Background: The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.

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: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm

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: 7.95%
Permanent crops: 1.05%
Other: 91% (2005)

Irrigated land: 300 km² (2003)

Natural hazards: dry sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms dust storms

Geography
Note: rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year making it one of the wettest places along coastal western Africa

Population: 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 2.292% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 70.2% (2004)

Nationality
Noun: Sierra Leonean
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

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%)

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)

Median age
Total: 17.5 years
Male: 17.2 years
Female: 17.7 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.292% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 45.41 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 22.64 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate
Note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 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 depleted natural resources; overfishing
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 0.964 male/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male/female
65 years and over: 0.877 male/female
Total population: 0.938 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 158.27 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 175.39 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 140.65 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 40.58 years
Male: 38.36 years
Female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 7% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 170,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 11,000 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever (2007)

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.)

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

Government type: constitutional democracy

Capital
Name: Freetown
Geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence 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 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%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court

Political parties and leaders: All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace 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 others

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU C ECOWAS FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ITU ITUC MIGA NAM OIC OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
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 Thomas N. HULL
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) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000
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 is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral agricultural and fishery resources its economic 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $5.452 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 7.1% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $900 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 49%
Industry: 31%
Services: 21% (2001 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation 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)

Budget
Revenues: $96 million
Expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1% (2002 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Exports: $185 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: diamonds rutile cocoa coffee fish
Partners: Belgium 52.1% US 19.1% Netherlands 6.8% (2006)

Imports: $531 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: foodstuffs machinery and equipment fuels and lubricants chemicals
Partners: Cote d'Ivoire 9.3% US 7.7% China 7.7% Brazil 6.9% UK 6.7% Netherlands 5.5% South Africa 4.5% India 4.3% France 4.2% (2006)

Debt external: $1.61 billion (2003 est.)

Exchange rates: leones per US dollar - 2,962 (2006) 2,890 (2005) 2,701 (2004) 2,348 (2003) 2,099 (2002)

Electricity
Production: 245 million kWh (2005)
Consumption: 227.9 million kWh (2005)
Exports: 0 kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2005 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 24,000 (2002)
Mobile cellular: 113,200 (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
Domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema
International: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)

Internet
Country code: .sl
Hosts: 46 (2007)
Users: 10,000 (2005)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 2.3% (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Airports: 10 (2007)
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways 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 year round) (2005)

Merchant marine
Total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4
Foreign owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Freetown Pepel Sherbro Islands

Disputes international: as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups rebel groups warlords and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire Guinea Liberia and Sierra Leone gradually abate the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 59,952 (Liberia) (2006)