Sierra Leone Cities by Population 2026

Sierra Leone Overview

The largest city in Sierra Leone is Bo, with a population of 951,244 people.

Sierra Leone is home to about 8.07 million people, making it the world’s 103rd-most populous country. Sierra Leone’s most populous city is Freetown, with 474.4K people, and the only city with over 1 million people. Freetown is also the nation’s capital and major urban, financial, cultural, political, and educational center. Sierra Leone’s second-most populous city is Bo, home to 951.2K people, followed by Kenema, home to 940.6K people. Freetown, Bo, and Kenema are Sierra Leone’s three most ethnically and religiously diverse cities. Two other cities have populations of over 100,000: Koidu and Makeni, both with about 124,600 people each.

Sierra Leone’s population is currently growing at a rate of 2.1% annually, with an estimated urbanization rate of 2.9%. Its population is becoming increasingly urban as more people migrate to the country’s cities. About 42.48% of Sierra Leone’s population lives in cities and urban areas, about a 4% increase from 2009 when it was 38.47%.