Costs in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has no single official monthly household budget that applies to every location and family. A realistic estimate combines household size, rent status, food habits, commuting, school costs, health needs, electricity and water access, and a reserve for price shocks. The consumer price index (CPI) measures average price movement, not a recommended household budget. In July 2026, overall CPI inflation was 14.89% year on year. The largest listed changes included housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel at 83.72%, transport at 37.04%, restaurants and hotels at 18.41%, health at 11.04%, education at 8.59%, food at 5.74%, communication at 0.88% and recreation and culture at minus 2.74%. Regional inflation also differed: 21.87% in the Western region, 16.06% in the Northern region, 9.80% in the Eastern region, 6.49% in the Southern region and 2.39% in the North-Western region. CPI coverage includes Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Kono, Makeni, Port Loko-Kambia and the North-West, so it is not a single nationwide price list. Housing often creates the largest difference between households. Private rent, owner-occupied housing, housing provided by family or friends, and informal or shared dwellings have very different cash requirements. In the 2018 Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey, 54.0% of households nationally owned their dwelling, 19.5% rented and 23.2% lived with family or friends. Renting was much more common in the Western Area, including 63.9% in Western Urban, than in rural areas, where the reported share was 2.7%. A housing budget may include rent, advance payments or a deposit, repairs, security, water and electricity. There is no current nationwide standard rent schedule, and quoted rents vary with location, quality and access to services. Utilities are geographically fragmented. EDSA supplies electricity in its service areas, while small electricity systems use separate tariffs. A 2024 EDSA table lists residential electricity at SLL 4,853 per kWh for 1 to 200 kWh and SLL 5,271 above 200 kWh, plus a residential service charge of SLL 11,000 per month for prepaid service or SLL 13,000 for postpaid service. Because the table uses the old denomination label, the amount should be checked against the bill. For 2026 to 2030 small-system tariffs, published figures include 10.70 SLE per kWh plus a 336 SLE connection charge and 11 SLE monthly charge for Power Leone; 11.60 SLE plus 353 SLE and 11 SLE for PowerGen; and 11.87 SLE plus a connection charge of 392 or 353 SLE and 11 SLE for NOA Leone, depending on the tariff area. Reliability and access vary by service area. Guma Valley Water Company and SALWACO serve parts of the public water network, but coverage is not universal. SALWACO tariffs list 9,000 old Leone per cubic metre at standpipes, 15,000 per cubic metre plus a 5,000 fixed charge for domestic metered supply, and 50,000 per month plus a 5,000 fixed charge for non-metered domestic supply. Households may instead use vendors, bowsers, wells, rainwater or other natural sources. Water costs and access pressures are particularly high in urban and Western areas. Food spending is led by rice, cassava, fish and palm oil. Rice accounts for about one fifth of food spending, and around 85% of rice is purchased rather than produced by the household; urban households buy nearly all of their rice. Prices respond to imports, exchange rates, fuel costs and the seasonal lean period from June to August. Rural households may reduce cash spending through their own production, gifts or extended-family support, but this does not remove the value of the food consumed. There is no current official universal monthly food-basket amount, so a usable estimate should be based on local market prices and the household's actual meals. Transport costs depend on journey, fuel prices and the chosen service. Common forms include poda-poda, kekeh, okada, taxis, Waka Fine, SLRTC services and ferries. Fares are periodically negotiated after fuel changes. A July 2025 agreement reduced internal fares by NLe 2 and provincial fares by NLe 10; accessible official fare information is not consistently published as a complete current schedule. On 8 September 2026, listed fuel prices were NLe 40 per litre for petrol, NLe 45 for diesel, NLe 42 for kerosene and NLe 32 for fuel oil. Commuting, school travel, provincial journeys and ferry access can therefore change the monthly budget substantially. Health costs depend on eligibility, provider and treatment. The Free Health Care Initiative provides free preventive and curative care at government facilities for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five. Free malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy and HIV testing and treatment are available population-wide under the relevant programme guidance. Other households may still pay for consultations, medicines, diagnostic tests, referrals and transport, especially at private facilities or for conditions outside the covered services. Older survey figures for medical consultations, medicines, X-rays and supplies are expressed in old Leone and are not current prices after redenomination. The Free Quality School Education programme covers government and approved government-assisted education from nursery and pre-primary through senior secondary school, as well as approved vocational education below the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. It removes admission and school fees in the covered pathway, and the government pays listed public examination fees for NPSE, BECE, WASSCE and NVQ examinations. Families may still pay for uniforms, stationery, meals, transport, extra lessons and boarding. Private or unapproved schools may charge their own fees. There is no consolidated current nationwide tertiary fee schedule in the available evidence. Family support is mainly provided through extended-family co-residence, transfers, childcare and assistance with school or health costs. Sierra Leone has no identified universal national child or family allowance equivalent in the available evidence. NaCSA cash transfers target extremely poor households and persons with disabilities through eligibility- and project-dependent programmes, with no confirmed universal current payment amount. Mobile communication is a commercial household cost involving a SIM card, handset, voice or data bundles, and sometimes charging or electricity. Orange Sierra Leone, Africell, Qcell and Sierratel-related services form part of the market overseen by NaTCA. Reported January 2025 coverage was 96% for 2G, 96% for 3G and 87% for 4G, but prices and availability depend on the bundle and location. Leisure spending is mainly commercial or informal and includes restaurants, hotels, sport, community events and cultural activities. It varies strongly by city, season and household choice. A budget should be updated with current local quotes rather than treated as a fixed national amount. A practical method is to list fixed housing and utility costs, estimate food and transport from recent prices, add education and health costs that public programmes do not cover, include communication and family support, and keep a 10% to 20% reserve for shocks. Recheck the estimate monthly when rent, fuel, exchange rates, food prices or access to utilities changes. Banking, debt and tax issues can affect how a household pays or manages these costs, but they are separate subjects from the costs themselves. Amounts written as old Leone or SLL must be checked carefully: on 1 July 2022, the Bank of Sierra Leone redenominated the currency at 1 New Leone equal to 1,000 old Leone. A figure from an older survey is therefore not comparable with a current NLe amount until both the denomination and the date have been verified.