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Sierra Leone

SL

West Africa

Sierra Leone is home to 6 documented ethnic groups in West Africa — led by Temne (~36%), Mende (~31%), Sierra Leone Other (~19%), Limba Sierra Leone (~8%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
TemneTemne35.5%Sierra Leone 2015 Census plus subsequent estimates; Temne (~35.5%, ~3.1M+ of ~8.7M+ total). Niger-Congo source population, predominantly northern Sierra Leone
MendeMende31.4%Sierra Leone 2015 Census; Mende (~31.4%); Mande source population, predominantly southern Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone OtherSierra Leone Other19.2%Sierra Leone 2015 Census residual; includes Mandingo (Mandinka-related), Loko, Susu, Sherbro, Vai, Kuranko, Yalunka, plus Lebanese-Sierra-Leonean smaller groups
Limba Sierra LeoneLimba Sierra Leone8.3%Sierra Leone 2015 Census; Limba (~8.3%)
KonoKono4.3%Sierra Leone 2015 Census; Kono (~4.3%); concentrated in diamond-mining region
KrioKrio1.3%Sierra Leone 2015 Census; Krio (~1.3%); descended from freed slaves resettled in Sierra Leone in the 19th c. (Nova Scotian Loyalists, Maroons, Recaptives liberated from slave ships). Predominantly Anglophone Christian

Sierra Leone Phenotype Profile

Sierra Leone has a Temne-Mende plurality structure (~67%) with substantial smaller Niger-Congo and Mande populations plus the distinctive Krio settler-descended community. The 1991-2002 civil war produced substantial humanitarian crisis.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Sierra Leone population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from Sierra Leone 2015 Census plus subsequent estimates.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Statistics Sierra Leone. Population and Housing Census 2015. Freetown: SSL; 2017.
  2. 2.Wyse A. The Krio of Sierra Leone: An Interpretive History. C Hurst; 1989.
  3. 3.Tishkoff SA, Reed FA, Friedlaender FR, et al. The genetic structure and history of Africans and African Americans. Science. 2009;324(5930):1035-1044.
  4. 4.Keen D. Conflict and Collusion in Sierra Leone. James Currey; 2005.
  5. 5.Abraham A. Mende Government and Politics under Colonial Rule. Sierra Leone University Press; 1978.

Other countries in West Africa

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring West Africa nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all West Africaethnic groups & countries →