SIERRA LEONE
Geography People Government Economy Transportation Communications Defense Forces
SIERRA LEONE
@Sierra Leone:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Guinea and Liberia
Map references: Africa
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SIERRA LEONE - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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FREETOWN 470,000 8.30N, 13.17W 232-22 GMT
Bo 26,000 7.58N, 11.45W 232- GMT
Kenema 13,000 7.55N, 11.12W 232- GMT
Makeni 12,000 8.57N, 12.02W 232- GMT
Bonthe 6,000 7.32N, 12.30W 232- GMT
Port Loko 6,000 8.50N, 12.50W 232- GMT
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Area:
total area: 71,740 sq km
land area: 71,620 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries: total 958 km, Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
International disputes: none
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
Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold,
chromite
Land use:
arable land: 25%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 31%
forest and woodland: 29%
other: 13%
Irrigated land: 340 sq km (1989 est.)
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
natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara
(November to May); sandstorms, dust storms
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species,
Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban; signed,
but not ratified - Climate Change, Environmental Modification
@Sierra Leone:People
Population: 4,753,120 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (female 1,054,826; male 1,020,943)
15-64 years: 53% (female 1,310,506; male 1,216,510)
65 years and over: 3% (female 72,982; male 77,353) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.63% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 44.65 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 18.38 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
note: thousands of refugees, fleeing the civil strife in Sierra Leone,
are taking refuge in Guinea
Infant mortality rate: 138.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.94 years
male: 44.07 years
female: 49.89 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.9 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean
Ethnic divisions: 13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%,
other 39%), Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%
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 (the language of the re-settled
ex-slave population of the Freetown area and is lingua franca)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or
Arabic (1990 est.)
total population: 21%
male: 31%
female: 11%
Labor force: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)
@Sierra Leone:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone
Digraph: SL
Type: military government
Capital: Freetown
Administrative divisions: 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern,
Southern, Western*
Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)
National holiday: Republic Day, 27 April (1961)
Constitution: 1 October 1991; suspended following 19 April 1992 coup
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 and head of government: Chairman of the Supreme Council
of State Capt. Valentine E. M. STRASSER (since 29 April 1992)
cabinet: Council of Secretaries; responsible to the Supreme Council of
State (SCS)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (suspended
after coup of 29 April 1992); Chairman STRASSER promises multi-party
elections sometime in 1995
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Political parties and leaders: status of existing political parties is
unknown following 29 April 1992 coup
Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas Kahota KARGBO
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lauralee M. PETERS
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [232] (22) 226481 trough 226485
FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and
light blue
Economy
Overview: Sierra Leone has substantial mineral, agricultural, and
fishery resources, but the economic and social infrastructure is not
well developed. Agriculture generates about 40% of GDP and employs
about two-thirds of the working population, with subsistence
agriculture dominating the sector. Manufacturing, which accounts for
roughly 10% of GDP, consists mainly of the processing of raw materials
and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Diamond mining
provides an important source of hard currency. Since 1990, the
government has been able to meet its IMF- and World Bank-mandated
stabilization targets, holding down fiscal deficits, increasing
foreign exchange reserves, and retiring much of its domestic debt -
but at a steep cost in terms of capital investments and social
spending. Moreover, the economic infrastructure has nearly collapsed
due to neglect and war-related disruptions in the mining and
agricultural export sectors. The continuing civil war in Liberia has
led to a large influx of refugees, who place additional burdens on
Sierra Leon's fragile economy.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (1993
est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.7% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $68 million
expenditures: $118 million, including capital expenditures of $28
million (1992 est.)
Exports: $149 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: rutile 48%, bauxite 25%, diamonds 16%, coffee, cocoa,
fish
partners: US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe
Imports: $149 million (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities: foodstuffs 48%, machinery and equipment 32%, fuels 9%
partners: US, EC countries, Japan, China, Nigeria
External debt: $1.15 billion (yearend 1993)
Industrial production: growth rate -1.5% (FY91/92); accounts for 11%
of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 130,000 kW
production: 220 million kWh
consumption per capita: 44 kWh (1993)
Industries: mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile), small-scale
manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear), petroleum
refinery
Agriculture: largely subsistence farming; cash crops - coffee, cocoa,
palm kernels; harvests of food staple rice meets 80% of domestic
needs; annual fish catch averages 53,000 metric tons
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $161 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $848 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $18 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $101 million
Currency: 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: leones (Le) per US$1 - 617.67 (January 1995), 586.74
(1994), 567.46 (1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34 (1991), 144.9275 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Sierra Leone:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 84 km mineral line is used on a limited basis because the mine
at Marampa is closed
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways:
total: 7,400 km
paved: 1,150 km
unpaved: crushed stone, gravel 490 km; improved earth 5,760 km
Inland waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Ports: Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 11
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 3
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Sierra Leone:Communications
Telephone system: 23,650 telephones; telephone density - 5
telephones/1,000 persons; marginal telephone and telegraph service
local: NA
intercity: national microwave radio relay system made unserviceable by
military activities
international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: NA
@Sierra Leone:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,030,332; males fit for
military service 498,945 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 2.6% of
GDP (FY92/93)
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