Democracy is slowly being
reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in
tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million
people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took
over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN
peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a
guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the
sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN
Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission -
to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities
include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic
corruption.
Geography ::Sierra Leone
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Geographic coordinates:
8 30 N, 11 30 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 71,740 sq km
18
land:
71,620 sq km
water:
120 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
total: 958 km
border countries:
Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Coastline:
402 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm
Climate:
Current Weather
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Terrain:
coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Natural resources:
diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Environment - current issues:
rapid population growth
pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of
cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in
deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources;
overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
65 years and over:
3.6% (male 85,090/female 104,949) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 19 years
male:
18.6 years
female:
19.5 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.216% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
Birth rate:
38.79 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
5
Death rate:
11.97 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
Net migration rate:
-4.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population
60
note:refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2010 est.)
Urbanization:
urban population: 38% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
2.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
0.98 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.81 male(s)/female
total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 80.16 deaths/1,000 live births
4
male:
89.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
70.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.69 years
98
male:
53.27 years
female:
58.18 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.97 children born/woman (2010 est.)
4
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.7% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
55,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
3,300 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases:
malaria and yellow fever
water contact disease:
schistosomiasis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease:
Lassa fever (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective:
Sierra Leonean
Ethnic groups:
20 African ethnic groups
90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of
freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the
late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small
numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Religions:
Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
Languages:
English (official,
regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular
in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio
(English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican
slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a
first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population:
35.1%
male:
46.9%
female:
24.4% (2004 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 7 years
male:
8 years
female:
6 years (2001)
Education expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2005)
14
Government ::Sierra Leone
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form:
Sierra Leone
local long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone
local short form:
Sierra Leone
Government type:
constitutional democracy
Capital:
name: Freetown
geographic coordinates:
8 30 N, 13 15 W
time difference:
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*
Independence:
27 April 1961 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Constitution:
1 October 1991; amended several times
Legal system:
based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007)
cabinet:
Ministers
of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of
Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president
elections:
president
elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second
term); election last held on 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next
to be held in 2012)
election results:
second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament
(124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount
chiefs elected in separate elections; members to serve five-year terms)
elections:
last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Political parties and leaders:
All People's Congress or
APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington
MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles
MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous
others
chief of mission: Ambassador Bockari Kortu STEVENS
chancery:
1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
[1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263
FAX:
[1] (202) 483-1793
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY
embassy:
Southridge-Hill Station, Freetown
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[232] (22) 515 000 or (76) 515 000
FAX:
[232] (22) 515 355
Flag description:
three equal horizontal
bands of green (top), white, and blue; green symbolizes agriculture,
mountains, and natural resources, white represents unity and justice,
and blue the sea and the natural harbor in Freetown
Economy ::Sierra Leone
Economy - overview:
Sierra Leone is an extremely poor
nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it
possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its
physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious
social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of
the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture.
Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of
light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining
remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly
half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon
the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of
substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe
trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has
completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped
stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in
political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as
the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$4.622 billion (2009 est.)
61
$4.444 billion (2008 est.)
$4.212 billion (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.088 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
5.5% (2008 est.)
6.4% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$900 (2009 est.)
14
$900 (2008 est.)
$900 (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 49%
industry:
31%
services:
21% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
2.207 million (2007 est.)
16
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA%
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Population below poverty line:
70.2% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Belgium 39.2%, US 22.1%, India 7%, France 5.4%, Netherlands 4.1% (2008)
Imports:
$560 million (2006)
86
Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners:
China 10.2%, US 7.8%, Belgium 6.6%, UK 6.5%, Cote dIvoire 6.2%, India 5.6%, Thailand 5.1% (2008)
Debt - external:
$1.61 billion (2003 est.)
39
Exchange rates:
leones (SLL) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)
Communications ::Sierra Leone
Telephones - main lines in use:
31,500 (2008)
6
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.009 million (2008)
46
Telephone system:
general assessment: marginal telephone service with poor infrastructure
domestic:
the
national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and
Kenema; while mobile-cellular service is growing rapidly from a small
base, service area coverage remains limited
international:
country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
2 (1999)
Internet country code:
.sl
Internet hosts:
273 (2009)
80
Internet users:
13,900 (2008)
96
Transportation ::Sierra Leone
Airports:
9 (2009)
59
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m:
1 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 8
914 to 1,523 m:
7
under 914 m:
1 (2009)
Heliports:
2 (2009)
Roadways:
total: 11,300 km
31
paved:
904 km
unpaved:
10,396 km (2002)
Waterways:
800 km (600 km year round) (2007)
Merchant marine:
total: 182
country comparison to the world: 37
by type:
bulk
carrier 4, cargo 143, carrier 2, chemical tanker 3, container 6,
liquefied gas 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 10,
roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned:
95
(Belgium 1, China 15, Egypt 3, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Lebanon 1,
Nigeria 1, Panama 1, Romania 3, Russia 11, Syria 18, Taiwan 1, Turkey
15, Ukraine 10, UAE 8, UK 2, US 1, Yemen 2) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands
Military ::Sierra Leone
Military branches:
Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Maritime Wing and Air Wing) (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
17 years 6 months of age
for male and female voluntary military service (younger with parental
consent); no conscription; candidates must be HIV negative (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,156,724 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 713,190
females age 16-49:
813,830 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 53,349
female:
56,307 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.3% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 66
Transnational Issues ::Sierra Leone
Disputes - international:
as domestic fighting among
disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote
d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abates, the
number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; Sierra
Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits
to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and
protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the
hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 27,311 (Liberia) (2007)
