Sierra Leone (2008) | Greenland (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 3 districts (landsdele); Avannaa (Nordgronland), Tunu (Ostgronland), Kitaa (Vestgronland)
note: there are 18 municipalities in Greenland |
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: 25.5% (male 7,344; female 7,029)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 20,894; female 17,715) 65 years and over: 6% (male 1,585; female 1,817) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | forage crops, garden and greenhouse vegetables; sheep, reindeer; fish |
Airports | 10 (2007) | 14 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 2,166,086 sq km
land: 2,166,086 sq km (410,449 sq km ice-free, 1,755,637 sq km ice-covered) (2000 est.) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly more than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Democracy is slowly being reestablished 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 military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption. | The world's largest island, Greenland is about 81% ice-capped. Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland; Danish colonization began in the 18th century and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953. It joined the European Community (now the European Union) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute over stringent fishing quotas. Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament. The law went into effect the following year. Denmark continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs. |
Birth rate | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.96 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $646 million
expenditures: $629 million, including capital expenditures of $85 million (1999) |
Capital | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Nuuk (Godthab) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | arctic to subarctic; cool summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 402 km | 44,087 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | 5 June 1953 (Danish constitution) |
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: Greenland local long form: none local short form: Kalaallit Nunaat |
Currency | - | Danish krone (DKK) is the official legal tender. |
Death rate | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) | $25 million (1999) |
Dependency status | - | part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979 |
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 (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hassan M. CONTECH
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
none (self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark) |
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 | uncontested dispute between Canada and Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - recipient | $343.4 million (2005 est.) | $380 million subsidy from Denmark (1997) |
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 physical 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 remains critically dependent on exports of fish and substantial support from the Danish Government, which supplies about half of government revenues. The public sector, including publicly-owned enterprises and the municipalities, plays the dominant role in the economy. Despite several interesting hydrocarbon and minerals exploration activities, it will take several years before production can materialize. Tourism is the only sector offering any near-term potential, and even this is limited due to a short season and high costs. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.9 million kWh (2005) | 227.9 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) | 245 million kWh (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: Gunnbjorn 3,700 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 | protection of the arctic environment; preservation of the Inuit traditional way of life, including whaling and seal hunting |
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 | Greenlander 88% (Inuit and Greenland-born whites), Danish and others 12% (January 2000) |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.323 (2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999) |
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 MARGRETHE II of Denmark (since 14 January 1972), represented by High Commissioner Peter LAURITEEN (since NA 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Hans ENOKSEN (since 14 December 2002) cabinet: Home Rule Government is elected by the Parliament (Landstinget) on the basis of the strength of parties elections: the monarchy is hereditary; high commissioner appointed by the monarch; prime minister is elected by Parliament (usually the leader of the majority party); election last held 3 December 2002 (next to be held December 2006) election results: Hans ENOKSEN elected prime minister note: government coalition - Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit |
Exports | 431.1 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | fish and fish products 94% (prawns 63%) |
Exports - partners | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) | Denmark 64.7%, Japan 14.2%, China 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a large disk slightly to the hoist side of center - the top half of the disk is red, the bottom half is white |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.1 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.8% (2007 est.) | 1.8% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 72 00 N, 40 00 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 | dominates North Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe; sparse population confined to small settlements along coast, but close to one-quarter of the population lives in the capital, Nuuk; world's second largest ice cap |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: NA (there are no roads between towns) (2003) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | 8,864 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, 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) | Denmark 82.6%, Norway 7.5%, Sweden 3.5% (2003) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | none (part of the Kingdom of Denmark; foreign affairs is the responsibility of Denmark, but Greenland actively participates in international agreements relating to Greenland) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair | fish processing (mainly shrimp and Greenland halibut), handicrafts, hides and skins, small shipyards, mining |
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: 16.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2002 est.) | 1.6% (1999 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, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | NC, NIB, UPU |
Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | High Court or Landsret (appeals can be made to the Ostre Landsret or Eastern Division of the High Court or Supreme Court in Copenhagen) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.) | 24,500 (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (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%) | Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | Danish |
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 Parliament or Landstinget (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 3 December 2002 (next to be held by NA December 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Siumut 28.7%, Inuit Ataqatigiit 25.5%, Atassut Party 20.4%, Demokratiit 15.6%, Katusseqatigiit 5.3%; seats by party - Siumut 10, Inuit Ataqatigiit 8, Atassut 7, Demokratiit 5, Katusseqatigiit 1 note: two representatives were elected to the Danish Parliament or Folketing on 20 November 2001 (next to be held 8 February 2005); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Siumut 1, Inuit Ataqatigiit 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 69.32 years
male: 65.75 years female: 72.98 years (2004 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: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA note: similar to Denmark proper |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Northern North America, island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada |
Map references | Africa | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm or agreed boundaries or median line |
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: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,593 GRT/3,640 DWT
by type: cargo 2, passenger 1 foreign-owned: Denmark 1 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Denmark |
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) | June 21 (longest day) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Greenlander(s)
adjective: Greenlandic |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, platinum, uranium, fish, seals, whales, hydropower, possible oil and gas |
Net migration rate | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
-8.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 | Atassut Party (Solidarity, a conservative party favoring continuing close relations with Denmark) [Augusta SALLING]; Demokratiit [Per BERTHELSEN]; Inuit Ataqatigiit or IA (Eskimo Brotherhood, a leftist party favoring complete independence from Denmark rather than home rule) [Josef MOTZFELDT]; Issituup (Polar Party) [Nicolai HEINRICH]; Kattusseqatigiit (Candidate List, an independent right-of-center party with no official platform [leader NA]; Siumut (Forward Party, a social democratic party advocating more distinct Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy from Denmark) [Hans ENOKSEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | trade unions and student unions | NA |
Population | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) | 56,384 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70.2% (2004) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.292% (2007 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aasiaat (Egedesminde), Ilulissat (Jakobshavn), Kangerlussuaq, Nanortalik, Narsarsuaq, Nuuk (Godthab), Qaqortoq (Julianehab), Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), Tasiilaq |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 5, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Evangelical Lutheran |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: marginal telephone 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: adequate domestic and international service provided by satellite, cables and microwave radio relay; totally digitalized in 1995
domestic: microwave radio relay and satellite international: country code - 299; satellite earth stations - 12 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 2 Americom GE-2 (all Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,000 (2002) | 26,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 113,200 (2003) | 16,747 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 publicly-owned station, some local low-power stations, and three AFRTS (US Air Force) stations (1997) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | flat to gradually sloping icecap covers all but a narrow, mountainous, barren, rocky coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.42 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 10% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) | - |