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| 1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006) | ||
Sierra Leone
n 1: a republic in West Africa; achieved independence from the
United Kingdom in 1961 [syn: Sierra Leone, Republic of
Sierra Leone]
| ||
| 2. CIA World Factbook 2002 | ||
Sierra Leone
Introduction Sierra Leone
-------------------------
Background: Since 1991, civil war between the
government and the Revolutionary
United Front (RUF) has resulted in
tens of thousands of deaths and the
displacement of more than 2 million
people (well over one-third of the
population) many of whom are now
refugees in neighboring countries.
After several setbacks, the end to
the eleven-year conflict in Sierra
Leone may finally be near at hand.
With the support of the UN
peacekeeping force and contributions
from the World Bank and
international community,
demobilization and disarmament of
the RUF and Civil Defense Forces
(CDF) combatants has been completed.
Reestablishment of government
authority throughout the country is
slowly proceeding and national
elections took place in May 2002.
Geography Sierra Leone
----------------------
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North
Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and
Liberia
Geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 11 30 W
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 71,740 sq km
water: 120 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries: total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km,
Liberia 306 km
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa
(Bintimani) 1,948 m
Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite,
iron ore, gold, chromite
Land use: arable land: 6.76%
permanent crops: 0.78%
other: 92.46% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 290 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow
from the Sahara (December to
February); sandstorms, dust storms
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
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification
Geography - note: rainfall along the coast can reach
495 cm (195 inches) a year, making
it one of the wettest places along
coastal, western Africa
People Sierra Leone
-------------------
Population: 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,230,530;
female 1,280,084)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 1,397,070;
female 1,528,986)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male
87,256; female 90,817) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.21% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 6.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999 refugees
from Sierra Leone are assumed to be
returning (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births
(2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 45.96 years
female: 49.01 years (2002 est.)
male: 43.01 years
Total fertility rate: 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.99% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 68,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 8,200 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean
Ethnic groups: 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne
30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole
(Krio) 10% (descendants of freed
Jamaican slaves who were settled in
the Freetown area in the late-18th
century), refugees from Liberia's
recent civil war, small numbers of
Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and
Indians
Religions: Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%,
Christian 10%
Languages: English (official, regular use
limited to literate minority), Mende
(principal vernacular in the south),
Temne (principal vernacular in the
north), Krio (English-based Creole,
spoken by the descendants of freed
Jamaican slaves who were settled in
the Freetown area, a lingua franca
and a first language for 10% of the
population but understood by 95%)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write English, Mende, Temne, or
Arabic
total population: 31.4%
male: 45.4%
female: 18.2% (1995 est.)
Government Sierra Leone
-----------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra
Leone
Government type: constitutional democracy
Capital: Freetown
Administrative divisions: 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern,
Northern, Southern, Western*
Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Constitution: 1 October 1991; subsequently amended
several times
Legal system: based on English law and customary
laws indigenous to local tribes; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Ahmad
Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996,
reinstated 10 March 1998); note -
the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad
Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996,
reinstated 10 March 1998); note -
the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
cabinet: Ministers of State
appointed by the president with the
approval of the House of
Representatives; the cabinet is
responsible to the president
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 14 May 2002 (next
to be held NA May 2007); note -
president's tenure of office is
limited to two five-year terms
election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH
reelected president; percent of vote
- Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%,
Ernest KOROMA 22.4%
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (124 seats -
112 elected by popular vote, 12
filled by paramount chiefs elected
in separate elections; members serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002
(next to be held NA May 2007)
election results: percent of vote by
party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP
3%, others 4.59%; seats by party -
SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High
Court
Political parties and leaders: All People's Congress or APC [Alhaji
Sat KOROMA, interim chairman];
Citizens United for Peace and
Progress or CUPP [Alfred Musa
CONTEH, interim chairman]; Coalition
for Progress Party or CPP [Jeridine
WILLIAM-SARHO, interim leader];
Democratic Center Party or DCP [Adu
Aiah KOROMA]; Democratic Labor Party
or DLP [George E. L. PALMER];
Democratic Party or DP [Henry BALO,
acting chairman]; National Alliance
Democratic Party or NADP [Mohamed
Yahya SILLAH, chairman]; National
Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M.
B. JALLOH]; National People's Party
or NPP [Andrew TURAY]; National
Republican Party or NRP [Stephen
Sahr MAMBU]; National Unity Movement
or NUM [Sam LEIGH, interim
chairman]; National Unity Party or
NUP [John BENJAMINE, interim
leader]; Peace and Liberation Party
or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim
chairman]; People's Democratic
Alliance or PDA [Cpl. (Ret.) Abdul
Rahman KAMARA, interim chairman];
People's Democratic Party or PDP
[Osman KAMARA]; People's National
Convention or PNC [Edward John
KARGBO]; People's Progressive Party
or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU,
chairman]; Revolutionary United
Front Party or RUFP [Foday Saybana
SANKOH, chairman]; Social Democratic
Party or SDP [Andrew Victor LUNGAY];
Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP
[Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman];
United National People's Party or
UNPP [John KAREFA-SMART in exile,
Raymond KAMARA, acting leader];
Young People's Party or YPP
[Cornelius DEVEAUS, interim
chairman]
Political pressure groups and Trade Unions and Student Unions
leaders:
International organization ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO,
participation: G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John
Ernest LEIGH
FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261
through 9263
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Peter
US: Russell CHAVEAS
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka
Stevens Streets, Freetown
mailing address: use embassy street
address
telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through
226485
FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of
light green (top), white, and light
blue
Economy Sierra Leone
--------------------
Economy - overview: Sierra Leone is an extremely poor
African nation with tremendous
inequality in income distribution.
It does have substantial mineral,
agricultural, and fishery resources.
However, the economic and social
infrastructure is not well
developed, and serious social
disorders continue to hamper
economic development, following a
10-year civil war. About two-thirds
of the working-age population
engages in subsistence agriculture.
Manufacturing consists mainly of the
processing of raw materials and of
light manufacturing for the domestic
market. There are plans to reopen
bauxite and rutile mines shut down
during the conflict. The major
source of hard currency consists of
the mining of diamonds. The fate of
the economy depends upon the
maintenance of domestic peace and
the continued receipt of substantial
aid from abroad.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.7
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $500 (2001
est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 43%
industry: 27%
services: 30% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 68% (1989 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 0.5%
percentage share: highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
Distribution of family income - Gini 62.9 (1989)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners
(1985)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%,
services NA%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (2000 est.)
Industries: mining (diamonds); small-scale
manufacturing (beverages, textiles,
cigarettes, footwear); petroleum
refining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 245 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 227.85 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels,
palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle,
sheep, pigs; fish
Exports: $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee,
fish
Exports - partners: NZ 33.7%, Belgium 32.6%, US 7.4%,
France 5.1% (2000)
Imports: $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners: Czech Republic 26.7%, UK 26.6%, US
5.1%, Netherlands 4.6% (2000)
Debt - external: $1.3 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $103 million (2001 est.)
Currency: leone (SLL)
Currency code: SLL
Exchange rates: leones per US dollar - 2,212.47
(January 2002), 1,985.89 (2001),
2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999),
1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Sierra Leone
---------------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 25,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 30,000 (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: marginal
telephone and telegraph service
domestic: national microwave radio
relay trunk system, made
unserviceable by military
activities, is now operating from
Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April
2001)
international: satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)
Radios: 1.12 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1999)
Televisions: 53,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .sl
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 20,000 (2001)
Transportation Sierra Leone
---------------------------
Railways: total: 84 km
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge
note: Sierra Leone has no common
carrier railroads; the existing
railroad is private and used on a
limited basis while the mine at
Marampa is closed (2001)
Highways: total: 11,700 km
paved: 936 km
unpaved: 10,764 km (2002)
Waterways: 800 km (of which 600 km navigable
year round)
Ports and harbors: Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel
Airports: 10 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9
under 914 m: 2 (2001)
914 to 1,523 m: 7
Heliports: 2 (2001)
Military Sierra Leone
---------------------
Military branches: Army (RSLAF)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,203,682 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 583,946 (2002 est.)
service:
Military expenditures - dollar $10.3 million (FY01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 1.5% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Sierra Leone
---------------------------------
Disputes - international: ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone has
engendered refugee movements into
neighboring Guinea and Liberia
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