Sierra Leone (2007) | Barbados (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.4% (male 29,888; female 29,338)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 94,214; female 98,811) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,378; female 14,978) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton |
Airports | 10 (2007) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007. | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. |
Birth rate | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.32 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Bridgetown |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical; rainy season (June to October) |
Coastline | 402 km | 97 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 30 November 1966 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
Currency | - | Barbadian dollar (BBD) |
Death rate | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) | $425 million |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr.
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246 |
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 Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $343.4 million (2005 est.) | $9.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. 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 supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2001 due to slowdowns in tourism and consumer spending. Growth will remain anemic in 2002 with a recovery likely near the end of the year. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.9 million kWh (2005) | 688.2 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2005) | 740 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 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 depleted natural resources; overfishing | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
Ethnic groups | 20 African ethnic groups 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 | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002) | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $272 million (2000) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing |
Exports - partners | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) | Caribbean Community 43.2%, US 15.3%, UK 13.2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2006 est.) | -2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 13 10 N, 59 32 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 | easternmost Caribbean island |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 1,650 km
paved: 1,628 km unpaved: 22 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $1.16 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components |
Imports - partners | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) | US 40.8%, Caribbean Community 19.8%, UK 8.1%, Japan 5.2%, Canada 4.2% (2000) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 30 November 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -3.2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export |
Infant mortality rate | total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
11.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 19 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) | 128,500 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (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%) | English |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 73.49 years
male: 70.9 years female: 76.12 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 629,987 GRT/1,073,991 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bahamas, The 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, United Kingdom 18 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) | Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2006) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 78,132 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 53,532 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | petroleum, fish, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | trade unions and student unions | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] |
Population | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) | 276,607 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70.2% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.292% (2007 est.) | 0.46% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 237,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 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 international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,000 (2002) | 108,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 113,200 (2003) | 8,013 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.64 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) | none |