Compare Pacific Ocean (2004) - Sierra Leone (2006)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2004) z Sierra Leone (2006)

	Pacific Ocean (2004)	Sierra Leone (2006)

Administrative divisions	-	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,321,563/female 1,370,721) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,502/female 1,625,733) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 90,958/female 101,773) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports	-	10 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2006)
Area	total: 155.557 million sq km note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km
Area - comparative	about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world	slightly smaller than South Carolina
Background	The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south.	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.
Birth rate	-	45.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (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	planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline	135,663 km	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	-	23.03 deaths/1,000 population (2006 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) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient	-	$297.4 million (2003 est.)
Economy - overview	The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings.	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.
Electricity - consumption	-	242.4 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	-	260.6 million kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea	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, 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 - 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001)
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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held 28 July 2007) election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4%
Exports	-	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	-	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Exports - partners	-	Belgium 66.2%, Germany 13.5%, US 4.6% (2005)
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	-	7.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	0 00 N, 160 00 W	8 30 N, 11 30 W
Geography - note	the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean	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 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
Imports	-	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	-	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners	-	Germany 18.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.2%, UK 8.5%, US 6.9%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, South Africa 4.1% (2005)
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: 160.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 177.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 142.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	1% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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 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 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
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 40.22 years male: 38.05 years female: 42.46 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.)
Location	body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references	Political Map of the World	Africa
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006)
Military branches	-	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$14.25 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	1.7% (2005 est.)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Nationality	-	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean
Natural hazards	surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources	oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate	-	0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	trade unions and student unions
Population	-	6,005,250 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	68% (1989 est.)
Population growth rate	-	2.3% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)	-
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)
Religions	-	Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph 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)
Telephones - main lines in use	-	24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	113,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	-	2 (1999)
Terrain	surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate	-	6.08 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Transportation - note	Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state)	-
Unemployment rate	-	NA%
Waterways	-	800 km (600 km year round) (2005)

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