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.)