Sierra Leone (2008)

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Sierra Leone 2008 year


Administrative divisions	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports	10 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Area	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina
Background	Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
Birth rate	45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)
Capital	name: Freetown geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline	402 km
Constitution	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone
Death rate	22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.61 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
Disputes - international	as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient	$343.4 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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 and rutile mining.
Electricity - consumption	227.9 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	245 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
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 depleted natural resources; overfishing
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	20 African ethnic groups 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
Exchange rates	leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%
Exports	0 kWh (2005)
Exports	$216 million f.o.b. (2006)
Exports	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Exports	431.1 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Exports - partners	Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49% industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.8% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 30 N, 11 30 W
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
Heliports	2 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
Imports	0 kWh (2005)
Imports	$560 million f.o.b. (2006)
Imports	0 cu m (2005)
Imports	8,864 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners	Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)
Independence	27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%
Industries	diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	300 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Labor force	1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use	arable land: 7.95% permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005)
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%)
Legal system	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 40.58 years male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)
Military branches	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2006)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Nationality	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean
Natural hazards	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate	0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders	trade unions and student unions
Population	6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	70.2% (2004)
Population growth rate	2.292% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)
Religions	Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: marginal telephone service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	113,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	2 (1999)
Terrain	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate	6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%
Waterways	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)

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