The British set up a trading post near present-day Freetown in the 17th century. Originally the trade involved timber and ivory, but later it expanded into slaves. Following the American Revolution, a colony was established in 1787 and Sierra Leone became a destination for resettling black loyalists who had originally been resettled in Nova Scotia. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, British crews delivered thousands of Africans liberated from illegal slave ships to Sierra Leone, particularly Freetown. The colony gradually expanded inland during the course of the 19th century; independence was attained in 1961. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war (1991-2002) 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, has developed as a guarantor of the country's stability; the armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 and 2012 national elections. In March 2014, the closure of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone marked the end of more than 15 years of peacekeeping and political operations in Sierra Leone. The government's stated priorities include furthering development - including recovering from the Ebola epidemic - creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.

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

8 30 N, 11 30 W

Africa

slightly smaller than South Carolina

402 km

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

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

highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m

diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite

arable land 23.4%; permanent crops 2.3%; permanent pasture 30.5%

300 sq km (2012)

dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms

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

rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa

6,018,888 (July 2016 est.)

Temne 35%, Mende 31%, Limba 8%, Kono 5%, Kriole 2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio), Mandingo 2%, Loko 2%, other 15% (includes refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, and small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians) (2008 census)

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%)

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

Sierra Leone’s youthful and growing population is driven by its high total fertility rate (TFR) of almost 5 children per woman, which has declined little over the last two decades. Its elevated TFR is sustained by the continued desire for large families, the low level of contraceptive use, and the early start of childbearing. Despite its high TFR, Sierra Leone’s population growth is somewhat tempered by high infant, child, and maternal mortality rates that are among the world’s highest and are a result of poverty, a lack of potable water and sanitation, poor nutrition, limited access to quality health care services, and the prevalence of female genital cutting.

Sierra Leone’s large youth cohort – about 60% of the population is under the age of 25 – continues to struggle with high levels of unemployment, which was one of the major causes of the country’s 1991-2002 civil war and remains a threat to stability today. Its estimated 60% youth unemployment rate is attributed to high levels of illiteracy and unskilled labor, a lack of private sector jobs, and low pay.

Sierra Leone has been a source of and destination for refugees. Sierra Leone’s civil war internally displaced as many as 2 million people, or almost half the population, and forced almost another half million to seek refuge in neighboring countries (370,000 Sierra Leoneans fled to Guinea and 120,000 to Liberia). The UNHCR has helped almost 180,000 Sierra Leoneans to return home, while more than 90,000 others have repatriated on their own. Of the more than 65,000 Liberians who took refuge in Sierra Leone during their country’s civil war (1989-2003), about 50,000 have been voluntarily repatriated by the UNHCR and others have returned home independently. As of 2015, less than 1,000 Liberians still reside in Sierra Leone.

2.36% (2016 est.)

36.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

10.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-2.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

FREETOWN (capital) 1.007 million (2015)

19.2

1,360 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

4.76 children born/woman (2016 est.)

16.6% (2013)

11.1% of GDP (2014)

0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2010)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2006)

urban: 84.9% of population

rural: 47.8% of population

total: 62.6% of population

urban: 15.1% of population

rural: 52.2% of population

total: 37.4% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 22.8% of population

rural: 6.9% of population

total: 13.3% of population

urban: 77.2% of population

rural: 93.1% of population

total: 86.7% of population (2015 est.)

1.34% (2015 est.)

51,100 (2015 est.)

2,500 (2015 est.)

6.6% (2014)

18.1% (2013)

2.8% of GDP (2014)

presidential republic

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

27 April 1961 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 27 April (1961)

several previous; latest in effect 1 October 1991; amended several times, last in 2013 (2016)

mixed legal system of English common law and customary law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]

Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Somano KAPEN]

numerous other parties

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and blue; green symbolizes agriculture, mountains, and natural resources, white represents unity and justice, and blue the sea and the natural harbor in Freetown

lion; national colors: green, white, blue

Sierra Leone is extremely poor and nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. The country possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, but it is still recovering from a civil war that destroyed most institutions before ending in the early 2000s.

In recent years economic growth has been driven by mining - particularly iron ore. The country’s principal exports are iron ore, diamonds, and rutile, and the economy is vulnerable to fluctuations in international prices. Until 2014, the government had relied on external assistance to support its budget, but it was gradually becoming more independent. The Ebola outbreak of 2014 and 2015, combined with falling global commodities prices, caused a significant contraction of economic activity in all areas.

While the World Health Organization declared an end to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in November 2015, economic recovery will depend on rising commodities prices and increased efforts to diversify the sources of growth. Pervasive corruption and undeveloped human capital will continue to deter foreign investors. Sustained international donor support in the near future will partially offset these fiscal constraints.

$9.966 billion (2015 est.)

$12.69 billion (2014 est.)

$12.13 billion (2013 est.)

$4.167 billion (2015 est.)

-21.5% (2015 est.)

4.6% (2014 est.)

20.7% (2013 est.)

$1,600 (2015 est.)

$2,000 (2014 est.)

$2,000 (2013 est.)

-5.2% of GDP (2015 est.)

7.4% of GDP (2014 est.)

16% of GDP (2013 est.)

rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

diamond mining; iron ore, rutile and bauxite mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, footwear)

-65% (2015 est.)

2.56 million (2015 est.)

9.1% (2014 est.)

70.2% (2004 est.)

34 (2011)

62.9 (1989)

15.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

-5.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

41.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

37.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

calendar year

8% (2015 est.)

7.3% (2014 est.)

NA%

18.78% (31 December 2015 est.)

19.41% (31 December 2014 est.)

$458.4 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$432.1 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$960.1 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$857.3 million (31 December 2013 est.)

$501.7 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$516.1 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$NA

-$574 million (2015 est.)

-$911 million (2014 est.)

$569.4 million (2015 est.)

$1.282 billion (2014 est.)

Iron ore, diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish

China 31.3%, Belgium 27.8%, Romania 11.3%, US 7.3%, India 4% (2015)

$1.575 billion (2015 est.)

$1.635 billion (2014 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals

China 23%, India 7.9%, US 6.4%, Netherlands 5.1% (2015)

$1.403 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.238 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.296 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.095 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$9.7 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.7 million (31 December 2014 est.)

leones (SLL) per US dollar -

5,080.8 (2015 est.)

4,524.2 (2014 est.)

4,524.2 (2013 est.)

4,344 (2012 est.)

4,336.1 (2011 est.)

300 million kWh (2014 est.)

200 million kWh (2014 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

100,000 kW (2015 est.)

33.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

66.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

7,500 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

7,354 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

1.4 million Mt (2013 est.)

1 government-owned TV station; 3 private TV stations; a pay-TV service began operations in late 2007; 1 government-owned national radio station; about two-dozen private radio stations primarily clustered in major cities; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2016)

.sl

9L (2016)

8 (2013)

2 (2013)

800 km (600 km navigable year round) (2011)

Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Maritime Wing and Air Wing) (2013)

18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service (younger with parental consent); women are eligible to serve; no conscription; candidates must be HIV negative (2012)

0.72% of GDP (2012)

0.8% of GDP (2011)

0.72% of GDP (2010)

Sierra Leone opposes Guinean troops' continued occupation of Yenga, a small village on the Makona River that serves as a border with Guinea; Guinea's forces came to Yenga in the mid-1990s to help the Sierra Leonean military to suppress rebels and to secure their common border but have remained there even after both countries signed a 2005 agreement acknowledging that Yenga belonged to Sierra Leone; in 2012, the two sides signed a declaration to demilitarize the area