Sierra Leone (2002) | Lebanon (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakkar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
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: 26.5% (male 523,220/female 502,372)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 1,235,915/female 1,342,540) 65 years and over: 7% (male 122,155/female 147,848) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 10 (2001) | 7 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 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
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | about 0.7 times the size of 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. 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 the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A 15-year civil war (1976-1991) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"). Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005. In May-June 2005, Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference, handing a two-thirds majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's son. |
Birth rate | 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4.953 billion
expenditures: $6.595 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | name: Beirut
geographic coordinates: 33 53 N, 35 30 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) | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 402 km | 225 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan former: Greater Lebanon |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000) | $26 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 Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Akwar facing the Municipality) mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
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 (vacant)
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone has engendered refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978 |
Economic aid - recipient | $103 million (2001 est.) | $2.2 billion received (2003), out of the $4.2 billion in soft loans pledged at the November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference |
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. | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the Rafiq HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises. In November 2002, the government met with international donors at the Paris II conference to seek bilateral assistance in restructuring its massive domestic debt at lower interest rates. Substantial receipts from donor nations stabilized government finances in 2003, but did little to reduce the debt, which stands at nearly 170% of GDP. In 2004 the HARIRI government issued Eurobonds in an effort to manage maturing debt. The downturn in economic activity that followed the assassination of Rafiq al-HARIRI has eased, but has yet to be reversed. Tourism remains below the level of 2004. The new Prime Minister, Fuad SINIORA, has pledged to push ahead with economic reform, including privatization and more efficient government. The Core Group of nations has announced plans to hold a Donor's Conference in early 2006 to assist the government of Lebanon in restructuring its debt and increasing foreign investment. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.85 million kWh (2000) | 10.67 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 750 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2000) | 10.67 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: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 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; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
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 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians |
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) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (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: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held in 2007 based on three-year extension); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | $65 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
Exports - partners | NZ 33.7%, Belgium 32.6%, US 7.4%, France 5.1% (2000) | Syria 25.3%, UAE 11.4%, Switzerland 8.1%, Turkey 6%, Saudi Arabia 6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 27% services: 30% (2000) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $500 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 0.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 33 50 N, 35 50 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 | Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption |
Imports | $145 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco |
Imports - partners | Czech Republic 26.7%, UK 26.6%, US 5.1%, Netherlands 4.6% (2000) | Italy 11.1%, Syria 10.7%, France 9.2%, Germany 6.5%, China 5.4%, US 5.3%, UK 4.4%, Saudi Arabia 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating |
Infant mortality rate | 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 23.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 2.4% (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, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,040 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | 1.369 million
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) (1981 est.) |
2.6 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.76%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 92.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.35%
permanent crops: 13.75% other: 69.9% (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), French, English, Armenian |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Free Patriotic Movement 14; Lebanese Forces 6; Qornet Shewan 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Tachnaq Party 2; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Democratic Left 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; Ba'th Party 1; Kataeb Party 1; independent 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.96 years
male: 43.01 years female: 49.01 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 72.88 years
male: 70.41 years female: 75.48 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: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 39 ships (1000 GRT or over) 150,598 GRT/178,295 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 18, livestock carrier 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: 4 (Greece 3, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 59 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Barbados 1, Cambodia 6, Comoros 6, Egypt 2, Georgia 7, Honduras 1, North Korea 6, Liberia 2, Malta 10, Mongolia 1, Panama 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4, Sao Tome and Principe 1, Syria 7, unknown 2) (2006) |
Military branches | Army (RSLAF) | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.3 million (FY01) | $540.6 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY01) | 3.1% (2004) |
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, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
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.) |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 43 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] | Ba'th Party; Democratic Gathering [Walid JUMBLATT]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD]; Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, Amal Movement leader/Speaker of the National Assembly]; Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Party [Karim PAKRADONI]; Kataeb Reform Movement [Amine GEMAYAL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD]; National Bloc [Carlos EDDE]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Qornet Shewan Gathering [a grouping with no individual leader]; Syrian National Socialist Party [Ali QANSU]; Tachnaq Party; Tripoli Independent Bloc [a grouping with no individual leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | none |
Population | 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.) | 3,874,050 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.21% (2002 est.) | 1.23% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
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: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435 m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050 m note: rail system became unusable because of damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: 17 religious sects recognized |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
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: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete
domestic: two commercial wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies international: country code - 961; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (2001) | 990,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2001) | 990,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 18% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | - |