Report by the WTO Secretariat

Sierra Leone is a least developed country (LDC) with a relatively young population: 42.4% of its 7.1 million inhabitants are aged less than 15 years. The country is in a fragile post-conflict and post-ebola virus disease (EVD) situation. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy; its contribution to the GDP declined sharply in 2012 because of a boom in the mining sector, before bouncing back as minerals exports collapsed. Sierra Leone is rich in minerals such as gold, diamond, bauxite, rutile, and iron ore. The manufacturing sector is marginal and is limited to first-stage processing of local raw materials and to light industries. Like the other sectors of the economy, it is plagued by weak infrastructure, high production costs, unreliable supply of energy at high prices, and limited access to financing.