Sierra Leone (2001) | Vanuatu (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 6 provinces; Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea, Torba |
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: 33.3% (male 35,039/female 33,553)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 66,311/female 63,502) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 3,878/female 3,471) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | copra, coconuts, cocoa, coffee, taro, yams, coconuts, fruits, vegetables; fish, beef |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 30 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 27
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 12,200 sq km
land: 12,200 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes more than 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly larger than Connecticut |
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 British and French, who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.06 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $52.6 million
expenditures: $54.3 million, including capital expenditures of $700,000 (2003 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Port-Vila (Efate) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April |
Coastline | 402 km | 2,528 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 30 July 1980 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Republic of Vanuatu
conventional short form: Vanuatu former: New Hebrides |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $83.7 million (2002) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu |
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 |
Vanuatu does not have an embassy in the US; it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by Vanuatu and France |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $27.5 million (2002) |
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 South Pacific island economy is based primarily on small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about 50,000 visitors in 2004, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent islands. GDP growth rose less than 3% on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial center. In mid-2002 the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism. Agriculture, especially livestock farming, is a second target for growth. Australia and New Zealand are the main suppliers of tourists and foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 45.03 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 48.42 million kWh (2002) |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tabwemasana 1,877 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 | a majority of the population does not have access to a reliable supply of potable water; deforestation |
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: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94
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 | Ni-Vanuatu 98.5%, other 1.5% (1999 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) | vatu per US dollar - 111.79 (2004), 122.19 (2003), 139.2 (2002), 145.31 (2001), 137.64 (2000) |
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 Kalkot Matas KELEKELE (since 16 August 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Ham LINI (since 11 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Sato KILMAN (since 11 December 2004); Prime Minister Serge VOHOR ousted in no-confidence vote on 11 December 2004 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils; election for president last held 16 August 2004 (next to be held in 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament from among its members; election for prime minister last held 29 July 2004 (next to be held following general elections in 2008) election results: Kalkot Matas KELEKELE elected president, with 49 votes out of 56, after several ballots on 16 August 2004 |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | copra, beef, cocoa, timber, kava, coffee |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | Thailand 47%, Malaysia 18.4%, Japan 7.5%, Belgium 5.4%, China 4.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves, all in yellow |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture: 26%
industry: 12% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 1.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 16 00 S, 167 00 E |
Geography - note | - | a Y-shaped chain of four main islands and 80 smaller islands; several of the islands have active volcanoes |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total: 1,070 km
paved: 256 km unpaved: 814 km (1999 est.) |
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 | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, fuels |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | Taiwan 24%, Australia 16.5%, Japan 11.4%, Singapore 8.5%, New Zealand 7.2%, Fiji 6.3%, US 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 30 July 1980 (from France and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1% (1997 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | food and fish freezing, wood processing, meat canning |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 55.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 57.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 3.1% (2003 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 | ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission) |
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% | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (2000 est.) |
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: 2.46%
permanent crops: 7.38% other: 90.16% (2001) |
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%) | local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census) |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | unified system being created from former dual French and British systems |
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 (52 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 July 2004 (next to be held 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 8, VP 8, NUP 10, VRP 4, MPP 3, VGP 3, other and independent 16; note - political party associations are fluid note: the National Council of Chiefs advises on matters of culture and language |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.49 years
male: 61 years female: 64.05 years (2005 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: 74% male: NA% female: NA% (1999 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,192,474 GRT/1,560,828 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 16, container 1, liquefied gas 2, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 52 (Australia 2, Canada 5, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Israel 1, Japan 25, New Zealand 1, Poland 11, Russia 1, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, United States 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military branches | Army | no regular military forces; security forces comprise the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and paramilitary Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), which includes Vanuatu's naval force, known as the Police Maritime Wing (PMW); border security in Vanuatu is the joint responsibility of the Customs and Inland Revenue Service, VPF, VMF, and PMW (2003) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | NA |
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, 30 July (1980) |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Ni-Vanuatu (singular and plural)
adjective: Ni-Vanuatu |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | manganese, hardwood forests, 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 |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI]; Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party or NUP [leader NA]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR]; Vanua'aku Pati (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican Party or VRP [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]; Vanuatu Greens Party or VGP [Moana CARCASSES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | NA |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 205,754 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | 1.52% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) |
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 |
- |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 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: NA international: country code - 678; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 6,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 7,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 (2004) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | mostly mountainous islands of volcanic origin; narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.77 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | - |