The government is slowly reestablishing its authority 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 last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.
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
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
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
Land use
arable land
7.95%
permanent crops
1.05%
other
91% (2005)
Irrigated land
300 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards
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
Population
6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years
52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996)
65 years and over
3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
17.5 years
male
17.2 years
female
17.7 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
2.292% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years
0.964 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.877 male(s)/female
total population
0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male
175.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female
140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
40.58 years
male
38.36 years
female
42.87 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
7% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
170,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
11,000 (2001 est.)
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 are high risks in some locations
water contact disease
schistosomiasis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease
Lassa fever (2007)
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.)
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 UK)
National holiday
Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Constitution
1 October 1991; subsequently 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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998)
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 14 May 2002 (next to be held on 11 August 2007)
election results
Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH 70.6%, Ernest Bai KOROMA 22.4%
Legislative branch
unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 14 May 2002 (next to be held on 11 August 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.1%, APC 22.4%, PLP 3%, others 4.5%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2
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
Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
mailing address
use embassy street address
telephone
[232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000
FAX
[232] (22) 225471
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
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 economic 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)
$5.452 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$1.236 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
7.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$900 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
49%
industry
31%
services
21% (2001 est.)
Labor force
1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
NA%
industry
NA%
services
NA%
Unemployment rate
NA%
Population below poverty line
68% (1989 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
0.5%
highest 10%
43.6% (1989)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
62.9 (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1% (2002 est.)
Budget
revenues
$96 million
expenditures
$351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners
Cote d'Ivoire 9.7%, US 8.1%, China 8%, UK 7%, Netherlands 5.8%, South Africa 4.7%, India 4.6%, France 4.4% (2006)
Debt - external
$1.61 billion (2003 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$297.4 million (2003 est.)
Currency (code)
leone (SLL)
Currency code
SLL
Exchange rates
leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular
113,200 (2003)
Telephone system
general assessment
marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic
the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema
international
country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)
Radios
1.12 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
2 (1999)
Televisions
53,000 (1997)
Internet country code
.sl
Internet hosts
20 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1 (2001)
Internet users
10,000 (2005)
Airports
10 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
1
over 3,047 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
9
914 to 1,523 m
7
under 914 m
2 (2006)
Heliports
2 (2006)
Roadways
total
11,300 km
paved
904 km
unpaved
10,396 km (2002)
Waterways
800 km (600 km year round) (2005)
Merchant marine
total
54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT
by type
bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned
14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals
Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands
Military branches
Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing) (2007)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49: 1,086,091 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49: 539,697 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.3% (2006)
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 abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; 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): 59,952 (Liberia) (2006)
