34′N 11°48′W

Gazetteer · Western Africa · Low income

Sierra Leone

Collected 8.0% of GDP in tax in 2024, 33 of 38 reporting members.

8.0%

Tax, % of GDP, 2024

−0.5

Points since 2010

across a break: see the note

0.97

Tax buoyancy

over 16 years, across a break

$236

Tax per person

PPP dollars

Read with care · 2 breaks in the series

2021: GDP jumps 1.68 times in a year

GDP in purchasing-power dollars goes from $15m in 2020 to $25m in 2021. GDP measured this way does not move like that in a year; the figures were compiled differently on either side (a rebasing of GDP or a currency change, for example). Tax to GDP moves from 10.3% to 6.9%. Part of that change may come from the new figures rather than from new tax, so compare years on the same side of the break.

2023: GDP jumps about 957 times in a year

GDP in purchasing-power dollars goes from $30m in 2022 to $28.5bn in 2023. GDP measured this way does not move like that in a year; the figures were compiled differently on either side (a rebasing of GDP or a currency change, for example). Tax to GDP barely moves (5.6% to 5.7%): tax and GDP were converted alike, so the share reads across the break even though the levels do not.

Sierra Leone redenominated the leone in 2022, taking three zeros off (1,000 old leones became one new leone). The years before 2023 and the years after appear to have been converted to dollars on different bases, which is why the level jumps in 2023.

Every break across the atlas, and the rule that finds them: the colophon.

Plate I·Over time

Fifteen years, against the continent

Over time

Sierra Leone against the continent

Measure

Sierra LeoneWestern Africa medianATAF median and middle half

The shaded band is the middle half of ATAF members each year (25th to 75th percentile); the dashed line is the median of Western Africa. The members reporting change from year to year, so the band can move because the set of countries changed; the CSV gives the count for each year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Sierra Leone	Western Africa median	ATAF median	ATAF 25th percentile	ATAF 75th percentile	Members reporting
2010	8.50	14.56	14.34	10.67	16.43	26
2011	8.97	15.71	14.84	10.99	16.62	33
2012	11.95	16.21	15.07	11.45	16.75	33
2013	8.74	13.93	13.83	11.23	16.89	32
2014	8.29	14.23	14.26	11.87	17.13	32
2015	9.45	14.34	15.08	12.33	18.55	33
2016	10.29	14.28	14.38	12.40	17.43	33
2017	10.18	14.75	14.75	11.50	16.95	35
2018	10.77	13.32	14.18	10.86	16.10	36
2019	12.09	12.50	13.57	11.51	17.23	38
2020	10.30	12.22	13.27	10.85	16.07	38
2021	6.94	12.46	12.72	10.44	16.06	40
2022	5.56	13.45	14.18	11.34	18.16	39
2023	5.75	13.30	14.43	11.30	18.82	37
2024	8.00	13.51	14.30	12.17	18.05	38
2025	8.66	13.38	13.74	12.18	20.53	34

Plate II·Peers, 2024

Each tax beside the medians

Against its peers, 2024

Each tax as a share of GDP, beside the medians

The line joins Sierra Leone (orange) to the ATAF median (grey); the blue tick is the Western Africa median. All three are for 2024.

Show the numbers as a table

Measure	Sierra Leone	Western Africa median	ATAF median
Tax-to-GDP	8.00	13.51	14.30
Domestic taxes	4.96	8.38	9.01
Customs taxes	3.04	5.32	4.87
Non-tax revenue	2.13	2.59	2.59
VAT	1.61	3.43	5.20
PIT	2.34	1.48	2.04
CIT	1.67	2.22	2.72

Plate III·Tax heads

How Sierra Leone's tax is made up

Tax heads

What each tax brings in, as a share of GDP

Domestic VATPersonal income taxCorporate income taxWithholding taxPresumptive taxOther domestic taxesVAT on importsImport dutyExcise on importsOther customs taxesNot attributed to a head

Each bar stacks the tax heads ATAF publishes for that year. Where the heads do not add up to total tax revenue, the gap is drawn in light grey and labelled, never spread across the heads. A head missing from a year was not reported for that year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	% of GDP
2010	Domestic VAT	81194	1.07
2010	Personal income tax	79422	1.05
2010	Corporate income tax	41378	0.54
2010	Withholding tax	63545	0.84
2010	Presumptive tax	31675	0.42
2010	Other domestic taxes	8351	0.11
2010	VAT on imports	101221	1.33
2010	Import duty	140543	1.85
2010	Excise on imports	98483	1.30
2011	Domestic VAT	84771	1.03
2011	Personal income tax	170917	2.08
2011	Corporate income tax	28413	0.35
2011	Withholding tax	69867	0.85
2011	Presumptive tax	38959	0.47
2011	Other domestic taxes	4323	0.05
2011	VAT on imports	156852	1.91
2011	Import duty	152885	1.86
2011	Excise on imports	29542	0.36
2012	Domestic VAT	101584	1.05
2012	Personal income tax	254547	2.64
2012	Corporate income tax	48296	0.50
2012	Withholding tax	81288	0.84
2012	Presumptive tax	80420	0.83
2012	Other domestic taxes	2710	0.03
2012	VAT on imports	144908	1.50
2012	Import duty	138670	1.44
2012	Excise on imports	57750	0.60
2012	Other customs taxes	240619	2.50
2013	Domestic VAT	87538	0.74
2013	Personal income tax	327075	2.76
2013	Corporate income tax	55815	0.47
2013	Withholding tax	97278	0.82
2013	Presumptive tax	34900	0.29
2013	Other domestic taxes	3131	0.03
2013	VAT on imports	157814	1.33
2013	Import duty	149454	1.26
2013	Excise on imports	123031	1.04
2014	Domestic VAT	110603	0.88
2014	Personal income tax	310519	2.46
2014	Corporate income tax	147618	1.17
2014	Withholding tax	12684	0.10
2014	Presumptive tax	33736	0.27
2014	Other domestic taxes	4745	0.04
2014	VAT on imports	148176	1.17
2014	Import duty	149075	1.18
2014	Excise on imports	129078	1.02
2015	Domestic VAT	112964	1.11
2015	Personal income tax	272774	2.67
2015	Corporate income tax	107452	1.05
2015	Withholding tax	15468	0.15
2015	Presumptive tax	27777	0.27
2015	Other domestic taxes	3005	0.03
2015	VAT on imports	167533	1.64
2015	Import duty	155782	1.53
2015	Excise on imports	102373	1.00
2016	Domestic VAT	140372	1.23
2016	Personal income tax	324224	2.84
2016	Corporate income tax	62226	0.54
2016	Withholding tax	104571	0.91
2016	Presumptive tax	102434	0.90
2016	Other domestic taxes	3901	0.03
2016	VAT on imports	173124	1.51
2016	Import duty	179616	1.57
2016	Excise on imports	86438	0.76
2017	Domestic VAT	126285	1.09
2017	Personal income tax	295327	2.56
2017	Corporate income tax	37826	0.33
2017	Withholding tax	67833	0.59
2017	Presumptive tax	93304	0.81
2017	Other domestic taxes	2302	0.02
2017	VAT on imports	172099	1.49
2017	Import duty	202935	1.76
2017	Excise on imports	177163	1.54
2018	Domestic VAT	135039	1.04
2018	Personal income tax	457587	3.51
2018	Corporate income tax	176270	1.35
2018	Other domestic taxes	7935	0.06
2018	VAT on imports	221410	1.70
2018	Import duty	261586	2.01
2018	Excise on imports	143979	1.10
2019	Domestic VAT	167803	1.27
2019	Personal income tax	500808	3.80
2019	Corporate income tax	203302	1.54
2019	Other domestic taxes	3746	0.03
2019	VAT on imports	220888	1.68
2019	Import duty	268153	2.04
2019	Excise on imports	227338	1.73
2019	Other customs taxes	6	0.00
2020	Domestic VAT	170651	1.13
2020	Personal income tax	513981	3.41
2020	Corporate income tax	213302	1.41
2020	VAT on imports	211286	1.40
2020	Import duty	235148	1.56
2020	Excise on imports	210467	1.39
2021	Domestic VAT	196418	0.78
2021	Personal income tax	564809	2.23
2021	Corporate income tax	258859	1.02
2021	VAT on imports	229064	0.91
2021	Import duty	273097	1.08
2021	Excise on imports	162800	0.64
2021	Other customs taxes	71656	0.28
2022	Domestic VAT	174585	0.59
2022	Personal income tax	533677	1.79
2022	Corporate income tax	331795	1.11
2022	VAT on imports	248620	0.83
2022	Import duty	252829	0.85
2022	Excise on imports	116065	0.39
2023	Domestic VAT	209294058	0.73
2023	Personal income tax	535885012	1.88
2023	Corporate income tax	297483831	1.04
2023	VAT on imports	216481241	0.76
2023	Import duty	249465728	0.87
2023	Excise on imports	118829965	0.42
2024	Domestic VAT	218175164	0.86
2024	Personal income tax	595180782	2.34
2024	Corporate income tax	426732344	1.67
2024	VAT on imports	193088249	0.76
2024	Import duty	258240952	1.01
2024	Excise on imports	322946083	1.27
2024	Not attributed to a head	22838560	0.09
2025	Domestic VAT	363186336	1.11
2025	Personal income tax	703500073	2.15
2025	Corporate income tax	666263578	2.03
2025	Other domestic taxes	41614227	0.13
2025	VAT on imports	289885120	0.88
2025	Import duty	331080842	1.01
2025	Excise on imports	412284808	1.26
2025	Not attributed to a head	30512250	0.09

The mix in 2024

Every shilling, franc or rand of tax, by head

Rectangle areas are proportional to revenue in 2024 (US dollars at purchasing-power parity). Total tax revenue: $2.0bn.

Show the numbers as a table

Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	Share of tax revenue
Domestic VAT	218175164	0.11
Personal income tax	595180782	0.29
Corporate income tax	426732344	0.21
VAT on imports	193088249	0.09
Import duty	258240952	0.13
Excise on imports	322946083	0.16
Not attributed to a head	22838560	0.01

Every published number

Sierra Leone in the ATAF Databank

All 23 freely available indicators, exactly as ATAF publishes them. A blank cell means ATAF has no figure for that year; nothing is filled in.

Sierra Leone: ATAF Databank indicators by year
Indicator	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Nominal GDP (PPP)	$7.6m	$8.2m	$9.6m	$11.9m	$12.6m	$10.2m	$11.4m	$11.5m	$13.0m	$13.2m	$15.1m	$25.3m	$29.8m	$28.5bn	$25.5bn	$32.8bn
Real GDP	6,912.8m	7,347.8m	8,464.6m	10,218.7m	10,683.8m	8,494.4m	9,034.2m	9,376.0m	9,699.1m	10,200.6m	10,011.0m	55,916.6m	58,879.3m	62,254.1m	65,008.9m	67,919.0m
Final Consumption (PPP)												$24.5m	$28.8m	$26.6bn	$19.6bn	$27.6bn
Total Tax Revenues (PPP)	$645.8k	$736.5k	$1.2m	$1.0m	$1.0m	$965.1k	$1.2m	$1.2m	$1.4m	$1.6m	$1.6m	$1.8m	$1.7m	$1.6bn	$2.0bn	$2.8bn
Total Number Of Registered Taxpayers									585k	66k		8,945	18k	21k	43k	64k
Non-Tax-Revenues (PPP)	$61.8k	$183.4k	$184.7k	$194.5k	$163.1k	$109.9m	$140.8k	$163.8k	$710.5k	$820.7k		$583.1k	$348.7k	$426.4m	$542.2m	$687.8m
Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$305.6k	$397.3k	$568.8k	$605.7k	$619.9k	$539.4k	$737.7k	$622.9k	$776.8k	$875.7k	$897.9k	$1.0m	$1.0m	$1.1bn	$1.3bn	$1.8bn
Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$340.2k	$339.3k	$581.9k	$430.3k	$426.3k	$425.7k	$439.2k	$552.2k	$627.0k	$716.4k	$656.9k	$736.6k	$617.5k	$584.8m	$774.3m	$1.0bn
Revenue From Agriculture, Forest & Fishing (PPP)	$7.7k	$10.5k	$8.1k	$10.0k	$9.3k	$8.1k	$11	$15.6k	$55.6k	$125.8k	$158.3k	$146.7k	$47.6k	$24.7m
Revenue From Mining & Quarrying (PPP)	$17.9k	$132.2k	$133.0k	$130.7k	$103.8k	$40.9k	$73.2k	$64.7k	$89.6k	$88.0k	$94.2k	$176.8k	$185.4k	$140.2m	$238.7k
Revenue From Secondary Sector (PPP)
Revenue From Tertiary Sector (PPP)
Domestic VAT Revenues (PPP)	$81.2k	$84.8k	$101.6k	$87.5k	$110.6k	$113.0k	$140.4k	$126.3k	$135.0k	$167.8k	$170.7k	$196.4k	$174.6k	$209.3m	$218.2m	$363.2m
VAT Refunded (PPP)
PIT Revenues (PPP)	$79.4k	$170.9k	$254.5k	$327.1k	$310.5k	$272.8k	$324.2k	$295.3k	$457.6k	$500.8k	$514.0k	$564.8k	$533.7k	$535.9m	$595.2m	$703.5m
CIT Revenues (PPP)	$41.4k	$28.4k	$48.3k	$55.8k	$147.6k	$107.5k	$62.2k	$37.8k	$176.3k	$203.3k	$213.3k	$258.9k	$331.8k	$297.5m	$426.7m	$666.3m
Withholding Tax Revenues (PPP)	$63.5k	$69.9k	$81.3k	$97.3k	$12.7k	$15.5k	$104.6k	$67.8k
Presumptive Tax Revenues (PPP)	$31.7k	$39.0k	$80.4k	$34.9k	$33.7k	$27.8k	$102.4k	$93.3k
Other Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$8.4k	$4.3k	$2.7k	$3.1k	$4.7k	$3.0k	$3.9k	$2.3k	$7.9k	$3.7k						$41.6m
VAT On Import Revenues (PPP)	$101.2k	$156.9k	$144.9k	$157.8k	$148.2k	$167.5k	$173.1k	$172.1k	$221.4k	$220.9k	$211.3k	$229.1k	$248.6k	$216.5m	$193.1m	$289.9m
Import Duty Revenues (PPP)	$140.5k	$152.9k	$138.7k	$149.5k	$149.1k	$155.8k	$179.6k	$202.9k	$261.6k	$268.2k	$235.1k	$273.1k	$252.8k	$249.5m	$258.2m	$331.1m
Excises on Imports Revenues (PPP)	$98.5k	$29.5k	$57.8k	$123.0k	$129.1k	$102.4k	$86.4k	$177.2k	$144.0k	$227.3k	$210.5k	$162.8k	$116.1k	$118.8m	$322.9m	$412.3m
Other Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)			$240.6k							$6		$71.7k

Values are rounded for display; the CSV has them exactly as published. Revenue and GDP are US dollars at purchasing-power parity.

Data-quality checks

What the automatic checks found

These are rule-based checks, run on every pull. A flag says the numbers deserve a second look, not that they are wrong; the methods page explains each rule.

Year	Check	Detail
2023	Sudden jump	Total tax revenue (PPP) moves ×989.07 from 2022.

Source: ATAF Databank, the African Tax Administration Forum; World Bank World Development Indicators. Tax and GDP are in US dollars at purchasing-power parity, so their ratio equals the ratio in local currency. Cite as: Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Sierra Leone. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/SLE Every figure and its method: taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/methods

Cite this sheet

Sierra Leone, in Edition 1

Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Sierra Leone. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/SLE

Western Africa

Neighbouring profiles

Benin Burkina Faso Cabo Verde Côte d'Ivoire Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Togo Compare Sierra Leone with its neighbours →