Country Fast Facts: Sierra Leone

The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 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 last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces.

A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace.

The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population:
6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)

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Median age:
total: 17.5 years
male: 17.2 years
female: 17.7 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate:
2.292% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate:
45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate:
22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate:
0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female
total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate:
total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years
female: 42.87 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate:
6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
7% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
170,000 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
11,000 (2001 est.)

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Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever (2007)

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

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Ethnic groups:
20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians

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

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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 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%)

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Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1%
male: 46.9%
female: 24.4% (2004 est.)

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.

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GDP (purchasing power parity):
$5.452 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.236 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate:
7.1% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP):
$900 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31%
services: 21% (2001 est.)

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Labor force:
1.369 million (1981 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

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Unemployment rate:
NA%

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

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

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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
62.9 (1989)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (2002 est.)

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Budget:
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

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

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Industries:
diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair

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Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

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Electricity - production:
244 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption:
226.9 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production:
4 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption:
6,600 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl

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Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Exports:
$185 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

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Exports - partners:
Belgium 51.7%, US 19%, Netherlands 6.7% (2006)

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Imports:
$531 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals

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Imports - partners:
Cote d'Ivoire 9.7%, US 8.1%, China 8%, UK 7%, Netherlands 5.8%, South Africa 4.7%, India 4.6%, France 4.4% (2006)

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Debt - external:
$1.61 billion (2003 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient:
$297.4 million (2003 est.)

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Currency (code):
leone (SLL)

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Exchange rates:
leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002)

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Fiscal year:
calendar year