Sierra Leone (2001) | Svalbard (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | - |
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: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | - |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 4 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Longyearbyen |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 402 km | 3,587 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Currency | leone (SLL) | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | - |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
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 |
- |
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 |
- |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
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. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 58%
hydro: 42% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 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 | NA |
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 |
- |
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 | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
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) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998) |
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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | - |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | - | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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.) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | - |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | - |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | - |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | NA% |
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 | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | - |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | - |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (1998 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%) | Russian, Norwegian |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
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 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 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.) |
NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Africa | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
territorial sea: 4 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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) |
Military branches | Army | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | - |
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) | NA |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
- |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish |
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 |
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | - |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 2,811 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | -0.02% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
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 |
0 km |
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: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 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: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | NA |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | none |