Sierra Leone is located in Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia.
Sierra Leone has borders with Guinea for 652km and Liberia for 306km.
Land in Sierra Leone is coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east.
Sierra Leonean land covers an area of 71740 square kilometers which is slightly smaller than South Carolina
As for the Sierra Leonean climate; tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April).
Sierra Leonean(s) speak 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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Eastern Northern Sierra Leone (general) | Southern Western Area |
The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war 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, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability.
Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African 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. About two-thirds 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 mining.
Sierra Leonean natural resources include diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
Sierra Leonean religion is Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%.
Natural hazards in Sierra Leone include dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms.