Sierra Leone Snapshot
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
Bordering Countries: Guinea, Liberia
Capital City: Freetown
Area - comparative: slightly
smaller than South Carolina
The information below is from the CIA World Factbook.
People
Population: 6,440,053 (July 2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.282% (2009 est.)
Birth rate: 44.73 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate: 21.91 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.). 4th highest in the world.Urban population: 38% of total population (2008)
Infant mortality rate: 154.43 deaths/1,000 live births. 2nd highest in the world.
Life expectancy at birth: avg. 41.24 years (male: 38.92 years; female: 43.64 years) (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.88 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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%)
Education
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)
Government
Type: constitutional democracy
Country Name: Republic of Sierra Leone (conventional long form); Sierra Leone (conventional short form)
Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)
Constitution: 1 October 1991; amended several timesLegal 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 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%
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:
official
exchange rate: $1.953 billion (2008 est.)
real growth rate: 5.5% (2008 est.); 6.4% (2007 est.); 7.4% (2006 est.)
per capita (PPP): $900 (2008 est.) ; $800 (2007 est.) ; $800
(2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US
dollars
composition by
sector: agriculture: 49%; industry: 31%; services: 21%
(2005 est.)
Labor Force: 2.207
million (2007 est.)
Population below
poverty line: 70.2% (2004)
Agriculture-products: rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle,
sheep, pigs; fish
Industries: diamond
mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear);
petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
Current Account Balance:-$63 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
Exports in dollars: $216
million (2006)
commodities: diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
partners: Belgium 35.6%, US
20.1%, India 15.2%, France 4.9%
(2008)
Imports:
Imports in dollars: $560 million (2006)
commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicalspartners: China 10.3%, Cote d'Ivoire 8.8%, US 7.8%, Belgium 6.6%, UK 6.6%, Thailand 5.2%, India 4.2% (2008)
Debt-external: $1.61 billion (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
(degree of risk: very high)
HIV/AIDS:
adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2007 est.). Ranked 37th in the world.
people living with HIV/AIDS: 55,000 (2007 est.). Ranked 62th in
the world.
deaths: 3,300 (2007 est.). Ranked 54th in the world.
Major infectious diseases:
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)
*http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/sierra_leone.htm