Sierra Leone Location:
Physical. Sierra Leone is located in Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Liberia and Guinea. It covers an area slightly smaller than South Carolina. The climate there is tropical, generally hot and humid during a rainy summer season (May to December) and dry during the winter (December to April). The terrain contains a coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country and an upland plateau that rises into an eastern mountain range. Rich natural resources include bauxite, diamonds, titanium ore, iron ore, gold, and chromite. Rapid population growth, deforestation and soil exhaustion are the nation's primary environmental concerns.
Sierra Leone Geography:
Geography
Area: 27,925 square miles
Capital: Freetown (pop 837,000)
Environmental concerns: soil exhaustion; population pressures; overfishing
Geographical features: a coastal belt of mangroves; wooded, hilly country with an upland plateau and mountains in the east
Climate: tropical, hot and humid
Sierra Leone People:
People. Over 5.6 million people reside in Sierra Leone. English is the official language but is used only among the literate minority. Mende is the principal language of the south, Temne is prominent in the north, and Krio (the language of ex-slaves from Freetown) is also popular and can be heard in nearly every village. Native Africans comprise the largest ethnic group at 90%, broken up into Temne (30%) Mende (30%) other (30%) along with a Creole minority. Religious beliefs can be separated into: Muslim (60%) indigenous beliefs (30%) and Christianity (10%) though these figures are difficult to ascertain as many mix their beliefs.
5,615,000 people; Temne (30%); Mende (30%); other African (30%)
Annual growth rate: 3.12%
Major languages are English, Krio, Temne, Mende
Religions: Muslim (60%); indigenous beliefs (30%);Christian (10%)
Sierra Leone Government:
Government. Aided by Britain, a large UN peacekeeping mission and other international elements, Sierra Leone resolved ten years of civil war in 2002. More than 17,000 UN troops disarmed tens of thousands of rebels and militia fighters allowing the country to begin rebuilding its infrastructure and civil society. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah won a landslide victory in 2002 and established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help the people of Sierra Leone overcome the trauma of the war and its widespread atrocities.
The final phase of the conflict demonstrated the potential of obtaining peace through concerted action by regional states and external powers. Economic sanctions were also effective in that one side had survived through profits gained from diamond smuggling. The relative success in separating smuggled diamonds from legitimate exports has given rise to greater international control over diamond marketing.
Senegal is a constitutional democracy and first gained independence from the United Kingdom on April 27, 1961
President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah is both head of state and of government
2 major political parties
Universal suffrage at 18
Sierra Leone Communication:
Communication and transportation
25,000 main telephone lines
8,000 Internet users (2002)
7,020 miles of highway (much barely usable)
52 miles of railroad
10 airfields
44,000 motor vehicles
Sierra Leone Economy:
Economy. Although rich in natural and human resources, Sierra Leone is ranked as one of the world’s poorest countries. Depletion and smuggling have reduced diamonds and gold revenues. As the nation’s economy has faltered, the agricultural labor (believed to represent two thirds of the labor force) has suffered the most. Poor producer prices along with an international slump in the demand for cocoa and Robusta coffee have reduced rural incomes. As with minerals, the agricultural product has also been smuggled out of the country. IMF structural adjustment policies implemented to service foreign debt have brought about austerity measures that have made life more difficult as well. In 1989 foreign debt was estimated at 130% of the total value of Sierra Leone’s exports.
Currency: leones
Per capita GDP: $500
GDP: $ 2.7 billion
GDP growth rate: 3%
Inflation rate: 15%
Labor force: NA
Sierra Leone More Information:
www.sierra-leone.org
www.sierraleonenews.com
www.fosalone.org
www.africanews.org
www.sas.upenn.edu | 
