Background: Democracy is slowly being reestablished 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 a third of the population). The military which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005 is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections but still look to the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development creating jobs and stamping out endemic corruption.

Geographic coordinates: 8 30 N 11 30 W

Area
Rank: 119
Comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Coastline: 402 km

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

Irrigated land: 300 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 160 km³ (1987)

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: 5,485,998 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 112
Growth rate: 2.277% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 39
Below poverty line: 70.2% (2004)

Ethnic groups: Temne 35% Mende 31% Limba 8% Kono 5% Kriole 2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio) Mandingo 2% Loko 2% other 15% (includes refugees from Liberia's recent civil war and small numbers of Europeans Lebanese Pakistanis and Indians) (2008 census)

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%

Population growth rate: 2.277% (2012 est.)
Rank: 39

Birth rate: 38.12 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 16

Death rate: 11.49 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 34

Net migration rate: -3.86 migrant(s)/1000 population
Rank: 188

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

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 12

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 197

Total fertility rate: 4.9 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 24

Physicians density: 0.016 physicians/1000 population (2008)

Hospital bed density: 0.4 beds/1000 population (2006)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.6% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 34
People living with hivaids: 49,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 58
Deaths: 2,800 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 47

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 21.3% (2008)
Rank: 28

Education expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 93

Government type: constitutional democracy

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

Independence: 27 April 1961 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 27 April (1961)

Constitution: 1 October 1991; amended several times

Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members to serve five-year terms)

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 [Julius Maada BIO]; numerous others

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU C ECOWAS EITI (candidate country) FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO (pending member) ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM OIC OPCW UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIFIL UNISFA UNMIT UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top) white and blue; green symbolizes agriculture mountains and natural resources white represents unity and justice and blue the sea and the natural harbor in Freetown

National symbols: lion

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 has yet to recover from the civil war 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 completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation and in 2010 approved a new program worth $45 million over three years. Political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining which are set to benefit from planned tax incentives. A number of offshore oil discoveries were announced in 2009 and 2010. The development on these reserves which could be significant is still several years away however growth skyrocketed to more than 20% in 2012 as exploitation activities began.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 154

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 2

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 204

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 2.207 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 117

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: 70.2% (2004)

Distribution of family income gini index: 62.9 (1989)
Rank: 5

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -4.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 133

Taxes and other revenues: 13.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 198

Public debt: 80.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 45

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 16.2% (2011 est.)
Rank: 205

Central bank discount rate: NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 21% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 16

Stock of narrow money: $276.2 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 164

Stock of broad money: $621.3 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 165

Stock of domestic credit: $369.9 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 166

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: -$1.153 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 111

Exports: $426.9 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 154
Commodities: diamonds rutile cocoa coffee fish
Partners: Belgium 28.8% Romania 12.5% Netherlands 9.2% China 7.3% US 6.9% Turkey 6% UK 5.8% (2011)

Imports: $1.571 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 168
Commodities: foodstuffs machinery and equipment fuels and lubricants chemicals
Partners: China 16% South Africa 11.1% US 7.3% UK 7.1% India 5.7% Malaysia 4.3% (2011)

Debt external: $829.9 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 162

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $366.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 98

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 120 million kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 194
Consumption: 111.6 million kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 194
Exports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 129
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 132
Installed generating capacity: 52,000 kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 183
Generation sources fossil fuels: 92.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 72
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 176
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 7.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 119
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 186

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 187
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 184
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 121
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 186

Refined petroleum
Products production: 4,381 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 109
Products consumption: 8,768 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 157
Products exports: 522.9 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 117
Products imports: 6,117 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 147

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 189
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 193
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 52
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 130
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 191

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.335 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 160

Telephones
Main lines in use: 14,000 (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 197
Mobile cellular: 2.137 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 139

Broadcast media: 1 government-owned TV station; 1 private TV station began operating in 2005; a pay-TV service began operations in late 2007; 1 government-owned national radio station; about two dozen private radio stations primarily clustered in major cities; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007)

Internet
Country code: .sl
Hosts: 282 (2012)
Hosts rank: 192
Users: 14,900 (2009)
Users rank: 199

Military expenditures: 2.3% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 64

Military service age and obligation: 17 years 6 months of age for male and female voluntary military service (younger with parental consent); no conscription; candidates must be HIV negative (2009)

Airports: 8 (2012)
Rank: 161

Heliports: 2 (2012)

Roadways
Rank: 132

Waterways: 800 km (600 km navigable year round) (2011)
Rank: 72

Merchant marine
Rank: 34

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 abates the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; 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