Axion 3D Atlas/ATLAS.iso/stats/210.txt

Text File | 1998-01-23 | 11KB | 301 lines

{bitmap= 26,50,"flags\SierraL.bmp"}
{bigtext=150,120,"Sierra Leone"}



{1}Geography{4}
{4}To see a map of Sierra Leone, click {z,"-13.828150,6.876952,-9.559071,10.181210",here}{4}!

{2}Location:{4} Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia

{2}Area:{4}
{3}total area:{4} 71,740 sq km
{3}land area:{4} 71,620 sq km
{3}comparative area:{4} slightly smaller than South Carolina

{2}Land boundaries:{4}
{3}total:{4} 958 km
{3}border countries:{4} Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km

{2}Coastline:{4} 402 km

{2}Maritime claims:{4}
{3}territorial sea:{4} 200 nm
{3}continental shelf:{4} 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

{2}International disputes:{4} none

{2}Climate:{4} tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season
(December to April)

{2}Terrain:{4} coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
{3}lowest point:{4} Atlantic Ocean 0 m
{3}highest point:{4} Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m

{2}Natural resources:{4} diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite

{2}Land use:{4}
{3}arable land:{4} 25%
{3}permanent crops:{4} 2%
{3}meadows and pastures:{4} 31%
{3}forest and woodland:{4} 29%
{3}other:{4} 13%

{2}Irrigated land:{4} 340 sq km (1989 est.)

{2}Environment:{4}
{3}current issues:{4} rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber,
expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil
exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing

{2}natural hazards:{4} dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (November to May);
sandstorms, dust storms

{2}international agreements:{4} party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of
the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification, Environmental Modification


{1}People{4}

{2}Population:{4} 4,793,121 (July 1996 est.)

{2}Age structure:{4}
{3}0-14 years:{4} 45% (male 1,057,824; female 1,092,291)
{3}15-64 years:{4} 52% (male 1,197,547; female 1,298,834)
{3}65 years and over:{4} 3% (male 75,066; female 71,559) (July 1996 est.)

{2}Population growth rate:{4} 4.14% (1996 est.)

{2}Birth rate:{4} 47.13 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

{2}Death rate:{4} 18.24 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

{2}Net migration rate:{4} 12.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

{2}Sex ratio:{4}
{3}at birth:{4} 1.03 male(s)/female
{3}under 15 years:{4} 0.97 male(s)/female
{3}15-64 years:{4} 0.92 male(s)/female
{3}65 years and over:{4} 1.05 male(s)/female
{3}all ages:{4} 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

{2}Infant mortality rate:{4} 135.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

{2}Life expectancy at birth:{4}
{3}total population:{4} 47.47 years
{3}male:{4} 44.56 years
{3}female:{4} 50.47 years (1996 est.)

{2}Total fertility rate:{4} 6.36 children born/woman (1996 est.)

{2}Nationality:{4}
{3}noun:{4} Sierra Leonean(s)
{3}adjective:{4} Sierra Leonean

{2}Ethnic divisions:{4} 13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 39%), Creole,
European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%

{2}Religions:{4} Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

{2}Languages:{4} English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in
the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (the language of the re-settled ex-slave
population of the Freetown area and is lingua franca)

{2}Literacy:{4} age 15 and over can read and write in English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic (1995 est.)
{3}total population:{4} 31.4%
{3}male:{4} 45.4%
{3}female:{4} 18.2%


{1}Government{4}

{2}Name of country:{4}
{3}conventional long form:{4} Republic of Sierra Leone
{3}conventional short form:{4} Sierra Leone

{2}Type of government:{4} constitutional democracy

{2}Capital:{4} Freetown

{2}Administrative divisions:{4} 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*

{2}Independence:{4} 27 April 1961 (from UK)

{2}National holiday:{4} Republic Day, 27 April (1961)

{2}Constitution:{4} 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

{2}Legal system:{4} based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

{2}Suffrage:{4} 18 years of age; universal

{2}Executive branch:{4}
chief of state and head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March
1996); election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2000)
{3}cabinet:{4} Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of
Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

{2}Legislative branch:{4} unicameral
House of Representatives: elections last held NA February 1996 (next to be held NA); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats (80 total, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in
separate elections) SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections
since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992

{2}Judicial branch:{4} Supreme Court

{2}Political parties and leaders:{4} 15 parties registered for the February 1996 elections; National
Peoples Party (NPP), Andrew TURAY; Democratic Center Party (DCP), Abu KOROMA; Peoples
Progressive Party (PPP), Edward KAMARA, chairman; Coalition for Progress Party (CPP),
Geredine WILLIAMS-SARHO; National Unity Movement (NUM); United National Peoples Party
(UNPP); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Thaimu BANGURA, chairman; All Peoples Congress
(APC), S. A. T. KOROMA, chairman; National Republican Party (NRP); Social Democratic Party
(SDP); Peoples National Convention (PNC), I. B. KARGBO, chairman; National Unity Party
(NUP), A. O. D. GEORGE, chairman; Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), Paul DUNBAR,
chairman; National Democratic Alliance (NDA); National Alliance for Democracy Party (NADP)

{2}International organization participation:{4} ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory
user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

{2}Diplomatic representation in US:{4}
{3}chief of mission:{4} (vacant)
{3}chancery:{4} 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
{3}telephone:{4} [1] [phone]

{2}US diplomatic representation:{4}
{3}chief of mission:{4} Ambassador John L. HIRSCH
{3}embassy:{4} Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
{3}mailing address:{4} use embassy street address
{3}telephone:{4} [232] (22) 226481 through 226485
{3}FAX:{4} [232] (22) 225471

{2}Flag:{4} three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue


{1}Economy{4}

{2}Economic overview:{4} Sierra Leone has substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources.
However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social
disorders continue to push down production, exports, and the value of the leone. Agriculture
employs about two-thirds of the working population, with subsistence agriculture dominating the
sector. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light
manufacturing for the domestic market. The mining of diamonds, bauxite, and rutile is the major
source of hard currency. The government has worked hard to meet its IMF- and World Bank-
mandated stabilization targets, holding down fiscal deficits, and retiring much of its domestic debt
- but at a steep cost in terms of forgone capital investments and social spending. Moreover, the
economic infrastructure has nearly collapsed due to neglect and war-related disruptions in the
mining and agricultural export sectors. The continuing civil war in Liberia has led to a large influx
of refugees, who place additional burdens on Sierra Leone's fragile economy.

{2}GDP:{4} purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1994 est.)

{2}GDP real growth rate:{4} -4% (1994 est.)

{2}GDP per capita:{4} $960 (1994 est.)

{2}GDP composition by sector:{4}
{3}agriculture:{4} 40%
{3}industry:{4} 17%
{3}services:{4} 43% (1994)

{2}Inflation rate (consumer prices):{4} 24% (1994 est.)

{2}Labor force:{4} 1.369 million (1981 est.)
{3}by occupation:{4} agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981 est.)
{3}note:{4} only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)

{2}Unemployment rate:{4} NA%

{2}Budget:{4}
{3}revenues:{4} $75 million
{3}expenditures:{4} $128 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY94/95 est.)

{2}Industries:{4} mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles,
cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining

{2}Industrial production growth rate:{4} $NA

{2}Electricity:{4}
{3}capacity:{4} 130,000 kW
{3}production:{4} 220 million kWh
{3}consumption per capita:{4} 44 kWh (1993)

{2}Agriculture:{4} rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
catch was 65,000 metric tons in 1994

{2}Exports:{4} $115 million (f.o.b., 1994)
{3}commodities:{4} rutile 51%, bauxite 20%, diamonds 16%, coffee 6%, cocoa 7%, fish (1989)
{3}partners:{4} US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe

{2}Imports:{4} $150 million (c.i.f., 1994)
{3}commodities:{4} foodstuffs 38%, machinery and equipment 44%, fuels and lubricants 18% (1989)
{3}partners:{4} US, EU countries, Japan, China, Nigeria

{2}External debt:{4} $1.4 billion (yearend 1993)

{2}Economic aid:{4}
{3}recipient:{4} ODA, $NA

{2}Currency:{4} 1 leone (Le) = 100 cents

{2}Exchange rates:{4} leones (Le) per US$1 - 951.63 (January 1996), 755.22 (1995), 586.74 (1994),
567.46 (1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34 (1991)

{2}Fiscal year:{4} 1 July - 30 June


{1}Transportation{4}

{2}Railways:{4}
{3}total:{4} 84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge

{2}Highways:{4}
{3}total:{4} 11,674 km
{3}paved:{4} 1,284 km
{3}unpaved:{4} 10,390 km (1992 est.)

{2}Waterways:{4} 800 km; 600 km navigable year round

{2}Ports:{4} Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel

{2}Merchant marine:{4} none

{2}Airports:{4}
{3}total:{4} 5
{3}with paved runways over 3,047 m:{4} 1
{3}with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:{4} 2
{3}with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:{4} 2 (1995 est.)


{1}Communications{4}

{2}Telephones:{4} 17,526 (1991 est.)

{2}Telephone system:{4} marginal telephone and telegraph service
{3}domestic:{4} national microwave radio relay system made unserviceable by military activities
{3}international:{4} satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

{2}Radio broadcast stations:{4} AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0

{2}Radios:{4} 980,000 (1992 est.)

{2}Television broadcast stations:{4} 1

{2}Televisions:{4} 45,000 (1992 est.)


{1}Defense{4}

{2}Branches:{4} Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces

{2}Manpower availability:{4}
{3}males age 15-49:{4} 1,019,093
{3}males fit for military service:{4} 494,451 (1996 est.)

{2}Defense expenditures:{4} exchange rate conversion - $14 million, 2.6% of GDP (FY92/93)