Haiti (2005) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.6% (male 1,741,622/female 1,721,436)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,137,225/female 2,242,639) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 124,383/female 154,317) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, sorghum, wood | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 13 (2004 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 27,750 sq km
land: 27,560 sq km water: 190 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. | 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. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 36.59 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $330.2 million
expenditures: $529.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Port-au-Prince | Freetown |
Climate | tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 1,771 km | 402 km |
Constitution | approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991 government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Haiti
conventional short form: Haiti local long form: Republique d'Haiti local short form: Haiti |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 12.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2004 est.) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James B. FOLEY
embassy: 5 Harry S Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince telephone: [509] 222-0354, 222-0269, 222-0200, 222-0327 FAX: [509] 223-1641 or 222-0200 ext 460 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Raymond JOSEPH (as of November 2004)
chancery: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | since 2004, about 8,000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) maintain civil order in Haiti; despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing economic privation and civil unrest continue to cross into Dominican Republic and to sail to neighboring countries; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - recipient | $150 million (FY04 est.) | $203.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | In this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 80% of the population lives in abject poverty, and natural disasters frequently sweep the nation. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming. Following legislative elections in May 2000, fraught with irregularities, international donors - including the US and EU - suspended almost all aid to Haiti. The economy shrank an estimated 1.2% in 2001, 0.9% in 2002, grew 0.4% in 2003, and shrank by 3.5% in 2004. Suspended aid and loan disbursements totaled more than $500 million at the start of 2003. Haiti also suffers from rampant inflation, a lack of investment, and a severe trade deficit. In early 2005 Haiti paid its arrears to the World Bank, paving the way to reengagement with the Bank. The resumption of aid flows from all donors is alleviating but not ending the nation's bitter economic problems. Civil strife in 2004 combined with extensive damage from flooding in southern Haiti in May 2004 and Tropical Storm Jeanne in northwestern Haiti in September 2004 further impoverished Haiti. | 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. 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. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 574.7 million kWh (2002) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 618 million kWh (2002) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chaine de la Selle 2,680 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | extensive deforestation (much of the remaining forested land is being cleared for agriculture and used as fuel); soil erosion; inadequate supplies of potable water | 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 agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 95%, mulatto and white 5% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 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 | gourdes per US dollar - 38.352 (2004), 42.367 (2003), 29.251 (2002), 24.429 (2001), 21.171 (2000) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Interim President Boniface ALEXANDRE (since 29 February 2004)
note: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE resigned as president on 29 February 2004; ALEXANDRE, as Chief of the Supreme Court, constitutionally succeeded Aristide head of government: Interim Prime Minister Gerald LATORTUE (since 12 March 2004), chosen by extraconstitutional Council of Eminent Persons representing cross-section of political and civic interests cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in November 2005); prime minister appointed by the president, ratified by the National Assembly election results: Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE elected president; percent of vote - Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE 92% |
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 held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | NA | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactures, coffee, oils, cocoa, mangoes | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | US 81.2%, Dominican Republic 7.3%, Canada 4.1% (2004) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red with a centered white rectangle bearing the coat of arms, which contains a palm tree flanked by flags and two cannons above a scroll bearing the motto L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE (Union Makes Strength) | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 20% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -3.5% (2004 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 00 N, 72 25 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | shares island of Hispaniola with Dominican Republic (western one-third is Haiti, eastern two-thirds is the Dominican Republic) | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 4,160 km
paved: 1,011 km unpaved: 3,149 km (1999 est.) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | major Caribbean transshipment point for cocaine en route to the US and Europe; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Haiti for illicit financial transactions; pervasive corruption | - |
Imports | NA | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, raw materials | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 34.8%, Netherlands Antilles 18%, Malaysia 5.1%, Colombia 4.7% (2004) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1 January 1804 (from France) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, light assembly industries based on imported parts | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 73.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 79.92 deaths/1,000 live births female: 66.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22% (2004 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, Caricom (suspended), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour de Cassation | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 3.6 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, unskilled labor abundant (1995) |
1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 66%, industry 9%, services 25% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: Dominican Republic 360 km |
total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 28.3%
permanent crops: 11.61% other: 60.09% (2001) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole (official) | 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 Roman civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale consists of the Senate (27 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies (83 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the National Assembly stopped functioning in January 2004 when the terms of all Deputies and two-thirds of sitting Senators expired; no replacements have been elected; the President is currently ruling by decree
elections: Senate - last held for two-thirds of seats 21 May 2000 with runoffs on 9 July boycotted by the opposition; seven seats still disputed; election for remaining one-third held on 26 November 2000 (next to be held in 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 21 May 2000 with runoffs on 30 July boycotted by the opposition; one vacant seat rerun 26 November 2000 (next to be held in November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 26, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FL 73, MOCHRENA 3, PLB 2, OPL 1, vacant 1, other minor parties and independents 3 |
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.92 years
male: 51.58 years female: 54.31 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.9% male: 54.8% female: 51.2% (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Location | Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | the regular Haitian Armed Forces (FAdH) - Army, Navy, and Air Force - have been demobilized but still exist on paper until or unless they are constitutionally abolished | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26 million (2003) | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2003) | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1804) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Haitian(s)
adjective: Haitian |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | -1.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Liberation and Advancement of Haiti or ALAH [Reynold GEORGES]; Assembly of Progressive National Democrats or RDNP [Leslie MANIGAT]; Ayiti Kapab [Ernst VERDIEU]; Convention for Democratic Unity or KID [Evans PAUL]; National Congress of Democratic Movements or KONAKOM [Victor BENOIT]; Nationalist Progressive Revolutionary Party or PANPRA [Serge GILLES]; Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Haiti or MODELH [Francois LATORTUE]; Grand Center Right Front coalition (composed of MDN, MRN, and PDCH) [Hubert de RONCERAY, Jean BUTEAU, Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Christian Democratic Party or PDCH [Osner FEVRY and Marie-Denise CLAUDE]; Haitian Democratic Party or PADEMH [Clark PARENT]; Haitian Democratic and Reform Movement or MODEREH [Dany TOUSSAINT and Pierre Soncon PRINCE]; Heads Together [Dr. Gerard BLOT]; Lavalas Family or FL [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Haiti or PLH [Michael MADSEN]; Mobilization for National Development or MDN [Hubert DE RONCERAY]; Movement for National Reconstruction or MRN [Jean Henold BUTEAU]; Movement for the Installation of Democracy in Haiti or MIDH [Marc BAZIN]; National Front for the Reconstruction of Haiti or FRON [Guy PHILIPPE]; National Progressive Democratic Party or PNDPH [Turneb DELPE]; New Christian Movement for a New Haiti or MOCHRENA [Luc MESADIEU]; Open the Gate Party (Parti Louvri Bayre) or PLB [leader NA]; Popular Party for the Renewal of Haiti, or Generation 2000 [Claude ROMAIN and Daniel SUPPLICE]; Struggling People's Organization or OPL [Edgard LEBLANC]; MNP28 [Dejean BELIZAIRE]; KOMBA [Evans LESCOUFLAIR] | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Autonomous Organizations of Haitian Workers or CATH [Fignole ST-CYR]; Confederation of Haitian Workers or CTH; Federation of Workers Trade Unions or FOS; Group of 184 Civil Society Organization, or G-184 [Andy APAID]; National Popular Assembly or APN; Papaye Peasants Movement or MPP [Chavannes JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Popular Organizations Gathering Power or PROP; Roman Catholic Church; Protestant Federation of Haiti | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 8,121,622
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2003 est.) | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.26% (2005 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cap-Haitien | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 41, FM 26, shortwave 0 (1999) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population practices Voodoo |
Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: domestic facilities barely adequate; international facilities slightly better
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service international: country code - 509; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 130,000 (2002) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 140,000 (2002) | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus a cable TV service) (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly rough and mountainous | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 5.02 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | widespread unemployment and underemployment; more than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |