Population: 6,017,643 (July 2005 est.)
Capital: Freetown
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%)
Religions: Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
Government: constitutional democracy
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
Geography: rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along
coastal, western Africa
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
Economy: Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous
inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic
and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. 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. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard
currency earnings, accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance
of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade
imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that
helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of
economic activity, such as the rehabilitation of bauxite mining.
GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $800 (2005 est.)
GDP real growth: 5.5% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA
Internet country code: .sl
Dial code: +232
The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that
resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the
population).. The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic
forces, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections,
deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may
present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability.