:Sierra Leone People
Population:
4,456,737 (July 1992), growth rate -0.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
46 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
20 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-28 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
148 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
43 years male, 48 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.1 children born/woman (1992)
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
Religions:
Muslim 30%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%, other or none 30%
Languages:
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
:Sierra Leone Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Sierra Leone
Type:
military government
Capital:
Freetown
Administrative divisions:
Western Area and 3 provinces; Eastern, Northern, Southern
Independence:
27 April 1961 (from UK)
Constitution:
1 October 1991; amended September 1991
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:
National Provisional Ruling Council
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Gen. Joseph Saidu MOMOH was ousted in coup of 29 April 1992;
succeeded by Chairman of the National Provisional Ruling Council Valentine
STRASSER (since 29 April 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
status of existing political parties are unknown following 29 April 1992
coup
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
suspended after 29 April 1992 coup; Chairman STRASSER promises multi-party
elections sometime in the future
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 (vacant); 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) 226-481; FAX [232] (22) 225471
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
:Sierra Leone 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, which
accounts for roughly 10% of GDP, consists 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. Since
March 1991, however, military incursions by Liberian rebels in southern and
eastern Sierra Leone have severely strained the economy and have undermined
efforts to institute economic reforms.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion, per capita $330; real growth rate
3% (FY91 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
110% (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:
NA
Electricity:
85,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 45 kWh per capita (1991)
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 (1970-89), $848 million; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $18 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $101
million
Currency:
leone (plural - leones); 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents
:Sierra Leone Economy
Exchange rates:
leones (Le) per US$1 - 476.74 (March 1992), 295.34 (1991), 144.9275 (1990),
58.1395 (1989), 31.2500 (1988), 30.7692 (1987)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
:Sierra Leone 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 paved, 490 km laterite (some gravel), remainder
improved earth
Inland waterways:
800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Ports:
Freetown, Pepel, Bonthe
Merchant marine:
1 cargo ship totaling 5,592 GRT/9,107 DWT
Civil air:
no major transport aircraft
Airports:
12 total, 7 usable; 4 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 system
unserviceable at present; 23,650 telephones; broadcast stations - 1 AM, 1
FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station