Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Sierra Leone (2007) - Barbados (2007)

Compare Sierra Leone (2007) z Barbados (2007)

 Sierra Leone (2007)Barbados (2007)
 Sierra LeoneBarbados
Administrative divisions 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* 11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas
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: 19.7% (male 27,659/female 27,573)


15-64 years: 71.4% (male 98,633/female 102,020)


65 years and over: 8.9% (male 9,662/female 15,399) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish sugarcane, vegetables, cotton
Airports 10 (2007) 1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
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.) 12.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $96 million


expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)
revenues: $847 million (including grants)


expenditures: $886 million (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)
name: Bridgetown


geographic coordinates: 13 06 N, 59 37 W


time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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
Death rate 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 8.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $1.61 billion (2003 est.) $668 million (2003)
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 Mary M. OURISMAN


embassy: U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael


mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055


telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950


FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379
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, 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 in April 2006, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago and compelled Barbados to enter a fishing agreement limiting Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Economic aid - recipient $343.4 million (2005 est.) $2.07 million (2005)
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 light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth was positive in 2005-06, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved.
Electricity - consumption 227.9 million kWh (2005) 886.3 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 245 million kWh (2005) 953 million kWh (2005)
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002)
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 7 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003)


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 NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
Exports - partners Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) US 27.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 15%, UK 10.2%, Saint Lucia 7%, Jamaica 6.5%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.3% (2006)
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 - composition by sector agriculture: 49%


industry: 31%


services: 21% (2001 est.)
agriculture: 6%


industry: 16%


services: 78% (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 7.1% (2006 est.) 3.5% (2006 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) -
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 NA bbl/day
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 37.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 22.6%, UK 5.9% (2006)
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.)
total: 11.55 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 12.88 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 10.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1% (2002 est.) -0.5% (2003 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, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land 300 sq km (2003) 50 sq km (2003)
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); Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest court of appeal
Labor force 1.369 million (1981 est.) 128,500 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: NA%
agriculture: 10%


industry: 15%


services: 75% (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% (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%) 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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 seats; members appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008)


election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7
Life expectancy at birth total population: 40.58 years


male: 38.36 years


female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)
total population: 73 years


male: 71.02 years


female: 75.01 years (2007 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: 99.7%


male: 99.7%


female: 99.7% (2002 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia Caribbean, island in 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
territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 71 ships (1000 GRT or over) 539,579 GRT/793,899 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 39, chemical tanker 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1


foreign-owned: 67 (Bahamas, The 1, Canada 9, Greece 11, India 1, Lebanon 1, Monaco 1, Norway 35, Sweden 5, UK 3)


registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007)
Military - note - the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is to defend the island against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005)
Military branches Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.3% (2006) 0.5% (2006 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 (2007 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]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [David COMISSIONG]
Political pressure groups and leaders trade unions and student unions Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU [Patrick FROST]; Barbados Union of Teachers or BUT [Herbert GITTENS]; Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados or CTUSAB, which includes the BWU, NUPW, BUT, and BSTU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Barbados Workers Union or BWU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG]; National Union of Public Workers [Joseph GODDARD]
Population 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) 280,946 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 70.2% (2004) NA%
Population growth rate 2.292% (2007 est.) 0.369% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)
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: 1.003 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.627 male(s)/female


total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 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: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 75 per 100 persons


domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system


international: country code - 1-246; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat -Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use 24,000 (2002) 134,900 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 113,200 (2003) 206,200 (2005)
Television broadcast stations 2 (1999) 1 (plus 2 cable channels) (2004)
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.) 1.65 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 10.7% (2003 est.)
Waterways 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) -
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.