Freetown

Freetown, Sierra Leone, scores 62 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #118 of 309 destinations. 24 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 69% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 62
• OECD: 60
• UN Tourism: 65
• UNDRR: 53

Strongest

• Extreme heat days: 0 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 211.7 kg per resident per year (Journal of Environmental Protection (SciRP), 'The Impact of Solid Waste Generation, Storage and Separation Practices among Households on the Environment in Freetown', 2024). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Wastewater safely treated: 2.2 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (UN-Habitat & WHO, Progress on Wastewater Treatment (SDG Indicator 6.3.1), 2020). Below 50: grade 0/4.
• Government effectiveness: 12.3 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Below 20: grade 0/4.
• Income per head: 3,717 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Below 15,000: grade 0/4.

Sierra Leone in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

Sierra Leone is #109 of 110 countries (2.91 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 48 on the CIRA Index; Freetown is 14 above that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 71

• Nights in the three busiest months: 31.7 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). Between 30 and 35: grade 3/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 62.7 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). At or above 45: grade 4/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 24 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (Sierra Leone Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs / Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP), National Strategic Tourism Plan: Roadmap for a Sustainable Tourism Future (Final Strategy, 2021). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 164.8 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (World Bank / Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA), 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 7 nights per visitor (country figure) (Government of Sierra Leone / World Bank Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP), National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan (Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2034), 2023). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 29.4 % average annual occupancy (AirROI, Freetown, Western Area STR Market Report, August 2025 – July 2026). Below 45: grade 0/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 67

• Jobs in tourism industries: 0.8 % of employment in accommodation and food services (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). At or below 8: grade 4/4. Source
• Unemployment rate: 3.2 % of the labour force (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Income per head: 3,717 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Below 15,000: grade 0/4. Source
• Economic diversity: not measured yet

Climate and hazards: 55

• Extreme heat days: 0 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 365.2 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Above 100: grade 0/4. Source
• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Wildfire and storm hazard: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4. Source
• Country disaster risk: 4.8 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 3.5 and 5: grade 2/4. Source

Water and environment: 69

• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 2.2 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (UN-Habitat & WHO, Progress on Wastewater Treatment (SDG Indicator 6.3.1), 2020). Below 50: grade 0/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 211.7 kg per resident per year (Journal of Environmental Protection (SciRP), 'The Impact of Solid Waste Generation, Storage and Separation Practices among Households on the Environment in Freetown', 2024). At or below 350: grade 4/4. Source
• Green space: 31.5 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (American Journal of Geographic Information System, 'Assessment of Urban Growth and Expansion of Freetown, Sierra Leone 1988 – 2022', 2022). Between 30 and 40: grade 3/4. Source

Community and housing

• Tourism intensity: not measured yet
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: not measured yet
• Short-let density: not measured yet
• Resident support for tourism: not measured yet

Access and continuity: 46

• Access redundancy: 2 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Sierra Leone Ports and Harbours Authority; Summa Airport Sierra Leone, 2024). Between 2 and 3: grade 2/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
• Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Largest airline group share: not measured yet
• Air route concentration: not measured yet
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Freetown City Council, 2024). Grade 3/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: Crisis communication only, ad hoc (Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs / Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project, 2024). Grade 1/4. Source
• Government effectiveness: 12.3 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). Below 20: grade 0/4. Source
• Travel advisory: 2 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 1 and 2: grade 3/4. Source
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source such as a tourist tax or levy (Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, 2024). Grade 2/4. Source

Compare Freetown

• Antananarivo vs Freetown
• Freetown vs Libreville
• Conakry vs Freetown
• Freetown vs Lusaka

The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot