Saint Helena (2001) | Sierra Leone (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
19.08% (male 699; female 687) 15-64 years: 71.72% (male 2,711; female 2,500) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 286; female 383) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,291,621; female 1,343,827)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,458,610; female 1,599,109) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 91,232; female 99,490) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 10 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
410 sq km land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes St. Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, St. Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. | The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) 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. 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. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability. |
Birth rate | 13.49 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.34 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.2 million expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Jamestown | Freetown |
Climate | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 60 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1989 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Helena |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 6.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.5 billion (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and Sierra Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute over the town of Yenga |
Economic aid - recipient | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) | $103 million (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. | 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 11-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. Plans continue 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, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and to supplement government revenues. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.6 million kWh (1999) | 232.6 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 6 million kWh (1999) | 250.1 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% | 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 |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6047 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound | leones per US dollar - 2,347.94 (2003), 2,099.03 (2002), 1,986.15 (2001), 2,092.12 (2000), 1,804.19 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since NA June 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
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 (APC) 22.4% |
Exports | $704,000 (f.o.b., 1995) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999) |
Exports - partners | South Africa, UK | Belgium 61.2%, Germany 14.2%, UK 4.5%, US 4.5% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.057 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $500 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 6.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 56 S, 5 42 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns | 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 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
158 km (Saint Helena 118 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) paved: 138 km (Saint Helena 98km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) unpaved: NA km 20 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) |
total: 11,330 km
paved: 895 km unpaved: 10,435 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Imports | $14.434 million (c.i.f., 1995) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995) |
Imports - partners | UK, South Africa | Germany 23.7%, UK 9.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.4%, France 7.4%, US 5.3%, Netherlands 5.1%, Ukraine 4.6% (2003) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | 22.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 145.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 162.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 127.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ICFTU | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 290 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 3,500 (1998 est.)
note: 1,200 of whom are working offshore |
1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 6% other: 82% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.98%
permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.13% (2001) |
Languages | English | 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 | NA | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (15 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 July 1997 (next to be held NA August 2001) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.01 years male: 74.13 years female: 80.04 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 42.69 years
male: 40.23 years female: 45.21 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 20 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 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 | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about mid-way between South America and Africa | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT
by type: cargo 2 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army (RSLAF) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $11.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,265,140 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 614,338 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun:
Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | fish | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 7,266 (July 2001 est.) | 5,883,889 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.72% (2001 est.) | 2.27% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 3,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
can communicate with any place in the world domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK ; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 2,000 (1997) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1997) | 67,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) | NA |
Waterways | none | 800 km (2003) |