Sierra Leone (2007) | Togo (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); De La Kara, Des Plateaux, Des Savanes, Centrale, Maritime |
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: 44.5% (male 1,211,252; female 1,203,564)
15-64 years: 53% (male 1,404,763; female 1,473,360) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 57,535; female 78,825) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish |
Airports | 10 (2007) | 9 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. Most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen. |
Birth rate | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 35.23 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $232 million
expenditures: $252 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 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) |
Lome |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 402 km | 56 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 |
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: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.51 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) | $1.4 billion (2000) |
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 Gregory ENGLE
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94 FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
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 Akoussoulelou BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
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 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission presently resurveying the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $343.4 million (2005 est.) | ODA $80 million (2000 est.) |
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. | This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has moved slowly. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.9 million kWh (2005) | 614.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 520 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2001) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2005) | 101.6 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 98.7%
hydro: 1.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 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 | deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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 | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% |
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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
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: President Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA (since 14 April 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 1 June 2003 (next to be held NA June 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 57.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 34.1%, Yawovi AGBOYIBO 5.2%, Maurice Dahuku PERE 2.3%, Edem KODJO 1.0% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) | Ghana 17.7%, Benin 13.3%, Burkina Faso 8.2%, Philippines 4.9%, Niger 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.594 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2006 est.) | 2.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 8 00 N, 1 10 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 | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 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% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products |
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) | France 21.3%, China 17%, Netherlands 6.5%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages |
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: 68.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 60.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 4% (2002 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | 70 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) | 1.74 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
arable land: 41.37%
permanent crops: 1.84% other: 56.79% (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 and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French-based court system |
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 National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPT 72, RSD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1 note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 53.43 years
male: 51.47 years female: 55.45 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: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
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: 30 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: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $23.72 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2006) | 1.8% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,270,146 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 666,132 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
0 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 | Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP [leader NA]; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Hanay OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | trade unions and student unions | NA |
Population | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) | 5,429,299
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70.2% (2004) | 32% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.292% (2007 est.) | 2.37% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Kpeme, Lome |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 525 km
narrow gauge: 525 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
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: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,000 (2002) | 25,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 113,200 (2003) | 2,995 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.97 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) | 50 km (Mono river) |