Sierra Leone
Country Guide

Explore Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone with its capital Freetown is located in Africa (Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean). It covers some 71,741 square kilometers (slightly smaller than South Carolina) with a population of 6,163,200. English is the official language spoken by people in Sierra Leone. As an interesting fact, is sharing borders with Guinea and Liberia.

Sierra Leone is on the West Coast of Africa between 7 and 10 degrees N, and longitudes 10.5 and 13 degrees W. The Republic of Guinea is to the north and northeast; Liberia is to the east and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west and south. Run the Kiln Sierra Leone Marathon - on the 9th June 2012 come to the beautiful countryside of Makeni to run either a marathon, half marathon or 5k in aid of Street Child of Sierra Leone.

Popular Destinations in Sierra Leone

Administrative regions of Sierra Leone

• Eastern Province
• Northern Province
• Southern Province
• Western Area

About the country

The topography is coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east. The average density of population is about 86 per km². The climate in Sierra Leone can be described as tropicalhot, humid, summer rainy season (May to December), winter dry season (December to April). Potential natural disasters are dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February) sandstorms, dust storms

To reach someone Sierra Leone dial +232 prior to a number. The local cellular networks are operated on 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3G. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".sl". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery chaarger), keep in min the local 230 V - 50 Hz (plugs: D, G). The sign for the locally used currency Leone is SLL.

Three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue; green symbolizes agriculture, mountains, and natural resources, white represents unity and justice, and blue the sea and the natural harbor in Freetown.

The British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown in the 17th century. Originally the trade involved timber and ivory, but later it expanded into slaves. Following the American Revolution, a colony was established in 1787 and Sierra Leone became a destination for resettling black loyalists who had originally been resettled in Nova Scotia. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British crews delivered thousands of Africans liberated from illegal slave ships to Sierra Leone, particularly Freetown. The colony gradually expanded inland during the course of the 19th century; independence was attained in 1961. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war (1991-2002) that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, has developed as a guarantor of the country's stability; the armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's stated priorities include furthering development - including recovering from the Ebola epidemic - creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.

Geography

Area
Total (World Rank: 120)	71,740	sq km
Land (World Rank: 118)	71,620	sq km
Water (World Rank: 144)	120	sq km
Forest (World Rank: 54)	30.50	%
Comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina
Coastline
402
Landborder
1093
Elevation
Highest point (World Rank: 129)	1,948	m
Agricultural land
Total (World Rank: 53)	56.20	%
Arable (World Rank: 44)	23.40	%
Permanent crops (World Rank: 82)	2.30	%
Permanent pastures (World Rank: 54)	30.50	%
Irrigated land (World Rank: 125)	300	sq km
Map reference
Africa
Environment
Issues	- and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion - civil war depleted natural resources - expansion of cattle grazing - overfishing - overharvesting of timber - rapid population growth pressuring the environment
Agreement party	- Biodiversity - Climate Change - Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol - Desertification - Endangered Species - Law of the Sea - Marine Life Conservation - Ozone Layer Protection - Ship Pollution - Wetlands
Agreement signed	Environmental Modification
Hazzards	- dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February) - sandstorms, dust storms
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
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

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People

Population
Total (World Rank: 109)	6,163,200
Deathrate (World Rank: 33)	1.04	%
Birthrate (World Rank: 15)	3.63	%
Growthrate (World Rank: 27)	2.38	%
Migration rate (World Rank: 130)	-0.21	%
Fertility rate (World Rank: 20)	4.73	%
Median age
Male (World Rank: 202)	18.40
Female (World Rank: 200)	19.60
Age structure
0 14 male (World Rank: 88)	1,286,680
0 14 female (World Rank: 88)	1,290,920
15 24 male (World Rank: 103)	556,478
15 24 female (World Rank: 97)	587,454
25 54 male (World Rank: 123)	949,264
25 54 female (World Rank: 119)	1,032,780
55 64 male (World Rank: 135)	106,706
55 64 female (World Rank: 135)	121,111
65 x male (World Rank: 134)	96,285
65 x female (World Rank: 133)	135,509
Health
Infant mortality rate (World Rank: 10)	6.84	%
Life expectancy total (World Rank: 206)	59	years
Life expectancy female (World Rank: 203)	61	years
Life expectancy male (World Rank: 207)	56	years
Physicians per 1000 (World Rank: 180)	0.02
Hospital bed per 1000 (World Rank: 177)	0.40
Sanitation access total (World Rank: 203)	13.30	%
Obesity adult (World Rank: 146)	8.70	%
Drinking water access (World Rank: 186)	62.60	%

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Energy

Electricity
Production (World Rank: 190)	175,000,000	kWh
Consumption (World Rank: 193)	162,800,000	kWh
Source fossil (World Rank: 181)	33.30	%
Source nuclear (World Rank: 21)	66.70	%
Refined products
Consumption (World Rank: 162)	7,500	bbl / day
Import (World Rank: 149)	7,354	bbl / day
Natural gas
Consumption (World Rank: 133)	18	m³
Carbon footprint
1400000

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Nation

Budget
Education (World Rank: 148)	3	% of GDP
Military (World Rank: 130)	1	% of GDP
Health (World Rank: 13)	11	% of GDP
Surplus (World Rank: 183)	-8	% of GDP
National symbol
lion
National colours
white
Adjective
Sierra Leonean
Noun
Sierra Leonean(s)
Background
The British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown in the 17th century. Originally the trade involved timber and ivory, but later it expanded into slaves. Following the American Revolution, a colony was established in 1787 and Sierra Leone became a destination for resettling black loyalists who had originally been resettled in Nova Scotia. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British crews delivered thousands of Africans liberated from illegal slave ships to Sierra Leone, particularly Freetown. The colony gradually expanded inland during the course of the 19th century; independence was attained in 1961. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war (1991-2002) that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, has developed as a guarantor of the country's stability; the armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's stated priorities include furthering development - including recovering from the Ebola epidemic - creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue; green symbolizes agriculture, mountains, and natural resources, white represents unity and justice, and blue the sea and the natural harbor in Freetown

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Economy

Gdp
Purchasing power parity (World Rank: 157)	10,900,000,000	USD
Real growth rate (World Rank: 27)	6.10	%
Per capita purchasing power parity (World Rank: 213)	1,700	USD
Source agriculture (World Rank: 2)	61.40	%
Source industry (World Rank: 214)	5.90	%
Source service (World Rank: 217)	32.70	%
Labourforce
Total (World Rank: 105)	2,863,000
In poverty (World Rank: 4)	70.20	%
Products
Industries	- bauxite mining - beverages - diamond mining - footwear - iron ore - rutile - small-scale manufacturing - textiles
Agriculture	- cashews - cattle - cocoa - coffee - fish - palm kernels - palm oil - peanuts - pigs - poultry - rice - sheep
Exports	- cocoa - coffee - diamonds - fish - iron ore - rutile
Imports	- chemicals - equipment - foodstuffs - fuels - lubricants - machinery

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Communication

Phone
Landline total (World Rank: 180)	17,000
Landline per 100 (World Rank: 215)	1.00
Mobile per 100 (World Rank: 128)	104.00
Assessment	0
Internet
Users (World Rank: 140)	708,615
Population (World Rank: 204)	11.80	%

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Transport

Air
Airports paved (World Rank: 207)	1.00
Airports unpaved (World Rank: 140)	7.00
Heliports (World Rank: 59)	2.00
Road
Total length (World Rank: 132)	11,300
Paved length (World Rank: 146)	904
Unpaved length (World Rank: 84)	10,396
Water
Total length (World Rank: 74)	800

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