Airports [time series]

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

Civil air [time series]

no major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

7,400 km total; 1,150 km bituminous, 490 km laterite (some gravel), remainder improved earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

800 km; 600 km navigable year round

Ports [time series]

Freetown, Pepel

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

84 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge mineral line is used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Police

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$6 million, 0.7% of GDP (1988 est.)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 939,214; 453,877 fit for military service; no conscription

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $134 million; expenditures $187 million, including capital expenditures of $32 million (FY91 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

leone (plural--leones); 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

83,000 kW capacity; 180 million kWh produced, 45 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

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)

Exports [time series]

$138 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--rutile 50%, bauxite 17%, cocoa 11%, diamonds 3%, coffee 3%; partners--US, UK, Belgium, FRG, other Western Europe

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$632 million (1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July-30 June

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$1,302 million, per capita $325; real growth rate 1.8% (FY89)

Imports [time series]

$183 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--capital goods 40%, food 32%, petroleum 12%, consumer goods 7%, light industrial goods; partners--US, EC, Japan, China, Nigeria

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate - 19% (FY88 est.); accounts for 8% of GDP

Industries [time series]

mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile), small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear), petroleum refinery

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

over 100% (1990)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Climate [time series]

tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)

Coastline [time series]

402 km Territorial sea: 200 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than South Carolina

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea; deforestation; soil degradation

Land boundaries [time series]

958 km total; Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 25%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 31%; forest and woodland 29%; other 13%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Natural resources [time series]

diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite

Terrain [time series]

coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east

Area (Total area) [time series]

71,740 km2; land area: 71,620 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

4 provinces; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western

Capital [time series]

Freetown

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

no party, although there are a few Communists and a slightly larger number of sympathizers

Constitution [time series]

14 June 1978

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

president, two vice presidents, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

Independence [time series]

27 April 1961 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court 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)

Legal system [time series]

based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral House of Representatives

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Sierra Leone

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Republic Day, 27 April (1961)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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 [time series]

universal at age 18 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

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic under presidential regime

Birth rate [time series]

46 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

20 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

native African 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%); Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%; 13 tribes

Infant mortality rate [time series]

151 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

1,369,000 (est.); agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981); only about 65,000 earn wages (1985); 55% of population of working age

Languages (Language) [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

42 years male, 48 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

21% (male 31%, female 11%) age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Sierra Leonean(s); adjective--Sierra Leonean

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

35% of wage earners

Population [time series]

4,274,543 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Muslim 30%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%, other or none 30%

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.1 children born/woman (1991)