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Compare Sierra Leone (2004) - Eritrea (2005)

Compare Sierra Leone (2004) z Eritrea (2005)

 Sierra Leone (2004)Eritrea (2005)
 Sierra LeoneEritrea
Administrative divisions 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)
Age structure 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,291,621; female 1,343,827)


15-64 years: 52% (male 1,458,610; female 1,599,109)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 91,232; female 99,490) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,023,898/female 1,019,389)


15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,170,823/female 1,194,741)


65 years and over: 3.3% (male 74,312/female 78,436) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Airports 10 (2003 est.) 17 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 4


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 9


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
total: 13


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area total: 71,740 sq km


land: 71,620 sq km


water: 120 sq km
total: 121,320 sq km


land: 121,320 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Background The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) 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. 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. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability. Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections.
Birth rate 43.34 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 38.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $96 million


expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $235.2 million


expenditures: $373.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital Freetown Asmara
Climate tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert
Coastline 402 km 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km
Constitution 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone


conventional short form: Sierra Leone
conventional long form: State of Eritrea


conventional short form: Eritrea


local long form: Hagere Ertra


local short form: Ertra


former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
Currency leone (SLL) -
Death rate 20.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 13.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $1.5 billion (2002 est.) $311 million (2000 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 Scott H. DELISI


embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara


mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara


telephone: [291] (1) 120004


FAX: [291] (1) 127584
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 GIRMA Asmerom


chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991


FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304


consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)
Disputes - international domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and Sierra Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute over the town of Yenga Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; since 2000, the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitors the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999
Economic aid - recipient $103 million (2001 est.) $77 million (1999)
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 11-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. Plans continue 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, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and to supplement government revenues. Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002-04. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth.
Electricity - consumption 232.6 million kWh (2001) 229.4 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 250.1 million kWh (2001) 246.6 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m


highest point: Soira 3,018 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; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species


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 ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
Exchange rates leones per US dollar - 2,347.94 (2003), 2,099.03 (2002), 1,986.15 (2001), 2,092.12 (2000), 1,804.19 (1999) nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958 (2002), 11.31 (2001), 9.625 (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 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 (APC) 22.4%
chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly


head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly


cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president


elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated)


election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Exports NA (2001) NA
Exports - commodities diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999) livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)
Exports - partners Belgium 61.2%, Germany 14.2%, UK 4.5%, US 4.5% (2003) Malaysia 26.6%, Italy 17.1%, Japan 8%, Germany 6.6%, China 5%, UK 4.9%, US 4.7%, France 4.4%, Poland 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
GDP purchasing power parity - $3.057 billion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 49%


industry: 31%


services: 21% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 12.4%


industry: 25.9%


services: 61.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $500 (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.5% (2003 est.) 2.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 8 30 N, 11 30 W 15 00 N, 39 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 geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
Heliports 2 (2003 est.) -
Highways total: 11,330 km


paved: 895 km


unpaved: 10,435 km (1999)
total: 4,010 km


paved: 874 km


unpaved: 3,136 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 NA (2001) NA
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995) machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)
Imports - partners Germany 23.7%, UK 9.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.4%, France 7.4%, US 5.3%, Netherlands 5.1%, Ukraine 4.6% (2003) Ireland 26.6%, US 18.6%, Italy 16.6%, Turkey 6.4% (2004)
Independence 27 April 1961 (from UK) 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
Industrial production growth rate NA NA
Industries mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement, commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate total: 145.24 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 162.64 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 127.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 74.87 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 67.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1% (2002 est.) 10% (2004 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land 290 sq km (1998 est.) 220 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts
Labor force 1.369 million (1981 est.) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%
Land boundaries total: 958 km


border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
total: 1,626 km


border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Land use arable land: 6.98%


permanent crops: 0.89%


other: 92.13% (2001)
arable land: 4.95%


permanent crops: 0.03%


other: 95.02% (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%) Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Legal system based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law
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 (150 seats; term limits not established)


elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely
Life expectancy at birth total population: 42.69 years


male: 40.23 years


female: 45.21 years (2004 est.)
total population: 58.47 years


male: 56.96 years


female: 60.02 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: NA


total population: 58.6%


male: 69.9%


female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references Africa Africa
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Merchant marine total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT


by type: cargo 2 (2004 est.)
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT


by type: cargo 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1


registered in other countries: 1 (2005)
Military branches Army (RSLAF) Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $11.7 million (2003) $151 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.5% (2003) 13.4% (2004)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,265,140 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 614,338 (2004 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 27 April (1961) Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Nationality noun: Sierra Leonean(s)


adjective: Sierra Leonean
noun: Eritrean(s)


adjective: Eritrean
Natural hazards dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms frequent droughts; locust swarms
Natural resources diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2004 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it
Political pressure groups and leaders Trade Unions and Student Unions Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]
Population 5,883,889 (July 2004 est.) 4,561,599 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 68% (1989 est.) 50% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate 2.27% (2004 est.) 2.51% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel Assab, Massawa
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Railways - total: 306 km


narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2004)
Religions Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
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: 0.92 male(s)/female


total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female


total population: 0.99 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: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema


international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: inadequate


domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002)


international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist
Telephones - main lines in use 24,000 (2002) 38,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 67,000 (2002) NA
Television broadcast stations 2 (1999) 1 (2000)
Terrain coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Total fertility rate 5.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) 5.61 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate NA NA (2003 est.)
Waterways 800 km (2003) -
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