1996 Edition

Description

three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

Location

8 30 N, 11 30 W -- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly smaller than South Carolina

land area

71,620 sq km

total area

71,740 sq km

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)

Coastline

402 km

Environment

current issues

rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental Modification

natural hazards

dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (November to May); sandstorms, dust storms

Geographic coordinates

8 30 N, 11 30 W

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

340 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km

total

958 km

Land use

arable land

25%

forest and woodland

29%

meadows and pastures

31%

other

13%

permanent crops

2%

Location

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

continental shelf

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

highest point

Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 45% (male 1,057,824; female 1,092,291) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,197,547; female 1,298,834) 65 years and over: 3% (male 75,066; female 71,559) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

47.13 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

18.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 39%), Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%

Infant mortality rate

135.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

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

female

50.47 years (1996 est.)

male

44.56 years

total population

47.47 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write in English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic (1995 est.)

female

18.2%

male

45.4%

total population

31.4%

Nationality

adjective

Sierra Leonean

noun

Sierra Leonean(s)

Net migration rate

12.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

4,793,121 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

4.14% (1996 est.)

Religions

Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

Sex ratio

all ages

0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years

0.97 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

6.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*

Capital

Freetown

Constitution

1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

Data code

SL

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

chief of mission

(vacant)

telephone

[1] (202) 939-9261

Executive branch

cabinet

Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

chief of state and head of government

President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2000)

FAX

[232] (22) 225471

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

House of Representatives

elections last held NA February 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (80 total, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections) SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992

Independence

27 April 1961 (from UK)

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of Sierra Leone

conventional short form

Sierra Leone

National holiday

Republic Day, 27 April (1961)

Political parties and leaders

15 parties registered for the February 1996 elections; National Peoples Party (NPP), Andrew TURAY; Democratic Center Party (DCP), Abu KOROMA; Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Edward KAMARA, chairman; Coalition for Progress Party (CPP), Geredine WILLIAMS-SARHO; National Unity Movement (NUM); United National Peoples Party (UNPP); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Thaimu BANGURA, chairman; All Peoples Congress (APC), S. A. T. KOROMA, chairman; National Republican Party (NRP); Social Democratic Party (SDP); Peoples National Convention (PNC), I. B. KARGBO, chairman; National Unity Party (NUP), A. O. D. GEORGE, chairman; Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), Paul DUNBAR, chairman; National Democratic Alliance (NDA); National Alliance for Democracy Party (NADP)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type of government

constitutional democracy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador John L. HIRSCH

embassy

Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown

mailing address

use embassy street address

telephone

[232] (22) 226481 through 226485

Agriculture

rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish catch was 65,000 metric tons in 1994

Budget

expenditures

$128 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.)

revenues

$75 million

Currency

1 leone (Le) = 100 cents

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $NA

Economic overview

Sierra Leone has substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to push down production, exports, and the value of the leone. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the working population, with subsistence agriculture dominating the sector. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. The mining of diamonds, bauxite, and rutile is the major source of hard currency. The government has worked hard to meet its IMF- and World Bank-mandated stabilization targets, holding down fiscal deficits, and retiring much of its domestic debt - but at a steep cost in terms of forgone capital investments and social spending. Moreover, the economic infrastructure has nearly collapsed due to neglect and war-related disruptions in the mining and agricultural export sectors. The continuing civil war in Liberia has led to a large influx of refugees, who place additional burdens on Sierra Leone's fragile economy.

Electricity

capacity

130,000 kW

consumption per capita

44 kWh (1993)

production

220 million kWh

Exchange rates

leones (Le) per US$1 - 951.63 (January 1996), 755.22 (1995), 586.74 (1994), 567.46 (1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34 (1991)

Exports

$115 million (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities

rutile 51%, bauxite 20%, diamonds 16%, coffee 6%, cocoa 7%, fish (1989)

partners

US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe

External debt

$1.4 billion (yearend 1993)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

GDP

purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

40%

industry

17%

services

43% (1994)

GDP per capita

$960 (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate

-4% (1994 est.)

Imports

$150 million (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities

foodstuffs 38%, machinery and equipment 44%, fuels and lubricants 18% (1989)

partners

US, EU countries, Japan, China, Nigeria

Industrial production growth rate

$NA

Industries

mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

24% (1994 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)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Branches

Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 2.6% of GDP (FY92/93)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

1,019,093

males fit for military service

494,451 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

980,000 (1992 est.)

Telephone system

marginal telephone and telegraph service

domestic

national microwave radio relay system made unserviceable by military activities

international

satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones

17,526 (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1

Televisions

45,000 (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

5

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

2

with paved runways over 3 047 m

1

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

2 (1995 est.)

Highways

paved

1,284 km

total

11,674 km

unpaved

10,390 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine

none

Ports

Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel

Railways

narrow gauge

84 km 1.067-m gauge

total

84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed

Waterways

800 km; 600 km navigable year round