Sierra Leone (2002) | Jordan (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,230,530; female 1,280,084)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 1,397,070; female 1,528,986) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,256; female 90,817) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.8% (male 1,018,070/female 976,442)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 1,966,794/female 1,716,255) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 111,636/female 117,563) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
Airports | 10 (2001) | 17 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. After several setbacks, the end to the eleven-year conflict in Sierra Leone may finally be near at hand. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. Reestablishment of government authority throughout the country is slowly proceeding and national elections took place in May 2002. | Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the son of King HUSSEIN, assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The prime minister appointed in November 2005 stated the government would focus on political reforms, improving conditions for the poor, and fighting corruption. |
Birth rate | 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.688 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.092 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | name: Amman
geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Thursday in March; ends last Friday in September |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
Coastline | 402 km | 26 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 1 January 1952; amended 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1984 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000) | $8.528 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Russell CHAVEAS
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 David M. HALE
embassy: Abdoun, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 590-6000 FAX: [962] (6) 592-0121 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Karim Tawfiq KAWAR
chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
Disputes - international | ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone has engendered refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation |
Economic aid - recipient | $103 million (2001 est.) | ODA, $500 million (2004 est.) |
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, following a 10-year civil war. 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. There are plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during the conflict. The major source of hard currency consists of the mining of diamonds. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH, since assuming the throne in 1999, has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. 'Amman in the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced careful monetary policy, and made substantial headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), a free trade accord with the US (2001), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq, but the US-led war in Iraq in 2003 made Jordan more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations, forcing the Jordanian Government to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales tax base. Jordan's export market, which is heavily dependent on exports to Iraq, was also affected by the war but recovered quickly while contributing to the Iraq recovery effort. The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, and creating investment incentives to promote job creation. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.85 million kWh (2000) | 7.959 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 972 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2000) | 7.517 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 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 | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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 (Krio) 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 | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 2,212.47 (January 2002), 1,985.89 (2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997) | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2005), 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002), 0.709 (2001) |
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 last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA 22.4% |
chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH, is first in line to inherit the throne
head of government: Prime Minister Marouf al-BAKHIT (since 24 November 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Ziad FARIZ (since 24 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $65 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, manufactures, pharmaceuticals |
Exports - partners | NZ 33.7%, Belgium 32.6%, US 7.4%, France 5.1% (2000) | US 29.4%, Iraq 15.6%, India 8.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.9% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 27% services: 30% (2000) |
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 28.7% services: 68% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $500 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 5.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
Geography - note | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa | strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total: 11,700 km
paved: 936 km unpaved: 10,764 km (2002) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1989) (1989) |
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997) |
Imports | $145 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | 100,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Czech Republic 26.7%, UK 26.6%, US 5.1%, Netherlands 4.6% (2000) | Saudi Arabia 20.9%, China 8%, Germany 7.1%, US 6.2%, South Korea 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | textiles, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 16.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) |
Labor force | 1.369 million
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) (1981 est.) |
1.46 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 5%
industry: 12.5% services: 82.5% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 1,635 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.76%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 92.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.32%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (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%) | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan) (55 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives, also called the House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab) (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); note - six seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected
elections: House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and other 89.6%, IAF 10.4%; seats by party - independents and other 92, IAF 18; note - one of the six quota seats was given to a female IAF candidate note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989, the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held; political parties were not legalized until 1992; King ABDALLAH delayed the 2001 elections until 2003 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.96 years
male: 43.01 years female: 49.01 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.4 years
male: 75.9 years female: 81.05 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: 91.3% male: 95.9% female: 86.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 25 ships (1000 GRT or over) 346,698 GRT/501,060 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 9, container 2, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 11 (UAE 11) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 2, Panama 13) (2006) |
Military branches | Army (RSLAF) | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya al-Urduniya), Special Operations Command (Socom); Public Security Directorate (normally falls under Ministry of Interior, but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.3 million (FY01) | $1.4 billion (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY01) | 11.4% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,203,682 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 583,946 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
Net migration rate | 6.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning (2002 est.) |
6.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Alhaji Sat KOROMA, interim chairman]; Citizens United for Peace and Progress or CUPP [Alfred Musa CONTEH, interim chairman]; Coalition for Progress Party or CPP [Jeridine WILLIAM-SARHO, interim leader]; Democratic Center Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [George E. L. PALMER]; Democratic Party or DP [Henry BALO, acting chairman]; National Alliance Democratic Party or NADP [Mohamed Yahya SILLAH, chairman]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National People's Party or NPP [Andrew TURAY]; National Republican Party or NRP [Stephen Sahr MAMBU]; National Unity Movement or NUM [Sam LEIGH, interim chairman]; National Unity Party or NUP [John BENJAMINE, interim leader]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; People's Democratic Alliance or PDA [Cpl. (Ret.) Abdul Rahman KAMARA, interim chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Osman KAMARA]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward John KARGBO]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday Saybana SANKOH, chairman]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Andrew Victor LUNGAY]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KAREFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader]; Young People's Party or YPP [Cornelius DEVEAUS, interim chairman] | al-Ahd Party; Arab Islamic Democratic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR, president]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN, secretary general]; Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI, secretary general]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR, secretary general]; Freedom Party; Future Party; Islamic Action Front or IAF [Zaki Sa'ed BANI IRSHEID, secretary general]; Islamic Center Party [Marwan al-FAURI, secretary general]; Jordanian Arab Ansar Party; Jordanian Arab New Dawn Party; Jordanian Arab Party; Jordanian Citizens' Rights Movement; Jordanian Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general]; Jordanian Communist Workers Party; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA, secretary general]; Jordanian Generations Party [Muhammad KHALAYLEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA, secretary general]; Jordanian Peace Party; Jordanian People's Committees Movement; Jordanian People's Democratic Party (Hashd) [Ahmad YUSUF, secretary general]; Jordanian Rafah Party; Jordanian Renaissance Party; Mission Party; Nation Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; National Action Party (Haqq) [Tariq al-KAYYALI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; National Popular Democratic Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]; Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman]; Jordan Bar Association [Hussein Mujalli, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Salem AL-FALAHAT, secretary general] |
Population | 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.) | 5,906,760 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.21% (2002 est.) | 2.49% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 84 km
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge note: Sierra Leone has no common carrier railroads; the existing railroad is private and used on a limited basis while the mine at Marampa is closed (2001) |
total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.) |
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: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.15 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: The national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: service has improved recently with increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public
domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available international: country code - 962; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (2001) | 617,300 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2001) | 1,594,500 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River |
Total fertility rate | 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.63 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12.5% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | - |