Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form:
Sierra Leone
Digraph:
SL
Type:
military government
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; suspended following 19 April 1992 coup
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 and head of government:
Chairman of the Supreme Council of State Capt. Valentine E. M.
STRASSER (since 29 April 1992)
cabinet:
Council of Secretaries; responsible to the NPRC
Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives (suspended after coup of 29 April
1992); Chairman STRASSER promises multi-party elections sometime in
1995
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
status of existing political parties is unknown following 29 April
1992 coup
Member of:
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory
user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas Kahota KARGBO
chancery:
1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
(202) 939-9261
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lauralee M. PETERS
embassy:
Walpole and Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[232] (22) 226-481
FAX:
[232] (22) 225-471
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. In 1990-93, the government, with
the support of the IMF and the World Bank, has made substantial
progress toward structural reform and better fiscal management. The
government readily met all IMF/WB targets in December 1993. The budget
deficit had been dramatically reduced; the government workforce had
been cut by 25%; large amounts of domestic debt had been retired;
arrears to the IMF, World Bank, and other creditors had been reduced.
On the negative side, continued incursions by the Liberian rebels,
bandits, and army deserters in southern and eastern Sierra Leone have
severely strained the economy and threaten economically critical
regions of the country.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $4.5 billion (FY93 est.)
National product real growth rate:
NA
National product per capita:
$1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
35% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues:
$68 million
expenditures:
$118 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1992
est.)
Exports:
$149 million (f.o.b., FY92)
commodities:
rutile 51%, bauxite 19%, diamonds 15%, coffee 5%
partners:
US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe
Imports:
$131 million (c.i.f., FY92)
commodities:
foodstuffs 33%, machinery and equipment 19%, fuels 16%
partners:
US, EC countries, Japan, China, Nigeria
External debt:
$633 million (FY92 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1.2% (FY91); accounts for 11% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
85,000 kW
production:
185 million kWh
consumption per capita:
45 kWh (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:
recipient:
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:
1 leone (Le) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
leones (Le) per US$1 - 578.17 (January 1994), 567.46 (1993), 499.44
(1992), 295.34 (1991), 144.9275 (1990), 58.1395 (1989)
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:
total:
7,400 km
paved:
1,150 km
unpaved:
crushed stone, gravel 490 km; improved earth 5,760 km
Inland waterways:
800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Ports:
Freetown, Pepel, Bonthe
Merchant marine:
1 cargo ship (over 1,000 GRT) totaling 5,592 GRT/9,107 DWT
Airports:
total:
11
usable:
7
with permanent-surface runways:
3
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
3
Telecommunications:
marginal telephone and telegraph service; national microwave radio
relay system unserviceable at present; 23,650 telephones; broadcast
stations - 1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
@Sierra Leone, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,006,280; fit for military service 487,158
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $6 million, 0.7% of GDP (1988 est.)
@Singapore, Geography
Location:
Southeastern Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia
Map references:
Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
632.6 sq km
land area:
622.6 sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
193 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive fishing zone:
12 nm
territorial sea:
3 nm
International disputes:
two islands in dispute with Malaysia
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid, rainy; no pronounced rainy or dry seasons;
thunderstorms occur on 40% of all days (67% of days in April)
Terrain:
lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment
area and nature preserve
Natural resources:
fish, deepwater ports
Land use:
arable land:
4%
permanent crops:
7%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
5%
other:
84%
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
industrial pollution; limited water supply; limited land availability
presents waste disposal problems
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note:
focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
@Singapore, People