Sierra Leone (2001) | Brunei (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 4 districts (daerah-daerah, singular - daerah); Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years:
30.77% (male 53,977; female 51,772) 15-64 years: 66.52% (male 121,601; female 107,007) 65 years and over: 2.71% (male 4,449; female 4,847) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | rice, vegetables, fruits, chickens, water buffalo |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total:
5,770 sq km land: 5,270 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Delaware |
Background | 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. | The Sultanate of Brunei's heyday occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries, when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession, colonial expansion of European powers, and piracy. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the less developed countries. The same family has now ruled in Brunei for over six centuries. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.45 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$2.5 billion expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion (1997 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Bandar Seri Begawan |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical; hot, humid, rainy |
Coastline | 402 km | 161 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on 1 January 1984) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form:
Negara Brunei Darussalam conventional short form: Brunei |
Currency | leone (SLL) | Bruneian dollar (BND) |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.38 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $0 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Sylvia Gaye STANFIELD embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan mailing address: PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96507 telephone: [673] (2) 229670 FAX: [673] (2) 225293 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Pengiran Anak Dato Haji PUTEH Ibni Mohammad Alam chancery: 3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-0159 FAX: [1] (202) 342-0158 |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | possibly involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands, but has not publicly claimed the island |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $4.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. | This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation and welfare measures, and village tradition. Exports of crude oil and natural gas account for over half of GDP. Per capita GDP is far above most other Third World countries, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion although it became a more prominent player by serving as chairman for the 2000 APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum. Plans for the future include upgrading the labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and tourist sectors, and, in general, a further widening of the economic base beyond oil and gas. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 2.274 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 2.445 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point:
South China Sea 0 m highest point: Bukit Pagon 1,850 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 depleting natural resources; overfishing | seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to:
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | 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 | Malay 67%, Chinese 15%, indigenous 6%, other 12% |
Exchange rates | 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) | Bruneian dollars per US dollar - 1.7365 (January 2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997), 1.4100 (1996); note - the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar |
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; 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% |
chief of state:
Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Cabinet Ministers appointed and presided over by the monarch; deals with executive matters; note - there is also a Religious Council (members appointed by the monarch) that advises on religious matters, a Privy Council (members appointed by the monarch) that deals with constitutional matters, and the Council of Succession (members appointed by the monarch) that determines the succession to the throne if the need arises elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.55 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | crude oil, natural gas, refined products |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | Japan 42%, US 17%, South Korea 14%, Thailand 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture:
5% industry: 46% services: 49% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 4 30 N, 114 40 E |
Geography - note | - | close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total:
1,712 km paved: 1,284 km unpaved: 428 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty |
Imports | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.3 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | Singapore 34%, UK 15%, Malaysia 15%, US 5% (1999) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 1 January 1984 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4% (1997 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 1% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | APEC, ARF, ASEAN, C, CCC, ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
144,000 (1995 est.); note - includes foreign workers and military personnel
note: temporary residents make up 41% of labor force (1991) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | government 48%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction 42%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 10% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total:
381 km border countries: Malaysia 381 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 85% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
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%) | Malay (official), English, Chinese |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; for Muslims, Islamic Shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council or Majlis Masyuarat Megeri (a privy council that serves only in a consultative capacity; NA seats; members appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held in March 1962 note: in 1970 the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the monarch; an elected Legislative Council is being considered as part of constitutional reform, but elections are unlikely for several years |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
73.82 years male: 71.45 years female: 76.31 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | 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.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.2% male: 92.6% female: 83.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM or to median line territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT ships by type: liquefied gas 7 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Royal Brunei Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $343 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 5.1% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
106,725 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
61,640 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
3,005 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | National Day, 23 February (1984); note - 1 January 1984 was the date of independence from the UK, 23 February 1984 was the date of independence from British protection |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun:
Bruneian(s) adjective: Bruneian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are very rare |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | petroleum, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural gas 920 km |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Brunei Solidarity National Party or PPKB in Malay [Haji Mohd HATTA bin Haji Zainal Abidin, president]; the PPKB is the only legal political party in Brunei; it was registered in 1985, but became largely inactive after 1988, it was revived in 1995 and again in 1998; it has less than 200 registered party members; other parties include Brunei People's Party or PRB (banned in 1962) and Brunei National Democratic Party (registered in May 1965, deregistered by the Brunei Government in 1988) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | NA |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 343,653 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | 2.11% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuala Belait, Muara, Seria, Tutong |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | 329,000 (1998) |
Railways | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
total:
13 km (private line) narrow gauge: 13 km 0.610-m gauge |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Muslim (official) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs and other 10% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment:
service throughout country is excellent; international service good to Europe, US, and East Asia domestic: every service available international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); digital submarine cable links to Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 79,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 43,524 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.9% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m |