{
  "_license": "CC BY 4.0 — attribute SKETCH.WORLD (https://sketch.world) and link back if you use this data.",
  "_source": "https://sketch.world/sierra-leone",
  "iso2": "SL",
  "name": "Sierra Leone",
  "slug": "sierra-leone",
  "updatedAt": "2026-07-12T18:50:20.122Z",
  "score": 70,
  "verdict": "go-attention",
  "confidence": "high",
  "subscores": {
    "advisoryConsensus": 77.77777777777777,
    "political": 53.77333797724656,
    "policeTrust": 33.228488,
    "health": 76,
    "crime": 95.55137542119753,
    "lgbtq": 20
  },
  "delta7d": 8,
  "advisories": {
    "disagreement": 1,
    "us": {
      "level": 2,
      "label": "Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution",
      "url": "https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/sierra-leone-travel-advisory.html"
    },
    "uk": {
      "level": 1,
      "summary": "See FCDO advice.",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sierra-leone"
    },
    "ca": {
      "level": 2,
      "label": "Exercise a high degree of caution",
      "url": "https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/sierra-leone"
    }
  },
  "generated": true,
  "regionFlags": [],
  "health": {
    "notices": [
      {
        "title": "Global Measles",
        "level": 1
      }
    ],
    "vaccines": {
      "required": [],
      "recommended": []
    },
    "tapWater": "unknown"
  },
  "entry": {
    "visaNote": "",
    "passportValidityMonths": 0,
    "sources": []
  },
  "scams": [],
  "laws": [
    {
      "title": "Drug possession",
      "body": "The use of drugs, specifically marijuana, is prohibited. Police actively enforce these laws.",
      "sources": [
        "wikivoyage"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "streetWisdom": {
    "summary": "Travelers report that arriving at the airport in Sierra Leone is an unpleasant experience for tourists. Those of Sierra Leonean descent who appear American face specific challenges regarding how much they are hassled by locals upon arrival. There is a clear lack of accessible information regarding best practices for navigating from the airport into Freetown, tipping etiquette, and managing basic resources like medicine, internet, and cell service. The primary safety concerns revolve around the initial arrival process and the potential for being targeted due to one's appearance, making the transition from the airport to the city the most significant hurdle for first-time visitors.",
    "quotes": [
      {
        "text": "A lot of reviews I've found detail an unpleasant experience arriving at the airport as a tourist, yet I've been unable to find clear best practices / tips.",
        "sub": "r/travel",
        "url": "https://old.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/5skdrz/safetywellbeing_tips_for_travelling_to_sierra/"
      },
      {
        "text": "I am most interested in tipping etiquette, the safest way to travel from the airport to Freetown, and how much I will get hassled as a tourist (I'm of Sierra Leonean descent, but look very American).",
        "sub": "r/travel",
        "url": "https://old.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/5skdrz/safetywellbeing_tips_for_travelling_to_sierra/"
      },
      {
        "text": "Is there anything else I need to keep in mind as a first-time traveler to avoid getting into an unsafe situation?",
        "sub": "r/travel",
        "url": "https://old.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/5skdrz/safetywellbeing_tips_for_travelling_to_sierra/"
      }
    ],
    "generatedAt": "2026-07-12"
  },
  "localKnowledge": {
    "staySafe": [
      {
        "text": "Despite the horrific violence of the 1990s—or ironically, because of it—Sierra Leone is a very safe country to visit."
      },
      {
        "text": "Corruption is less of a problem than it once was."
      },
      {
        "text": "The usual dangers found in undeveloped sub-Saharan Africa, though, are present: traffic and disease."
      },
      {
        "text": "The dangers associated with tropical disease are basically neither more or less than anywhere else in West Africa, but there are no hospitals anywhere close to Western standards."
      },
      {
        "text": "The use of drugs, particularly marijuana is not permitted and the police do enforce the laws against drug use."
      }
    ],
    "stayHealthy": [
      {
        "text": "Water-borne diseases, malaria and other tropical diseases are prevalent."
      },
      {
        "text": "Medical facilities are very poor, especially outside of Freetown."
      }
    ],
    "sourceUrl": "https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone"
  },
  "recentHeadlines": [],
  "whatChanged": "Sierra Leone’s risk score rose to 70 today, and travelers must account for a global measles notice alongside US and Canadian level 2 advisories.",
  "practical": {
    "plug": [
      "D",
      "G"
    ],
    "voltage": 230,
    "drivingSide": "right",
    "emergency": {
      "police": "019",
      "ambulance": "999",
      "fire": "999"
    },
    "simAdvice": "",
    "cashVsCard": "",
    "tipping": ""
  },
  "lgbtqLegal": {
    "status": "illegal",
    "summary": "Male illegal since 1 November 1861 (as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate) Penalty: Up to life imprisonment (not enforced, repeal disputed). Female always legal+ UN decl. sign.",
    "sourceUrl": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_by_country_or_territory"
  },
  "receipts": [
    {
      "sourceId": "us-state",
      "url": "https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/sierra-leone-travel-advisory.html",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "uk-fcdo",
      "url": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sierra-leone",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "ca-gac",
      "url": "https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/sierra-leone",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "worldbank-political",
      "url": "https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/all/indicator/GOV_WGI_PV.EST?format=json&date=2024&per_page=300",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "worldbank-policeTrust",
      "url": "https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/all/indicator/GOV_WGI_RL.EST?format=json&date=2024&per_page=300",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "cdc-health",
      "url": "https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/level1/measles-globe",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "wikivoyage",
      "url": "https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "reddit",
      "url": "https://old.reddit.com/r/travel/",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "unodc",
      "url": "https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "acled-hdx",
      "url": "https://data.humdata.org/organization/acled",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    },
    {
      "sourceId": "lgbtq-legal-wikipedia",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_by_country_or_territory",
      "observedAt": "2026-07-12"
    }
  ]
}