The World Bank today launched two pivotal reports, the Sierra Leone Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) and the Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR), offering essential insights and strategic pathways for the nation’s sustainable growth and resilience.
These reports highlight Sierra Leone’s economic and climate challenges, with the country ranking among the 15 worst climate-affected economies. Projections indicate potential GDP losses of 9-10% by 2050 due to rising temperatures and erratic rainfall threatening agriculture and infrastructure.
“These reports provide a comprehensive roadmap for addressing the economic and climate challenges facing Sierra Leone,” stated Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Country Manager for Sierra Leone. He added that the World Bank is “committed to supporting Sierra Leone in implementing these strategies to achieve inclusive growth and build resilience.”
The CEM analyzes Sierra Leone’s economic landscape, noting persistent poverty and slower GDP per capita growth despite its rich resources. Key challenges include macroeconomic instability, weak institutions, poor governance leading to fiscal deficits, and high public debt limiting private investment. A small, uncompetitive private sector, limited access to credit, electricity, and land, and a skills mismatch in the labor force further restrict diversification beyond mining.
To address these economic hurdles, the CEM proposes a growth strategy focused on mining, agriculture, agro-processing, and labor-intensive sectors.
This includes restoring macroeconomic stability through fiscal consolidation and improved debt management, recalibrating the role of the state by reevaluating state-owned enterprises and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, enabling the private sector by improving access to infrastructure, credit, and reducing barriers to foreign investment, and building human capital by enhancing education quality and aligning skills development with market demands.
Smriti Seth, World Bank Senior Economist and a lead author, emphasized the CEM as a vital tool, stating, “The country has the resources and potential for significant economic growth, and this report provides a roadmap for achieving sustainable development while creating jobs for its expanding work force.”
The CCDR delves into Sierra Leone’s socio-economic development prospects within the context of climate change, highlighting impacts on agriculture, infrastructure, and the broader economy. Climate change is expected to worsen poverty and inequality, potentially pushing nearly 600,000 additional people into poverty by 2050, alongside declines in labor and crop productivity and damage to capital stock from increased maintenance costs and flooding.
To build climate resilience and mitigate these threats, the CCDR suggests three pathways developing green energy and sustainable cities through resilient infrastructure and renewable energy investments, promoting climate-smart agriculture by enhancing policy frameworks and investing in climate-smart technologies, and strengthening social resilience by improving health infrastructure and expanding social protection systems.
Implementing these climate actions will require significant financial resources from domestic taxes, green private sector investments, and international support. Sabrina Haque, World Bank Environmental Specialist and a lead author of the CCDR, noted that the report “complements the CEM by showing that climate change is not only a threat to Sierra Leone’s development goals but also a powerful lens for identifying opportunities to build a more resilient and sustainable future.”
ABJ/APA