SIERRA LEONE                                                                    
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 71,740 km2; land area: 71,620 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina                          
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 958 km total; Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km                    
                                                                                
Coastline: 402 km                                                               
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 200 nm                                                         
                                                                                
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                                               
                                                                                
Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold,             
chromite                                                                        
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 25%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures             
31%; forest and woodland 29%; other 13%; includes irrigated NEGL%               
                                                                                
Environment: extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea;                    
deforestation; soil degradation                                                 
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 4,274,543 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 20 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                   
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                          
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 151 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                      
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 42 years male, 48 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 6.1 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Sierra Leonean(s); adjective--Sierra Leonean                 
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: native African 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%);                    
Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%; 13 tribes                             
                                                                                
Religion: Muslim 30%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%,                    
other or none 30%                                                               
                                                                                
Language: English (official); regular use limited to literate                   
minority; principal vernaculars are Mende in south and Temne in north;          
Krio is the language of the resettled ex-slave population of the Freetown       
area and is lingua franca                                                       
                                                                                
Literacy: 21% (male 31%, female 11%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic (1990 est.)                     
                                                                                
Labor force: 1,369,000 (est.); agriculture 65%, industry 19%,                   
services 16% (1981); only about 65,000 earn wages (1985); 55% of                
population of working age                                                       
                                                                                
Organized labor: 35% of wage earners                                            
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Republic of Sierra Leone                                        
                                                                                
Type: republic under presidential regime                                        
                                                                                
Capital: Freetown                                                               
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 4 provinces; Eastern, Northern, Southern,             
Western                                                                         
                                                                                
Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)                                           
                                                                                
Constitution: 14 June 1978                                                      
                                                                                
Legal system: based on English law and customary laws indigenous to             
local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction                      
                                                                                
National holiday: Republic Day, 27 April (1961)                                 
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, Cabinet                       
                                                                                
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives                         
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court                                                  
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. Joseph                    
Saidu MOMOH (since 28 November 1985); First Vice President Abu Bakar            
KAMARA (since 4 April 1987); Second Vice President Salia JUSU-SHERIFF           
(since 4 April 1987)                                                            
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders: only party--All People's Congress                
(APC), Gen. Joseph Saidu MOMOH; note--constitutional referendum to              
adopt a multiparty system is scheduled for June 1991                            
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 18                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held 1 October 1985 (next to be held October 1992);             
results--Gen. Joseph Saidu MOMOH was elected without opposition;                
                                                                                
House of Representatives--last held 30 May 1986 (next to be                     
held February 1992);                                                            
results--APC is the only party;                                                 
seats--(127 total, 105 elected) APC 105                                         
                                                                                
Communists: no party, although there are a few Communists and a                 
slightly larger number of sympathizers                                          
                                                                                
Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA,               
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC,           
ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO,            
WIPO, WMO, WTO                                                                  
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador George CAREW; Chancery at                 
1701 19th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 939-9261;             
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Johnny YOUNG; Embassy at the corner of Walpole and               
Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown; telephone  232  (22) 26481                      
                                                                                
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and             
light blue                                                                      
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The economic and social infrastructure is not well                    
developed. Subsistence agriculture dominates the economy, generating            
about one-third of GDP and employing about two-thirds of the working            
population. Manufacturing accounts for less than 10% of GDP, consisting         
mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for        
the domestic market. Diamond mining provides an important source of hard        
currency. The economy suffers from high unemployment, rising inflation,         
large trade deficits, and a growing dependency on foreign assistance.           
The government in 1990 was attempting to get the budget deficit under           
control and, in general, to bring economic policy in line with the              
recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank.                                  
                                                                                
GDP: $1,302 million, per capita $325; real growth rate 2.8% (FY90)              
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): over 100% (1990)                              
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: NA%                                                          
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $134 million; expenditures $187 million,                       
including capital expenditures of $32 million (FY91 est.)                       
                                                                                
Exports: $138 million (f.o.b., 1990);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--rutile 50%, bauxite 17%, cocoa 11%, diamonds 3%,                   
coffee 3%;                                                                      
                                                                                
partners--US, UK, Belgium, FRG, other Western Europe                            
                                                                                
Imports: $146 million (c.i.f., 1990);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--capital goods 40%, food 32%, petroleum 12%,                        
consumer goods 7%, light industrial goods;                                      
                                                                                
partners--US, EC, Japan, China, Nigeria                                         
                                                                                
External debt: $572 million (1990)                                              
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate - 19% (FY88 est.); accounts                  
for 14% of GDP                                                                  
                                                                                
Electricity: 83,000 kW capacity; 180 million kWh produced,                      
45 kWh per capita (1989)                                                        
                                                                                
Industries: mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile), small-scale                     
manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear), petroleum            
refinery                                                                        
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for over 30% of GDP and two-thirds of the                 
labor force; largely subsistence farming; cash crops--coffee, cocoa, palm       
kernels; harvests of food staple rice meets 80% of domestic needs;              
annual fish catch averages 53,000 metric tons                                   
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $161                   
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-87), $698 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $18 million;             
Communist countries (1970-89), $101 million                                     
                                                                                
Currency: leone (plural--leones); 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents                      
                                                                                
Exchange rates: leones per US$1--196.0784 (January 1991),                       
144.9275 (1990), 58.1395 (1989), 31.2500 (1988), 30.7692 (1987),                
8.3963 (1986), 4.7304 (1985)                                                    
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June                                                     
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 84 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge mineral line is used on a             
limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed                             
                                                                                
Highways: 7,400 km total; 1,150 km bituminous, 490 km laterite                  
(some gravel), remainder improved earth                                         
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round                           
                                                                                
Ports: Freetown, Pepel                                                          
                                                                                
Civil air: no major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 12 total, 8 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;                 
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;                   
3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                    
                                                                                
Telecommunications: marginal telephone and telegraph service;                   
national microwave radio relay system unserviceable at present; 23,650          
telephones; stations--1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth         
station                                                                         
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Army, Navy, Police                                                    
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 939,214; 453,877 fit for                    
military service; no conscription                                               
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $6 million, 0.7% of GDP (1988 est.)                       
                                                                                
