Sierra Leone (2001) | Estonia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
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: 15.2% (male 103,367/female 97,587)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 427,043/female 468,671) 65 years and over: 17.2% (male 75,347/female 152,318) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 24 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined |
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. | After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.04 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4.91 billion
expenditures: $4.7 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | name: Tallinn
geographic coordinates: 59 25 N, 24 45 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 402 km | 3,794 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | adopted 28 June 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.25 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $11.03 billion (2005 est.) |
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 Aldona Zofia WOS
embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
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 Juri LUIK
chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | in 2005, Russia refuses to sign the 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia when Estonia prepares a unilateral declaration referencing Soviet occupation and territorial losses; Russia demands better accommodation of Russian-speaking population in Estonia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Estonia must implement the strict Schengen border rules |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $735 million (2004-06) |
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. | Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization and the European Union, has transitioned effectively to a modern market economy with strong ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, and Germany, three major trading partners. The current account deficit remains high; however, the state budget is essentially in balance, and public debt is low. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 6.26 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 2.141 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 347 million kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 10.304 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | 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: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 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 | air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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 | Estonian 67.9%, Russian 25.6%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Belarusian 1.3%, Finn 0.9%, other 2.2% (2000 census) |
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) | krooni per US dollar - 12.584 (2005), 12.596 (2004), 13.856 (2003), 16.612 (2002), 17.478 (2001), note - the krooni is pegged to the euro |
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: President Toomas Hendrik ILVES (since 9 October 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrus ANSIP (since 12 April 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); if a candidate does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 23 September 2006 (next to be held fall of 2011); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Toomas Hendrik ILVES elected president on 23 September 2006 by a 345-member electoral assembly; ILVES received 174 votes to incumbent Arnold RUUTEL's 162; remaining 9 ballots left blank or invalid |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | Finland 26.5%, Sweden 12.9%, Latvia 8.8%, Russia 6.5%, Germany 6.2%, Lithuania 4.8% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 29.4% services: 66.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 10.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 59 00 N, 26 00 E |
Geography - note | - | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 28.5% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern, as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds |
Imports | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 54,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | Finland 19.8%, Germany 13.8%, Russia 9.4%, Sweden 8.8%, Lithuania 6.1%, Latvia 4.7% (2005) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9.7% (2005 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 4.1% (2005 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 | Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 40 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
670,000 (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 11%
industry: 20% services: 69% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 12.05%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 87.6% (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%) | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party of Estonia 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Estonian Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Res Publica 26, Center Party 20, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, Social Democrats (formerly People's Party Moodukad) 6, non-affiliated (Social Liberals and independents) 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.04 years
male: 66.58 years female: 77.83 years (2006 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: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
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: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 388,723 GRT/98,393 DWT
by type: cargo 7, passenger/cargo 26, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 2) registered in other countries: 72 (Antigua and Barbuda 12, Bahamas 1, Belize 3, Cyprus 6, Dominica 11, Isle of Man 2, Liberia 1, Malta 4, Norway 1, Panama 3, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 25, Slovakia 1, Vanuatu 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Army | Estonian Defense Forces: Land Force, Navy, Air Force, Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit, KL) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $155 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 2% (2002 est.) |
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, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud |
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 |
-3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 859 km (2006) |
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] | Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN, chairman]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG, chairman]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social Liberals (group of eight parliamentarians, former Center Party members) [Peeter KREITZBERG]; Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica (Isamaa je Res Publica Liit) [Tonis LUKAS and Taavi VESKIMAGI, co-chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | NA |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 1,324,333 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | Below $2.15 per day (PPP) 5% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | -0.64% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) |
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 |
total: 958 km
broad gauge: 958 km 1.520 m/1.524-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Evangelical Lutheran 13.6%, Orthodox 12.8%, other Christian (including Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal) 1.4%, unaffiliated 34.1%, other and unspecified 32%, none 6.1% (2000 census) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.84 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens |
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: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are available throughout most of the country
domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 442,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 1.445 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 3 (2001) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 7.8% (2005) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | 500 km (2005) |