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Compare Sierra Leone (2007) - British Virgin Islands (2003)
Compare Sierra Leone (2007) z British Virgin Islands (2003)
| Sierra Leone (2007) | British Virgin Islands (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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: 21.9% (male 2,401; female 2,358)
15-64 years: 73.1% (male 8,181; female 7,709) 65 years and over: 5% (male 578; female 503) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 10 (2007) | 3 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
| Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | about 0.9 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. | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
| Capital | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Road Town |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 402 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 1 June 1977 |
| 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: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
| Death rate | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 territory of the UK) |
| 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.) | NA% |
| 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. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 227.9 million kWh (2005) | 35.43 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2005) | 38.1 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 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 | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| 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 |
- |
| 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 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
| 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) | the US dollar is used |
| 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 Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Orlando SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $320 million (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2006 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 18 30 N, 64 30 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 | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
| Highways | - | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| 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) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
| Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
| Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| 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: 18.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2002) |
| 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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) | 4,911 (1980) |
| 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 |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (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 (official) |
| Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
| 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.06 years
male: 75.07 years female: 77.1 years (2003 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 can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east 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 continental shelf: 200 nm |
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 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: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) 19,203 GRT/28,864 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Territory Day, 1 July |
| Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
10.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | trade unions and student unions | NA |
| Population | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) | 21,730 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 70.2% (2004) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.292% (2007 est.) | 2.1% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Road Town |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | - | 0 km |
| Religions | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 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: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 24,000 (2002) | 10,000 (1996) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 113,200 (2003) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 3% (1995) |
| Waterways | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) | none |
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