Sierra Leone (2001) | Malawi (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba; note - there may be three new districts named Balaka, Likoma, and Phalombe |
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:
44.43% (male 2,348,940; female 2,337,290) 15-64 years: 52.78% (male 2,741,622; female 2,825,966) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 119,283; female 175,149) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 44 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total:
118,480 sq km land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. National multiparty elections were held again in 1999. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$490 million expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Lilongwe |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 402 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form:
Republic of Malawi conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | leone (SLL) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $2.9 billion (2000 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 Roger A. MEECE embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] 773 166 FAX: [265] 770 471 |
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 Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $427 million (1999) |
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. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 37% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 950 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 1.025 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
2.44% hydro: 97.56% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m highest point: Sapitwa 3,002 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 | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
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) | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 80.0946 (December 2000), 59.5438 (2000), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997), 15.3085 (1996) |
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 Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 36-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Bakili MULUZI reelected president; percent of vote - Bakili MULUZI (UDF) 51.4%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MCP-AFORD) 44.3% |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $416 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | South Africa 16%, Germany 16%, US 15%, Netherlands 7%, Japan (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture:
37% industry: 29% services: 34% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total:
16,451 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 13,325 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $435 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | South Africa 43%, Zimbabwe 14%, UK 5%, Germany 5%, Zambia, Japan, US (1999) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 121.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 29.5% (2000) |
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 | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 8 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 280 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
3.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 86% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total:
2,881 km border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
34% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 39% other: 7% (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%) | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - UDF 48%, MCP 34%, AFORD 15%, others 3%; seats by party - UDF 94, MCP 66, AFORD 29, others 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
37.08 years male: 36.61 years female: 37.55 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: 58% male: 72.8% female: 43.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
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 | Army | Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $9.5 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 0.76% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,466,708 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,265,893 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun:
Malawian(s) adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | NA |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
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 |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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] | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA, president]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president, John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; National Independence Party; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eston KAKHOME, president]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | NA |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 10,548,250
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 54% (FY90/91 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 9, FM 4 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | 2.6 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:
789 km narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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:
NA domestic: fair system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 37,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 7,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 (1999) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |