In May 2019, Sierra Leone became one of the first countries in Africa to publish a national Multi- dimensional Poverty Index (MPI-SL). The MPI-SL comprises five dimensions and 14 indicators and identifies a person as being multidimensionally poor if they experience more than 40% of the deprivations included in the measure.

The results of the report show that 64.8% of the population of Sierra Leone is multidimensionally poor and that, on average, those living in multidimensional poverty suffer deprivations in 58.9% of the indicators. At the national level, sanitation, electricity, and years of schooling are the indicators that contribute the most to the country’s MPI.

The MPI-SL also reveals important differences between rural and urban areas. The proportion of the population living in multidimensional poverty in rural areas is more than double that in urban areas (86.3% and 37.6%, respectively).

When examining the findings by province, results indicate that the Southern Province (76%), Northern Province (75.8%), and Eastern Province (67.6%) have the highest poverty rates, whilst the urban Western Province has the lowest (36.2%).