Statistical information Sierra Leone 1996Sierra%20Leone

Map of Sierra Leone | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year:  | More stats

Sierra Leone in the World
Sierra Leone in the World

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Background


Sierra Leone - Geography 1996
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Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 71,740 km²
Land: 71,620 km²
Comparative: 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

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
Extremes highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m

Natural resources:
Diamonds
Titanium ore
Bauxite
Iron ore
Gold
Chromite

Land use

Land use
Arable land: 25%
Permanent crops: 2%
Permanent pastures: 31%
Forests and woodland: 29%
Other: 13%

Irrigated land: 340 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


Sierra Leone - People 1996
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Population:
4,793,121 (July 1996 est.)
4,753,120 (July 1995 est.)

Growth rate:
4.14% (1996 est.)
2.63% (1995 est.)


Nationality
Noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
Adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups:
13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%
Mende 30%
Other 39%)
Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%


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)

Religions:
Muslim 60%
Indigenous beliefs 30%
Christian 10%


Demographic profile
Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years:
45% (male 1,057,824; female 1,092,291) (July 1996 est.)
44% (male 1,020,943; female 1,054,826) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 years:
52% (male 1,197,547; female 1,298,834) (July 1996 est.)
53% (male 1,216,510; female 1,310,506) (July 1995 est.)

65 years and over:
3% (male 75,066; female 71,559) (July 1996 est.)
3% (male 77,353; female 72,982) (July 1995 est.)


Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:
4.14% (1996 est.)
2.63% (1995 est.)


Birth rate:
47.13 births/1000 population (1996 est.)
44.65 births/1000 population (1995 est.)


Death rate:
18.24 deaths/1000 population (1996 est.)
18.38 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)


Net migration rate: 12.52 migrant(s)/1000 population (1996 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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
Current issues 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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
All ages:
0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.) Infant Mortality Rate:135.6 deaths/1000 live births (1996 est.)
138.8 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)


Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 47.47 years (1996 est.), 46.94 years (1995 est.)
Male: 44.56 years (1996 est.), 44.07 years (1995 est.)
Female: 50.47 years (1996 est.), 49.89 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)
5.9 children born/woman (1995 est.)


Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic (1995 est.)
Total population: 31.4%
Male: 45.4%
Female: 18.2%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


Sierra Leone - Government 1996
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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
Conventional short form: Sierra Leone

Government type: Military government

Capital: Freetown

Administrative divisions: 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*

Dependent areas

Independence: 27 April 1961 (from U.K.)

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state and head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2000) 29 april 1992_29 march 1996:Capt. Valentine E. M. STRASSER
Cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

Legislative branch: Unicameral House of Representatives:Elections last held NA February 1996 (next to be held NA; results_percent of vote by party NA; seats (80 total, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections) SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note_first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, 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, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation

Flag descriptionflag of Sierra%20Leone: Three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


Sierra Leone - Economy 1996
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Economy overview: Sierra Leone has substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to push down production, exports, and the value of the leone. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the working population, with subsistence agriculture dominating the sector. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. The mining of diamonds, bauxite, and rutile is the major source of hard currency. The government has worked hard to meet its IMF- and World Bank-mandated stabilization targets, holding down fiscal deficits, and retiring much of its domestic debt_but at a steep cost in terms of forgone 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 Leone's fragile economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate:
-4% (1994 est.)
0.7% (1993 est.)


Real gdp per capita:
purchasing power parity_ $960 (1994 est.)
$1,000 (1993 est.)


Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: 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

Industries:
Mining (diamonds
Bauxite
Rutile)
Small-scale manufacturing (beverages
Textiles
Cigarettes
Footwear)
Petroleum refinery


Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate -1.5% (FY91/92; accounts for 11% of GDP

Labor force: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
By occupation Agriculture: 65%
By occupation Industry: 19%
By occupation Services: 16% (1981 est.)
By occupation note: Only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)
Labor force

Unemployment rate: NA

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $75 million (FY94/95), $68 million (1992 est.)
Expenditures: $128 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.), $118 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1992 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 July_30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports:
total value. $115 million (f.o.b., 1994)
$149 million (f.o.b., 1993)

Commodities:
Rutile 51%
Bauxite 20%
Diamonds 16%
Coffee 6%
Cocoa 7%
Fish (1989)

Partners:
U.S.
U.K.
Belgium
Germany
Other Western Europe


Imports
Total value:
$150 million (c.i.f., 1994)
$149 million (c.i.f., 1993)

Commodities:
Foodstuffs 38%
Machinery and equipment 44%
Fuels and Lubricants 18% (1989)

Partners:
U.S.
EU countries
Japan
China
Nigeria


Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $1.4 billion (yearend 1993)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Leones (Le) per US$1_951.63 (January 1996), 755.22 (1995), 586.74 (1994), 567.46 (1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34 (1991), 144.9275 (1990)


Sierra Leone - Energy 1996
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Electricity
Capacity: 130,000 kW
Production: 220 million kWh
Consumption per capita: 44 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


Sierra Leone - Communication 1996
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Telephones

Telephone system: 17,526 telephones (1991 est.); 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

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


Sierra Leone - Military 1996
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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $14 million, 2.6% of GDP (FY92/93)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


Sierra Leone - Transportation 1996
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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 5
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m:
2
2 (1995 est.)


Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round

Merchant marine: None

Ports and terminals


Sierra Leone - Transnational issues 1996
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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs


Condor


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