Sierra Leone (2002) | Saint Martin (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | - |
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.) |
- |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | - |
Airports | 10 (2001) | 1 |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 54.4 sq km
land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | more than one-third the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished St. Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The cultivation of sugar cane introduced slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of St. Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity. |
Birth rate | 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
- |
Capital | Freetown | name: Marigot
geographical coordinates: 18 04 N, 63 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season |
Coastline | 402 km | 58.9 km (for entire island) |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin
conventional short form: Saint Martin local long form: Collectivity d'outre mer de Saint-Martin local short form: Saint-Martin |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000) | - |
Dependency status | - | overseas collectivity of France |
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 |
none (overseas collectivity of France) |
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 |
none (overseas collectivity of France) |
Disputes - international | ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone has engendered refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $103 million (2001 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. | The economy of Saint Martin centers around tourism with 85% of the labor force engaged in this sector. Over one million visitors come to the island each year with most arriving through the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten. No significant agriculture and limited local fishing means that almost all food must be imported. Energy resources and manufactured goods are also imported, primarily from Mexico and the United States. Saint Martin is reported to have the highest per capita income in the Caribbean. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.85 million kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2000) | - |
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: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 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 | fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water |
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 |
- |
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 | creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) |
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 Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by Prefect Dominique LACROIX (since 21 March 2007)
head of government: President of the Territorial Council Louis-Constant FLEMING (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory economic, social, and cultural council election: French president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Council is elected by the members of the Council for a five-year term election results: Louis-Constant FLEMING unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007 |
Exports | $65 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | - |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | - |
Exports - partners | NZ 33.7%, Belgium 32.6%, US 7.4%, France 5.1% (2000) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 27% services: 30% (2000) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $500 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 18 05 N, 63 57 W |
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 | the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten |
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) |
- |
Imports | $145 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | - |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | crude petroleum, food, manufactured items |
Imports - partners | Czech Republic 26.7%, UK 26.6%, US 5.1%, Netherlands 4.6% (2000) | US, Mexico (2006) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | none (overseas collectivity of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry |
Infant mortality rate | 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 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 | UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1998 est.) | - |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | - |
Labor force | 1.369 million
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) (1981 est.) |
- |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | 85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.76%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 92.46% (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%) | French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
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 Territorial Council (23 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of seats by party - UPP 49%, RRR 42.2%, Reussir Saint-Martin 8.9%; seats by party - UPP 16, RRR 6, Reussir Saint-Martin 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.96 years
male: 43.01 years female: 49.01 years (2002 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.) |
- |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army (RSLAF) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.3 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY01) | - |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848) |
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 | - |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | salt |
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.) |
- |
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] | Union Pour le Progres or UPP [Louis Constant FLEMING]; Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite or RRR [Alain RICHARDSON]; Reussir Saint-Martin [Jean-Luc HAMLET] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | - |
Population | 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.) | 33,102 (October 2004 census) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | - |
Population growth rate | 3.21% (2002 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | FM 3 (2007) |
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) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu |
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.) |
- |
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: fully integrated access
domestic: direct dial capability with both fixed and wireless systems international: country code - 590; undersea fiber-optic cable provides voice and data connectivity to Puerto Rico and Gudaloupe |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (2001) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2001) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | - |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | - |
Total fertility rate | 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | - |
Transportation - note | - | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | - |