City Africa
Freetown
Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone, in West Africa. It lies by the sea, below green hills. Boats sail in its wide harbor.
Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. It stretches from east to west between a jagged shore and hills 350 to 400 meters high. First founded in 1787 and founded again in 1792, it had 609,174 people at the 2021 mid-term census.
Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone, was founded in 1787 and again in 1792, and soon drew thousands of freed Black Americans who had been enslaved. Its port, at the eastern end, has one of Africa's largest anchorages thanks to the estuary of the Rokel, and Fourah Bay College (1827) is West Africa's oldest institution of higher education. Mid-term census 2021: 609,174 (2015 census: 1,055,964).
Photo: David Hond, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Freetown
Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa.
The city lies between the sea and green hills.
Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone, Universalis says. The city stretches from east to west between a jagged, winding shore and hills 350 to 400 meters high, cut by deep ravines.
At the 2021 mid-term census, Freetown had 609,174 people. At the full census of 2015, it had 1,055,964. City Population, which collects these figures, says the reasons for the large differences between the 2015 and 2021 counts are unclear.
Statistics Sierra Leone (via City Population): Freetown (Western Area Urban district, 82 km²) 276,247 (census 1974), 469,776 (1985), 772,873 (2004), 1,055,964 (2015), 609,174 (mid-term census, 9 December 2021). City Population notes that the reasons for the partly significant differences between the 2015 and 2021 figures are unclear.
Universalis: the city stretches from east to west between a very indented shore and heights of 350–400 m dug with deep ravines; it has absorbed the many settlements founded one after another in the 19th century (Maroon Town, Congo Town, Portuguese Town, Bambara Town).
- Country
- Sierra Leone (capital)
- People in Freetown (mid-term census, 9 December 2021)
- 609,174
- People in Freetown (census, 4 December 2015)
- 1,055,964
- Hills behind the city
- 350–400 m high, cut by deep ravines
Over the harbor
This photo was taken from a helicopter. Look at the calm, blue-green water!
Houses and trees fill the shore. Green hills rise behind the city.
This photo was taken on 4 October 2004 from a helicopter over Freetown Harbour, on a trip to Lungi airport. Calm water fills the left side. On the right, houses, trees and reddish dirt roads crowd the shore, and small boats float near the coast. Behind the city, green hills rise to darker mountains under the clouds.
In the city's center is the business district. Tower Hill, to the south, holds government offices.
Commons: 'Freetown-aerialview', 4 October 2004, by David Hond (Flickr, 'Freetown From the Air'), CC BY 2.0; description: aerial view of Freetown from a helicopter on a trip to Lungi airport, over Freetown Harbour.
Universalis: the business district lies at the center; Tower Hill, to the south, is the government and administrative district; Fourah Bay College, on Mount Aureol, founded in 1827, is the oldest institution of higher education in West Africa, and Freetown has many institutions of higher education. Housing is fairly orderly overall, spreading into some low-lying areas (Alligator River) and the western suburbs (Wilberforce, Lumley).
- Photo
- aerial view from a helicopter over Freetown Harbour, 4 October 2004
- Fourah Bay College
- on Mount Aureol; West Africa's oldest institution of higher education (1827)
- Tower Hill
- the government and administrative district, south of the center
Founded twice
Freetown was started in 1787. It was started again in 1792.
Many people who had been freed from slavery came to live here.
Freetown was first founded in 1787, Universalis says. After it was destroyed, it was founded a second time in 1792. It soon became a meeting point for thousands of freed Black Americans who had been enslaved, and people from the region also came to live there.
The city grew from 35,000 people in 1901 to 130,000 in 1964 and about 780,000 in 2004. As it grew, it took in older settlements such as Maroon Town and Congo Town.
Universalis: Freetown was founded first in 1787 and then, after its destruction, a second time in 1792; it quickly became the rallying point of thousands of freed Black American slaves, and its population also grew with people from the region. It grew from 35,000 inhabitants in 1901 to 130,000 in 1964, 470,000 in 1985 and about 780,000 in 2004, absorbing the 19th-century settlements of Maroon Town, Congo Town, Portuguese Town and Bambara Town.
In the 1990s the capital was the scene of violent fighting, which badly damaged it several times.
- First founded
- 1787
- Founded again
- 1792, after its destruction
- People
- 35,000 (1901), 130,000 (1964), 470,000 (1985), about 780,000 (2004)
A harbor, a ferry crossing and an airport
Ships come into Freetown's harbor from the ocean. The airport is across the water, in a town called Lungi.
Freetown's port is at the eastern end of the city. Thanks to the estuary of the Rokel River, it has one of the largest anchorages in Africa, a sheltered stretch of water where ships can anchor, Universalis says.
Lungi International Airport serves Freetown. It lies in the town of Lungi, on the other side of the estuary, about 15 kilometers north-northeast of the city's center point on Wikidata.
Universalis: the port, in the east, has one of the vastest roadsteads in Africa thanks to the estuary of the Rokel; industry is located near the port and in the Wellington zone, a few kilometers upstream; Freetown is served by Lungi international airport.
Wikidata (from the Freetown point, Q3780; Natural Earth point 1.69 km S): Lungi International Airport (in the coastal town of Lungi, elevation 26 m) 15.03 km NNE; Fourah Bay College 2.92 km E.
- Port
- at the eastern end; one of the largest anchorages in Africa, thanks to the Rokel estuary
- Lungi International Airport
- in the town of Lungi, about 15 km north-northeast of the city's Wikidata point, across the estuary (Wikidata)
- Wellington
- an industrial area a few kilometers upstream from the port
Very wet summers
Freetown is warm all year. In July and August, it rains and rains!
From December to March, it is mostly dry.
The World Meteorological Organization's table for the Freetown station, at 8.62° north and 13.20° west near Lungi, gives about 2,950 millimeters of rain in a year. Almost all of it falls from May to October. August alone gets 791 millimeters, while January gets only 3.
It is warm all year: average daily highs stay between about 28 and 31 °C, and average daily lows between 23 and 25 °C.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Freetown (station at 8.62° N, 13.20° W; the table gives no period): mean daily maximum 28.4 °C (August) to 31.2 °C (April); mean daily minimum 23.0 °C (August) to 24.8 °C (April). Rainfall sums to 2,946 mm; May to October bring 2,775 mm, with July (734 mm) and August (791 mm) the wettest months and January (3 mm) the driest. The table gives no rain-day counts.
The Japan Meteorological Agency lists the same coordinates as Lungi (25 m) and gives 1991–2020 monthly mean temperatures from 25.8 °C (August) to 28.2 °C (April), in line with the WMO highs and lows.
- Rain in a year (sum of the WMO monthly normals, station at Lungi)
- about 2,950 mm
- Wettest month
- August, 791 mm
- Average monthly temperature (JMA normals, 1991–2020, Lungi)
- 25.8 °C (August) to 28.2 °C (April)
College, port and factories
Freetown has a college that is almost 200 years old!
A dam in the hills gives the city water and electricity.
Fourah Bay College, on Mount Aureol, was founded in 1827. Universalis calls it the oldest institution of higher education in West Africa, and Freetown has many other colleges.
The Guma Dam solved the problem of supplying Freetown with water and gives it electricity, Universalis says. That power helped factories grow near the port and in Wellington, a few kilometers upstream: cement works, flour mills, rice mills, oil mills and canneries.
Universalis: the Guma dam solved Freetown's water-supply problem and supplies the electricity needed for industry, located near the port and in the Wellington zone a few kilometers upstream: cement works, oil refineries, flour mills, and food industries (rice mills, oil mills, canneries). The port is an important ore port, exporting bauxite, titanium oxide, palm oil, cocoa and coffee (the article does not give a date for this list).
Wikidata: Fourah Bay College (Q1506926), a university in Freetown, inception 18 February 1827; Guma Dam (Q34821984), a dam in the Western Area, 14.73 km SSE of the city's point.
- Fourah Bay College
- founded 1827 (Universalis); university in Freetown (Wikidata)
- Guma Dam
- solved Freetown's water supply and provides electricity
- Industries
- cement works, flour mills, food industries (rice mills, oil mills, canneries)
Freetown on the map
Find Sierra Leone on the globe, in West Africa. Freetown is on its coast, by the Atlantic Ocean.
Freetown lies at about 8.5° north, on the Atlantic coast of Sierra Leone, beside the wide estuary of the Rokel River.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, Fourah Bay College is about 3 kilometers east, the Guma Dam about 15 kilometers south-southeast, and Lungi International Airport about 15 kilometers north-northeast, across the water.
Freetown lies at about 8.47° N and 13.24° W (Natural Earth point, 1.69 km S of the Wikidata point). From the Wikidata point (Q3780): Fourah Bay College 2.92 km E; Western Area Peninsula National Park 13.84 km SSE; Guma Dam 14.73 km SSE; Lungi International Airport 15.03 km NNE.
Universalis: the city stretches east to west between an indented shore and heights of 350–400 m; the port, in the east, opens on the estuary of the Rokel.
- Latitude
- about 8.5° north
- Longitude
- about 13.2° west
- Setting
- between a jagged shore and hills, beside the Rokel estuary
Amazing facts
-
Freetown has a college that is almost 200 years old!
Fourah Bay College in Freetown, founded in 1827, is the oldest institution of higher education in West Africa, Universalis says.
Universalis: Fourah Bay College, on Mount Aureol, founded in 1827, is the oldest institution of higher education in West Africa.
-
Freetown was started two times!
Freetown was founded in 1787 and, after it was destroyed, founded again in 1792, Universalis says.
Universalis: founded first in 1787, then, after its destruction, a second time in 1792.
-
In August alone, almost 800 millimeters of rain fall in Freetown!
August alone brings Freetown about 791 millimeters of rain in the WMO normals, out of about 2,950 millimeters in a year.
WMO normals (Freetown station at 8.62° N, 13.20° W): August 791 mm of an annual 2,946 mm (sum of the monthly normals).
-
Ships can stop in Freetown's wide harbor.
Thanks to the Rokel estuary, Freetown's port has one of the largest anchorages in Africa, Universalis says.
Universalis: the port, in the east, has one of the vastest roadsteads in Africa thanks to the estuary of the Rokel.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government works
- harbor
- a sheltered area of water where ships and boats can stay safely
- estuary
- the wide mouth of a river, where it meets the sea
- anchorage
- a place where ships can drop anchor and wait
- ravine
- a deep, narrow valley with steep sides
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
Discovery challenge
-
Freetown is the capital of which country?
Freetown is the capital of which West African country?
Freetown, on the Rokel estuary, is the capital of which country?
- Sierra Leone
- Japan
- Mexico
Show the answer
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone!
Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone.
-
How many times was Freetown started?
Freetown was founded in 1787 and again in 1792. How many foundings is that?
Universalis gives how many foundings for Freetown, the second after its destruction?
- Two
- One
- Five
Show the answer
Two
Two times!
Two: 1787 and 1792.
Two: 1787 and, after its destruction, 1792.
-
What is very old in Freetown?
What is Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827?
Universalis calls Fourah Bay College the oldest what in West Africa?
- A college
- A bridge
- A castle
Show the answer
A college
A college!
West Africa's oldest college.
The oldest institution of higher education in West Africa.
-
Where is Freetown's airport?
Freetown's airport is in which town, across the estuary?
Which town, about 15 km north-northeast across the Rokel estuary, has Freetown's international airport?
- Lungi
- Bo
- Kenema
Show the answer
Lungi
Lungi!
Lungi.
Lungi.
-
Which month is the wettest in Freetown?
In the WMO normals, which month gets the most rain in Freetown?
WMO normals: which month has the highest rainfall, 791 mm?
- August
- January
- March
Show the answer
August
August!
August.
August (791 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Freetown on the Atlantic coast of Sierra Leone.
- Explain what an estuary and a harbor are.
- Describe how a city grew from separate settlements.
- Read a climate table and compare the wet and dry seasons.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think a sheltered estuary is a good place for a port?
- Freetown's airport is across the water. How might travelers get from the airport to the city?
- About 791 millimeters of rain fall in Freetown in August alone. How might people get ready for the rainy season?
Try at home or in class
- Rain gauge: put a straight-sided jar outside, measure the rain for a week and compare it with 791 mm.
- Rain chart: plot the twelve monthly rain totals and color the wet months.
- Harbor model: shape a sheltered bay in a tray of sand, add water and see where a paper boat stays calm.
Key vocabulary: capital, harbor, estuary, anchorage, ravine, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Freetown , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Sierra Leone: Provinces, Districts and Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from Statistics Sierra Leone
- Freetown: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Lungi: world station climate normals (平年値データ) , Japan Meteorological Agency
- World normals by region and country (normals period 1991-2020) , Japan Meteorological Agency
- File:Freetown-aerialview.jpg (David Hond, 4 October 2004) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.