Sierra Leone Economy to Contract 22% on Iron Ore, Ebola
- Currency weakness spurring inflation that may rise above 10%
- Economy may expand 1% next year if mining, farming rebound
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Economic output in Sierra Leone will probably contract 22 percent this year as its mining and agricultural industries face the dual pressures of recovering from an Ebola outbreak and a commodity-price slump.
The deadliest outbreak of the illness has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly in the hardest hit countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, since December 2013. The three West African governments estimate $8 billion is needed to rebuild their economies after that epidemic curbed business productivity and delayed investment while farmers fled their fields and mining companies shuttered projects.