1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 71,740 km2 land area: 71,620 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline
402 km
Environment
extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea; deforestation; soil degradation
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
340 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 958 km, Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use
arable land: 25% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 31% forest and woodland: 29% other: 13%
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea and Liberia
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 200 nm
Natural resources
diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Terrain
coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
People and Society
Birth rate
45.47 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
19.39 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 39%), Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%
Infant mortality rate
145 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
1.369 million (1981 est.) by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981 est.) note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985); 55% of population of working age
Languages
English (official; regular use limited to literate minority), Mende principal vernacular in the south, Temne principal vernacular in the north, Krio the language of the re-settled ex-slave population of the Freetown area and is lingua franca
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 45.87 years male: 43.1 years female: 48.71 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write English, Merde, Temne, or Arabic (1990) total population: 21% male: 31% female: 11%
Nationality
noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
4,510,571 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
2.61% (1993 est.)
Religions
Muslim 30%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%, other or none 30%
Total fertility rate
6.01 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*, Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)
Capital
Freetown
Chief of State and Head of Government
Chairman of the Supreme Council of State Capt. Valentine E. M. STRASSER (since 29 April 1992)
Constitution
1 October 1991; amended September 1991
Digraph
SL
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: (vacant) chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 939-9261
Elections
suspended after 29 April 1992 coup; Chairman STRASSER promises multi-party elections sometime within three years
Executive branch
National Provisional Ruling Council
FAX
[232] (22) 225-471
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Legal system
based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral House of Representatives (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Member of
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone
National holiday
Republic Day, 27 April (1961)
Political parties and leaders
status of existing political parties is unknown following 29 April 1992 coup
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
military government
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Lauralee M. PETERS embassy: Walpole and Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226-481
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for over 30% of GDP and two-thirds of the labor force; largely subsistence farming; cash crops - coffee, cocoa, palm kernels; harvests of food staple rice meets 80% of domestic needs; annual fish catch averages 53,000 metric tons
Budget
revenues $68 million; expenditures $118 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (FY92 est.)
Currency
1 leone (Le) = 100 cents
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $161 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $848 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $18 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $101 million
Electricity
85,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 45 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
leones (Le) per US$1 - 552.43 (January 1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34 (1991), 144.9275 (1990), 58.1395 (1989), 31.2500 (1988)
Exports
$75 million (f.o.b., FY92 est.) commodities: rutile 50%, bauxite 17%, cocoa 11%, diamonds 3%, coffee 3% partners: US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe
External debt
$633 million (FY92 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July - 30 June
Imports
$62 million (c.i.f., FY92 est.) commodities: capital goods 40%, food 32%, petroleum 12%, consumer goods 7%, light industrial goods partners: US, EC countries, Japan, China, Nigeria
Industrial production
growth rate NA%
Industries
mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile), small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear), petroleum refinery
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
5% (1992)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion (FY92 est.)
National product per capita
$330 (FY92 est.)
National product real growth rate
-1% (FY92 est.)
Overview
The economic and social infrastructure is not well developed. Subsistence agriculture dominates the economy, generating about one-third of GDP and employing about two-thirds of the working population. Manufacturing, which accounts for roughly 10% of GDP, consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Diamond mining provides an important source of hard currency. The economy suffers from high unemployment, rising inflation, large trade deficits, and a growing dependency on foreign assistance. The government in 1990 was attempting to get the budget deficit under control and, in general, to bring economic policy in line with the recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank. Since March 1991, however, military incursions by Liberian rebels in southern and eastern Sierra Leone have severely strained the economy and have undermined efforts to institute economic reforms.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
total: 11 usable: 7 with permanent-surface runways: 4 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 3
Highways
7,400 km total; 1,150 km paved, 490 km laterite (some gravel), 5,760 km improved earth
Inland waterways
800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Merchant marine
1 cargo ship totaling 5,592 GRT/9,107 DWT
Ports
Freetown, Pepel, Bonthe
Railroads
84 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge mineral line is used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed
Telecommunications
marginal telephone and telegraph service; national microwave radio relay system unserviceable at present; 23,650 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $6 million, 0.7% of GDP (1988 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 983,281; fit for military service 475,855 (1993 est.); no conscription