| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
| Capital: |
Freetown |
| Location: |
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
8 30 N, 11 30 W |
| Area: |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km
water: 120 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 958 km
border countries: 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
constitutional democracy |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
| Independence |
Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
| 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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); 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 last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms
election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
6,017,643 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,318,508/female 1,371,164)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,068/female 1,637,276)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 93,047/female 103,580) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 17.53 years
male: 17.2 years
female: 17.84 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
| Ethnic groups: |
20 native African tribes 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%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
| 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%) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
24,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
67,000 (2002) |
| 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) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
2 (1999) |
| Internet country
code: |
.sl |
| Internet hosts: |
277 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
8,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 11,300 km
paved: 904 km
unpaved: 10,396 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
800 km (2003) |
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 2 (2005) |
| Airports: |
10 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
2 (2004 est.) |
