Sierra Leone

[Top of Page]

Background: On 25 May 1997, the democratically-elected government of President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH was overthrown by a disgruntled coalition of army personnel from the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under the command of Major Johnny Paul KOROMA; President KABBAH fled to exile in Guinea. The Economic Community of West African States Cease-Fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) forces, led by a strong Nigerian contingent, undertook the suppression of the rebellion. They were initially unsuccessful, but, by October 1997, they forced the rebels to agree to a cease-fire and to a plan to return the government to democratic control. President KABBAH returned to office on 10 March 1998 to face the task of restoring order to a demoralized population and a disorganized and severely damaged economy. Many of the leaders of the coup were tried and executed in October 1998. In January 1999, the situation had deteriorated even further, with commerce at a standstill, hundreds of thousands of people driven from their homes, and bitter fighting between the AFRC/RUF and ECOMOG troops intensifying by large-scale import of arms.

[Top of Page]

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia

Geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 11 30 W

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km
water: 120 sq km

Area—comparative: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries:
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)

Terrain: coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m

Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite

Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 31%
forests and woodland: 28%
other: 33% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 290 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (November to May); sandstorms, dust storms

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 depleting natural resources; overfishing

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

[Top of Page]

Population: 5,296,651 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,182,181; female 1,219,956)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,307,475; female 1,423,046)
65 years and over: 3% (male 82,374; female 81,619) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.34% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 45.62 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 14.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 126.23 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.13 years
male: 46.07 years
female: 52.27 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.16 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups: 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendents of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-eighteenth century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians

Religions: Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

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 descendents 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%)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 31.4%
male: 45.4%
female: 18.2% (1995 est.)

[Top of Page]

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone

Data code: SL

Government type: constitutional democracy

Capital: Freetown

Administrative divisions: 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*

Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)

National holiday: Republic Day, 27 April (1961)

Constitution: 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

Legal system: based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government
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; election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); note—president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms
election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote—first round—KABBAH 36.0%, second round—KABBAH 59.5%

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats—68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note—first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: 15 parties registered for the February 1996 elections; National People's Party or NPP [Andrew TURAY]; Democratic Center Party or DCP [Abu KOROMA]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Coalition for Progress Party or CPP [Geredine WILLIAMS-SARHO]; National Unity Movement or NUM [John Desmond Fashole LUKE]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Andrew Victor LUNGAY]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward John KARGBO, chairman]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Alliance for Democracy Party or NADP [Mohamed Yahya SILLAH]

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263
FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph MELROSE; note—embassy closed in late December 1998
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485
FAX: [232] (22) 225471

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

[Top of Page]

Economy—overview: Sierra Leone has substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. The period of AFRC/RUF junta rule (May 1997-February 1998) led to UN sanctions and 20% drop in GDP in 1997. The continued fighting at yearend 1997 set back what small progress had been made by the KABBAH government in recovering from the junta period and reestablishing a viable economy. About two-thirds 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. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The fate of the economy in 1999 depends on the outcome of negotiations to end the civil strife.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$2.7 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 0.7% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$530 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 52%
industry: 16%
services: 32% (1996)

Population below poverty line: 68% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 37.4% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)

Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $150 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

Industries: mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity—production: 230 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 230 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Exports: $41 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports—commodities: diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish

Exports—partners: Belgium 49%, Spain 10%, US 8%, UK 3% (1997)

Imports: $166 million (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports—commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants

Imports—partners: UK 16%, US 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 8%, Belgium-Luxembourg 3% (1997)

Debt—external: $1.15 billion (1998)

Economic aid—recipient: $203.7 million (1995)

Currency: 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: leones (Le) per US$1—1,630.5 (January 1999), 1,597.2 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996), 755.22 (1995), 586.74 (1994)

Fiscal year: 1 July—30 June

[Top of Page]

Telephones: 17,526 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: national microwave radio relay system made unserviceable by military activities
international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave NA

Radios: 980,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)

Televisions: 45,000 (1992 est.)

[Top of Page]

Railways:
total: 84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
total: 11,700 km
paved: 1,287 km
unpaved: 10,413 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round

Ports and harbors: Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 10 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)

[Top of Page]

Military branches: Army

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 1,119,239 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 543,210 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $46 million (FY96/97)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2% (FY96/97)

[Top of Page]

Disputes—international: none