Sierra Leone's 2026 budget of NLe30.3bn (after the supplementary) focuses on education, infrastructure, health and the flagship Feed Salone agriculture programme. After the February 2026 Strait of Hormuz closure pushed up oil prices, the July supplementary cut revenue forecasts, raised fuel and power subsidies and lowered growth to 4.0%.
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Government · leader
President Julius Maada Bio (head of state and government)
Key national agenda
- Feed Salone: farm output, market access and youth agribusiness (Big Five flagship)
- Better education and health services
- Diversification into agriculture, fisheries, mining, tourism, renewables and the digital economy
- Crackdown on drugs such as Kush
- Tripartite Agreement electoral reforms ahead of the 2028 elections
Government programmes
2026 national budget (incl. supplementary)NLe30.3bn (after supplementary)
Original NLe30.1bn (education 3.6bn, infrastructure/tech 1.6bn, health 1.4bn, agriculture 0.998bn); 31 Jul 2026 supplementary: spending 30.3bn, domestic revenue 21.5bn, deficit 2.8% of GDP
Feed Salone agro-ecological zonesNLe290.6m (2026)
Development of Tormabum, Gbondappi, Mambolo and Kychum zones
Yiben/Bumbuna-Newton (Freetown) transmission lineNLe354.7m (2026)
Transmission to bring Bumbuna hydropower to Freetown
Road construction and rehabilitationNLe792.9m (2026)
2026 allocation for road construction and rehabilitation
Fish harbour constructionNLe219.4m (2026)
Fish harbour to support the fisheries sector
Completion of the Seven Districts Electricity ProjectNLe60.9m (2026)
Business opportunities
Farm mechanisation, milling and storage packages
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Transmission/distribution equipment and grid operation
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Off-grid solar and mini-grids
Higher oil prices raised fuel and power subsidies, creating demand for alternatives (estimate).
Ministry of Energy, rural electrification programmes
Cold storage and fish processing equipment
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Korean support schemes
- KOICA fellowship and development consulting programmes · KOICA — KOICA runs training and development consulting programmes; no Sierra Leone-specific project was confirmed in this review.
Official notices
- 2026-09-23 National statement at the 81st UN General Assembly debate
- 2026-09-21 IMF Managing Director commends Sierra Leone's macroeconomic consolidation
- 2026-09-10 Presidential Development Partners Committee meeting in Freetown
- 2026-01-02 President declares 2026 a 'Year of Action'
Disaster · conflict · epidemic
Stable 2026-11-07
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Earth & space
Credit rating · FX
S&P, Moody's and Fitch ratings unconfirmed · K-SURE Unconfirmed · SLE
Sanctions
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No country-level UN, US, EU, UK or Korean sanctions programme applies to Sierra Leone.
