Background: On 25 May 1997, the democratically-elected government of President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH was overthrown by disgruntled army personnel under the command of Major Johnny Paul KOROMA; President KABBAH fled to exile in Guinea. The Economic Community of West African States Cease-Fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) forces, led by a strong Nigerian contingent, undertook the suppression of the rebellion. They were initially unsuccessful, but, by October 1997, they forced the rebels to agree to a cease-fire and to a plan to return the government to democratic control by 22 April 1998. However, the agreed demobilization of the combatants was not carried out by the rebel junta. On 5 February 1998, hostilities broke out in the outskirts of Freetown and ECOMOG mounted a major offensive, completely routing the rebels. President KABBAH returned to office on 10 March to face the task of restoring order to a demoralized population and a disorganized and severely damaged economy.

Geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 11 30 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 71,740 km²
Land: 71,620 km²
Water: 120 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries
Total: 958 km
Border countries: (2) 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
Arable land: 7%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 31%
Forests and woodland: 28%
Other: 33% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 290 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (November to May; sandstorms, dust storms

Population: 5,080,004 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 4.01% (1998 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendents of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-eighteenth century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis and Indians

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 descendents 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%)

Religions: Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,130,728; female 1,167,084)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,257,901; female 1,367,902)
65 years and over: 3% (male 79,113; female 77,276) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.01% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 46.16 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 17.25 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 11.18 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 129.38 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 48.57 years
Male: 45.56 years
Female: 51.66 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.23 children born/woman (1998 est.)

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

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
Conventional short form: Sierra Leone

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: Republic 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: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); note_the president is both the chief of state and head of government: ead of
Government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); note_the president is both the chief of state and head of government
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; election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); note_president's tenure of office is limited to 2 five-year terms
Election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of popular vote_first round KABBAH 36.0%, second round KABBAH 59.5%

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held 2001)
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_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

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
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH
In the us chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 939-9,261 through 9,263
In the us fax: [1] (202) 483-1793
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John L. HIRSCH
From the us embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [232] (22) 226,481 through 226,485
From the us fax: [232] (22) 225,471

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

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 hamper economic development. The seizure of power by the new Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in May 1997 led to UN sanctions and a sharp drop in GDP. 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. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country.

Real gdp growth rate: -27% (1997 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $540 (1997 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 39%
Industry: 27%
Services: 34% (1995)

Agriculture products: rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Industries: mining (diamonds; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear; petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force
Total: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 65%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 16% (1981est.)
Note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $96 million
Expenditures: $150 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1996 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 July_30 June

Exports: total value:$47 million (f.o.b., 1996; note_much reduced in 1997 by civil warfare
Commodoties: diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Partners: US 20%, Belgium 20%, Spain 13%, UK 6%, other Western Europe

Imports: total value:$211 million (c.i.f., 1996)
Commodoties: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants
Partners: Cote d'Ivoire, EU countries, India

Debt external: $1.1 billion (1996)

Exchange rates: leones (Le) per US$1_1,312.37 (December 1997), 967.72 (1997), 920.73 (1996), 755.22 (1995), 586.74 (1994), 567.46 (1993)

Electricity
Capacity: 126,000 kW (1995)
Production: 230 million kWh (1995)
Consumption per capita: 48 kWh (1995)

Telephones: 17,526 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: marginal telephone and telegraph service
Domestic: national microwave radio relay system made unserviceable by military activities
International: satellite earth station_1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $14 million (FY92/93)
Percent of gdp: 2.6% (FY92/93)

Airports: 10 (1997 est.)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2 (1997 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1997 est.)

Railways
Total: 84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed
Narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge

Waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round

Merchant marine: none

Disputes international: none