Guide to Sierra Leone Introduction Background: The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population), many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability.
Geography 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
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
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
Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 290 sq km (1998 est.)
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 depleting natural resources; overfishing
Environment - international agreements: party to
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
People Population: 6,017,643 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 2.22% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 42.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 20.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 5.72 children born/woman (2005 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
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: 20 native African tribes 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%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: constitutional democracy
Capital: Freetown
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
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Political parties and leaders: All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders: trade unions and student unions
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
Economy Economy - overview: Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African 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. About two-thirds 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. Plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during an 11 year civil war have not been implemented due to lack of foreign investment. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings. 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. International financial institutions contributed over $600 million in development aid and budgetary support in 2003.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $3.335 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
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%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 62.9 (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (2002 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Industries: diamonds mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: NA
Electricity - production: 255.3 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 237.4 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 6,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Exports: $49 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999)
Exports - partners: Belgium 61.6%, Germany 11.8%, US 5.4% (2004)
Imports: $264 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995)
Imports - partners: Germany 14%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.7%, UK 9.1%, US 8.4%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5%, South Africa 4.1% (2004)
Debt - external: $1.5 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $103 million (2001 est.)
Currency (code): leone (SLL)
Currency code: SLL
Exchange rates: leones per US dollar - 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001), 2,092.1 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 67,000 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)
Radios: 1.12 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1999)
Televisions: 53,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .sl
Internet hosts: 277 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2001)
Internet users: 8,000 (2002)
Transportation Highways: total
Waterways: 800 km (2003)
Ports and harbors: Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 10 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 2 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $13.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.7% (2004)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin)
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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