Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Population: 6,294,774
BackgroundDemocracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of dths 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 pcekeepers at the end of 2005, is incrsingly 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 in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate pce. The new government's priorities include furthering development, crting jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
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GeographyRainfall along the coast can rch 495 cm (195 inches) a yr, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa.Loion:Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocn, between Guin and LiberiaGeographic coordinates:8 30 N, 11 30 WAr:total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km
water: 120 sq kmSize comparison: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land Boundaries:total: 958 km
border countries: Guin 652 km, Liberia 306 kmCoastline:402 kmMaritime claims:territorial s: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nmClimate:tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy sson (May to December); winter dry sson (December to April)Terrain:coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland platu, mountains in stElevation extremes:lowest point: Atlantic Ocn 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 mNatural resources:diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromiteLand 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 stormsCurrent Environment Issues:rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of tle grazing, and slash-and- agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishingInternational Environment Agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertifiion, Endangered Species, Law of the S, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modifiion
PeoplePopulation:6,294,774 (July 2008 est.)Age structure:0-14 yrs: 44.6% (male 1,377,981/female 1,429,993)
15-64 yrs: 52.2% (male 1,573,990/female 1,708,840)
65 yrs and over: 3.2% (male 94,359/female 109,611) (2008 est.)Median age:total: 17.5 yrs
male: 17.2 yrs
female: 17.8 yrs (2008 est.)Population growth rate:2.282% (2008 est.)Birth rate:45.08 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)Dth rate:22.26 dths/1,000 population (2008 est.)Net migration rate:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2008 est.)Sex ratio:at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 yrs: 0.96 male(s)/female
15-64 yrs: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 yrs and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2008 est.)Infant mortality rate:total: 156.48 dths/1,000 live births
male: 173.59 dths/1,000 live births
female: 138.85 dths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)Life expectancy at birth:total population: 40.93 yrs
male: 38.64 yrs
female: 43.28 yrs (2008 est.)Total fertility rate:5.95 children born/woman (2008 est.)HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:7% (2001 est.)HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:170,000 (2001 est.)HIV/AIDS - dths:11,000 (2001 est.)Nationality:noun: Sierra Leonn(s)
adjective: Sierra LeonnEthnic 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 ar in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small s of Europns, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and IndiansReligions:Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indious 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 ar, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can rd and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1%
male: 46.9%
female: 24.4% (2004 est.)
GovernmentCountry name:conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone
local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
local short form: Sierra LeoneGovernment type:constitutional democracyCapital:name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahd of Washington, DC during Standard Time)Administrative divisions:3 provinces and 1 ar*; stern, Northern, Southern, Western*Independence:27 April 1961 (from UK)National holiday:Independence Day, 27 April (1961)Constitution:1 October 1991; subsequently amended several timesLegal system:based on English law and customary laws indious to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdictionSuffrage:18 yrs of age; universalExecutive branch:chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and hd of government
hd 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-yr term (eligible for a second term); election last held 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 sts; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-yr terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; sts by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10Judicial branch:Supreme Court; Appls Court; High CourtPolitical parties and lders:All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Pce 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 othersPolitical pressure groups and lders:other: student unions; trade unionsInternational organization participation:ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTODiplomatic representation in the US: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) 483-1793Diplomatic 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 [232] (76) 515 000
FAX: [232] (22) 515 355
EconomySierra 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. Nrly 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 rnings accounting for nrly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic pce 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 incrse in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.GDP (purchasing power parity):$4.418 billion (2008 est.)GDP (official exchange rate):$1.971 billion (2008 est.)GDP - rl growth rate:6% (2008 est.)GDP - per capita (PPP):$700 (2008 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:70.2% (2004)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):11.7% (2007 est.)Budget:revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)Agriculture - products:
Industries:diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwr); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repairIndustrial production growth rate:
Electricity - production:250 million kWh (2006 est.)Electricity - consumption:232.5 million kWh (2006 est.)Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2007 est.)Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2007 est.)Oil - production:0.7008 bbl/day (2007 est.)Oil - consumption:8,430 bbl/day (2006 est.)Oil - exports:432.3 bbl/day (2005)Oil - imports:8,271 bbl/day (2005)Oil - proved reserves:0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)Natural gas - production:0 cu m (2007 est.)Natural gas - consumption:0 cu m (2007 est.)Natural gas - exports:0 cu m (2007 est.)Natural gas - imports:0 cu m (2007 est.)Natural gas - proved reserves:0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)Current account balance:-$63 million (2007 est.)Exports:$216 million f.o.b. (2006)Exports - commodities:diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fishExports - partners:Beium 49.3%, US 20.5%, Netherlands 4.5%, Canada 4.1% (2007)Imports:$560 million f.o.b. (2006)Imports - commodities:foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicalsImports - partners:Cote d'Ivoire 10%, China 10%, US 9.5%, UK 6.2%, Netherlands 5.1%, India 4.7% (2007)Debt - external:$1.61 billion (2003 est.)Market value of publicly traded shares:$NACurrency ():leone (SLL)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)Fiscal yr:calendar yr
CommuniionsTele in use:24,000 (2002)Cellular in use:776,000 (2007)Telephone system:eral assessment: marginal telephone service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema; mobile-cellular service is growing rapidly from a small base
international: country - 232; satellite rth station - 1 sat (Atlantic Ocn)Radio broadcast stations:AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)Television broadcast stations:2 (1999)Internet country :.slInternet hosts:8 (2008)Internet users:13,000 (2007)
TransportationAirports:10 (2007)Airports (paved runways):total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)Airports (unpaved runways):total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 2 (2007)Heliports:2 (2007)Roadways:total: 11,300 km
paved: 904 km
unpaved: 10,396 km (2002)Waterways:800 km (600 km yr round) (2007)Merchant marine:total: 182
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 (Beium 1, China 15, Egypt 3, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Lebanon 1, Nigeria 1, Panama 1, Romania 3, Russia 11, Syria 18, Taiwan 1, Tur 15, Ukraine 10, UAE 8, UK 2, US 1, Yemen 2) (2008)Ports and terminals:Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands
Military
Military branches:Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Navy (Maritime Wing), Air Wing) (2008)Military service age and obligation:17 yrs 6 months of age for voluntary military service (younger with parental consent); no conscription (2008)Manpower available for military service:males age 16-49: 1,315,561 (2008 est.)Manpower fit for military service:males age 16-49: 671,418 (2008 est.)