The west African state of Sierra Leone was founded by the British in 1787 for Africans freed from slavery. The terrain rises from coastal lowlands to mountains in the northeast. A democratic government took office in 1996 against a background of bloody rebellion. Sierra Leone soon plunged into a savage civil war. Although a 1999 peace agreement was short-lived, an ECOWAS-brokered accord signed in late 2000 seemed to be holding.

Freetown was founded as a settlement for people freed from slavery. Its citizens' British and North American origins account for Sierra Leone's strongly anglicized Creole culture. An estimated two million people were displaced by the civil war.

Strengths

Diamonds, although much of the output is smuggled; official exports resumed in late 2000 under a UN certification scheme. Some bauxite and rutile production.

Weaknesses

Years of instability affected the most productive areas, including diamond fields, with severe disruption of agricultural and mining sectors.

A rebellion by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in 1991 sparked a decade of particularly savage civil war. President Ahmad Kabbah was popularly elected at the head of a civilian government in 1996. A peace and power-sharing agreement, reached in 1999, collapsed in 2000. A large UN and British force helped to secure a new cease-fire later that year. The RUF, remodeled as a political party, failed to win a single seat in the 2002 elections, which resulted in a convincing victory for Kabbah and his SLPP.

UN peacekeepers and British forces assisted government forces during renewed fighting in 2000.

The army is an ineffectual fighting force, prompting assistance from the UK with training in 2000. Both sides in the civil war have exploited child fighters.

The large diamond deposits need fresh investment as areas currently being mined become depleted. The southeast is the most fertile region.

Population pressures and the neglect resulting from years of civil war have depleted the land's productivity.

Little progress has been made in improving Sierra Leone's roads. The 300-km (190-mile) narrow-gauge railroad was abandoned in 1971 as uneconomic, although 84 km (52 miles) of track still runs to the closed iron ore mines at Marampa. Having failed in 1987, Sierra Leone's national airline resumed flights – to Paris only – in 1991. A limited ferry service across the estuary is the only link between Freetown and the airport.

Only traditional care is available outside the capital. WHO have ranked Sierra Leone's health care bottom in the world in terms of attainment and efficiency.

Freetown has a long tradition of education, and its university, Fourahbay College, became affiliated with Durham University in the UK in 1876. In recent times, its students have often been active in political dissent. Educational provision has inevitably deteriorated over the past decade.

The civil war resulted in savage atrocities and mass looting of resources. The UN have instigated a war crimes tribunal. Illegal diamond mining and smuggling remain lucrative crimes. International restrictions on trade in diamonds from war-torn areas cut RUF revenues.

In terms of quality of life, the UN has repeatedly ranked Sierra Leoneans as the world's poorest people. Any wealth is associated with political power.

Sierra Leone has never attracted many tourists, apart from occasional cruise ship calls. Years of civil war have prevented the development of tourism. Among the chief potential attractions are the beaches along the Freetown peninsula, at present virtually undeveloped.

Freetown was founded in 1787 and became a British colony in 1808; the interior was annexed in 1896.

• 1961 Independence.
• 1978 Single-party republic.
• 1991 RUF rebellion starts.
• 1996 Civilian rule restored after 1992 army coup; Kabbah president.
• 1997 Coup ousts Kabbah for a year.
• 1999–2000 Attempt at power-sharing.
• 2001 RUF ends insurgency.
• 2002 Government and UN agree to set up war crimes court. Kabbah and SLPP reelected.