According to the report filed by NCRA, there were 755 marriages that were recorded in Sierra Leone in 2025. This indicates diverse marriages between people with different religious beliefs.
In the overall marriages registered:
408, or 54 percent, were for Christians
174, or 23 percent, were Islamic marriages
128 or 17 percent: civil marriage
45, or 6 percent, were customary marriages
It would appear that religious institutions remain dominant in the process of formalizing marriages, but civil and customary marriages still make the news.
On the topic of the breakdown of marriages, the cases recorded were 60 divorces. The highest percentage was that of civil marriages, which recorded 21 cases (35 percent). The percentage for Christian and Islamic marriages was the same at 30 percent, with 18 cases recorded in both. The percentage for customary marriages stood at 5 percent with 3 cases.
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The low number of registered divorces may be an expression of the strong cultural and religious pressure to retain marriage, as well as the fact that many separating couples may be doing so outside the legal framework. The NCRA is to continue to urge people to register all marriage and divorces.
