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Rural poverty in Sierra Leone

As a result of high population growth and a decade of civil war that ended in 2002, poverty remains widespread throughout the country. The severe economic decline that went hand in hand with civil war and social unrest destroyed social and physical infrastructure and impoverished the country.

Sierra Leone is the poorest country in the world, according to the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI). It ranked last out of 177 countries on the HDI in 2005. Health and nutrition indicators remain among the worst in the world. A large proportion of youth, who include many former combatants, are unemployed or underemployed.  This situation presents a threat to sustainable peace and stability.

With the assistance of international donors, the country has successfully tackled reconstruction and has embarked on a process of democratization and stabilization. Sierra Leone is currently making progress towards securing macroeconomic stability.

Who are Sierra Leone’s poor rural people and where are they?

The country’s poorest people are landless people and small-scale farmers, particularly women who head rural households. Among these groups, the most disadvantaged are people who were refugees or internally displaced during the war, together with young people, especially former combatants, sexually abused young women and single mothers.

Poverty is heavily concentrated in rural areas and in urban areas outside Freetown, the capital. About 75 per cent of the entire population was living below the poverty line in 2007, and more than half of them live on less than a dollar a day. The proportion of poor people living in rural areas is about 80 per cent. The poorest areas are in the Northern and Southern provinces and in the eastern border provinces, which were particularly hard-hit by the war.

Why are they poor?

The social and economic effects of a decade of civil war were devastating for the country and for poor people in particular. In the aftermath of the war poverty has become pervasive and intensified. Agricultural output has continued to decline, with drastic effects on food prices and rural incomes. The war disrupted education in many areas. During the conflict, the dislocation of large segments of the population, the separation of families and frequent violence against women contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS.  

In almost all aspects of human resources development, the country’s poor rural people are disadvantaged. Their levels of health, nutrition, education and food security are inadequate. As a result, productivity is generally low. Low productivity also stems from limited access to land and to technologies, markets and financial services.

Source: IFAD