1987 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1987 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline
402 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Environment
extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea; deforestation; soil degradation
Land boundaries
933 km total
Land use
23% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 31% meadows and pastures; 29% forest and woodland; 15% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Special notes
none
Terrain
coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Territorial sea
200 nm
Total area
71,740 km?; land area: 71,620 km?
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
over 99% native African (80% Temne, 30% Mende, 2% Creole), rest European and Asian; 18 tribes
Labor force
about 1.5 million; most of population engages in subsistence agriculture; only small minority, some 65,000, earn wages
Language
English (official); regular use limited to literate minority; principal vernaculars are Mende in south and Temne in north; Krio is the language of the resettled exslave population of the Freetown area and is lingua franca
Life expectancy
46
Literacy
about 15%
Nationality
noun—Sierra Leonean(s); adjective—Sierra Leonean
Organized labor
35% of wage earners
Population
3,754,088 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.16%
Religion
830% Muslim, 30% indigenous beliefs, 10% Christian, 30% other or none
Government
Administrative divisions
three provinces (Eastern, Northern, Southern) and one area (Western Area)
Branches
executive authority exercised by President; unicameral parliament consists of 104 authorized seats, 85 of which are filled by elected representatives of constituencies and 12 by Paramount Chiefs elected by fellow Paramount Chiefs in each district; President authorized to appoint up to seven members; independent judiciary
Capital
Freetown
Communists
no party, although there are a few Communists and a slightly larger number of sympathizers
Government leaders
Gen. Joseph MOMOH, President (since 28 November 1985); Francis MINAH, First Vice President (since November 1985); Abu Bakar KAMARA, Second Vice President (since November 1985)
Legal system
based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; constitution adopted 1978; highest court of appeal is the Sierra Leone Court of Appeals; has not accepted compulsory 1CJ jurisdiction
Member of
AfDB, AIOEC, Commonwealth, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAFA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mano River Union, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Republic Day, 19 April
Official name
Republic of Sierra Leone
Suffrage
universal over age 21 Political party and leader: All People’s Congress (APC), Siaka Stevens, National Chairman (constitution provides only for one-party rule)
Type
republic under presidential regime since April 197]
Economy
Agriculture
palm kernels, coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, millet, ginger, cassava; much of cultivated land devoted to subsistence farming; food crops insufficient for domestic consumption
Budget
(1983/84) revenues, $109 million; current expenditures, $146 million; development expenditures, $68 million
Electric power
65,000 kW capacity; 85 million kWh produced, 21 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$137 million (f.0.b., 1985); diamonds, iron ore, palm kernels, cocoa, coffee
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
Fishing
catch 53,000 metric tons (1983)
GDP
(current factor cost) $1 billion (1983/84 est.); real growth rate 0.5% (1983/84)
Imports
$167 million (c.i.f., 1985); machinery and transportation equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, petroleum products
Major industries
mining (diamonds, iron ore, bauxite, rutile), manufacturing, beverages, textiles, cigarettes, construction goods, one oil refinery
Major trade partners
UK, EC, US, Japan, Communist countries
Monetary conversion rate
40 leones=US$1 (March 1987)
Natural resources
diamonds, rutile, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Communications
Airfields
13 total, 10 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 3 with runways 1,220-2,489 m
Civil air
3 major transport aircraft
Highways
7,400 km total; 1,150 km bituminous, 490 km laterite (some gravel), remainder improved earth
Inland waterways
800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Ports
1 major (Freetown), 2 minor
Railroads
about 84 km 1.067-meter narrow gauge privately owned mineral line operated by the Sierra Leone Development Company
Telecommunications
fair telephone and telegraph service; 16,000 telephones (0.4 per 100 popl.); 1 INTELSAT Atlantic Ocean satellite ground station; 3 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV stations
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy
Military manpower
males 15-49, 857,000; 413,000 fit for military service; no conscription Singapore (pS —1okm_ Pulau Tekong Besar e Johore Strait Johore Pulau oodiands Strait _Ubin 4,0, ae