Sierra LeoneThe '''Republic of Sierra Leone''' is a country in West Africa, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The country is bordered by Guinea in the north and Liberia in the southeast. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''Republic of Sierra Leone'''</big></big> |- | style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan=2 | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" | align="center" width="140px" | Image:Sierra leone flag large.png|125px| | align="center" width="140px" | Image:SLECOA.gif |- | align="center" width="140px" | (Flag of Sierra Leone|In Detail) | align="center" width="140px" | (Full size) |} |- | align=center style="vertical-align: top;" colspan=2 | ''List of state mottos|National motto: Unity - Freedom - Justice'' |- | align=center colspan=2 style="background: #ffffff;" | image:LocationSierraLeone.png |- | '''Official language''' | English language|English |- | '''Capital''' | Freetown |- | '''List of Presidents of Sierra Leone|President''' | Ahmad Tejan Kabbah |- | '''Area'''  - Total  - % water | List of countries by area|Ranked 116th 71,740 square kilometre|km² 0.2% |- | '''Population'''  - Total (2000)  - Density | List of countries by population|Ranked 102nd 5,426,618 76/km² |- | '''Independence''' | April 27, 1961 |- | '''Currency''' | Leone |- | '''Time zone''' | UTC |- | '''National anthem''' | ''High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free'' |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' | .sl |- | '''List of country calling codes|Calling Code''' | 232 |} == History == ''Main article: History of Sierra Leone'' The written history of Sierra Leone begins in 1462, when Portugal|Portuguese explorers first landed and named the country "Lion Mountains". Europeans used the land as a source for slave|slaves, but in 1787 Freetown was established as a city for former slaves living in London. In 1808, Sierra Leone became a British Crown Colony, which it remained until halfway through the 20th century, when the process of de-colonisation was commenced. This culminated in independence on April 27, 1961. Sir Milton Margai (1895-1964) was its first prime minister. The republic—briefly a one-party state in the early 1980s—became involved in a civil war in 1991, with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Foday Sankoh rebelling against the government. This resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A military coup on May 25, 1997 replaced then President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah. Kabbah was reinstated in March 1998, after the junta was ousted by the Nigerian-led ECOMOG forces. A peace agreement, signed on July 7, 1999 in Lomé, Togo offered a slight hope that the country will be able to terminate the diamond-powered conflict, and rebuild its devastated economy and infrastructure. As of late 1999, up to 6,000 UNAMSIL peacekeepers were in the process of deploying to bolster the peace accord. In May 2000, the situation in the country deteriorated to such an extent that British troops were deployed in Operation Palliser to evacuate foreign nationals. They stabilised the situation, and were the catalyst for a ceasefire and ending of the civil war. Although there has been a significant amount of news coverage of the war in Sierra Leone, a comprehensive review of the conflict based on extensive field research—using a methodology known as Conflict Mapping—is available [http://www.specialcourt.org/Outreach/ConflictMapping/NPWJ_CMR_ES_10MAR04.zip here]. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Sierra Leone'' The head of state and government is the president, who is elected every five years (most recently in May 2002). He appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers. The Sierra Leonean parliament is unicameral, with 124 seats. 112 members are elected concurrently with the presidential elections; the other 12 seats are filled by a paramount chief from each Districts of Sierra Leone|administrative district. == Provinces == ''Main article: Provinces of Sierra Leone'' Sierra Leone is divided into three provinces and one district: *Eastern Province, Sierra Leone|Eastern Province *Northern Province, Sierra Leone|Northern Province *Southern Province, Sierra Leone|Southern Province *Western Area, Sierra Leone|Western Area == Geography == Image:Sl-map.gif|thumb|Map of Sierra Leone ''Main article: Geography of Sierra Leone'' Much of Sierra Leone's coastline consists of mangrove swamps, with the exception of the peninsula on which the capital city Freetown is located. The rest of Sierra Leone is mostly plateau (about 300 m above sea level) covered by forests, with mountains in the east of the country (highest point Loma Mansa, 1,948 m). The climate is tropical, with a rainy season from May to December. Major cities are the capital Freetown, Koidu (Sefadu), Bo, Sierra Leone|Bo, Kenema and Makeni. == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Sierra Leone'' Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development, following a 10-year civil war. 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. There are plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during the conflict. The major source of hard currency consists of the mining of diamonds. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Sierra Leone'' There are about 20 different tribes living in Sierra Leone, which together make up about 90% of the population. The most important tribes are the Temne (mostly in the north) and Mende (central and south), both forming about one third of the population. There is a sizeable number of Creoles, descending from slavery|enslaved Africans, Asians stranded in London and other Londoners who established a colony there in the 1780s. Although English language|English is the official language, it is understood by only a minority, as most people speak their tribe's own language. The creole language Krio, based on English, is however spoken by most of the population. The predominant religion is Islam (about 60%), the remainder practice indigenous beliefs or Christianity. Sierra Leone is the worst nation for childbirth in the world, having the highest Maternal Mortality Ratio, or risk of maternal death, of any country. The MMR of Sierra Leone according to a report from the World Health Organization in the year 2000 is 2,000 maternal deaths per live 100,000 births. The extremely high MMR is principally due to severe obstetric situations such as hemorrhage, obstructed labor, ectoptic gestation, abortion, and puerperal sepsis. Those situations were aggravated by the rebellion and the detrimental effects on distribution of reproductive health services due to the massive displacement of people, destruction of medical infrastructure and hospital equipment, rural inaccessibility, poor and disadvantageous accessibility to basic medical services. == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Sierra Leone'' *Music of Sierra Leone *List of African writers (by country)#Sierra Leone|List of writers from Sierra Leone == Miscellaneous topics == * Heads of Government of Sierra Leone * Communications in Sierra Leone * Transportation in Sierra Leone * Military of Sierra Leone * Foreign relations of Sierra Leone == External links == * [http://www.sierra-leone.org Sierra Leone Web] * [http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/unamsil/body_unamsil.htm UNAMSIL] * [http://public.fotki.com/sierraleone/sl_series/people_of_sierra_leone/ Photos: People of Sierra Leone] * [http://www.visitsierraleone.org Sierra Leone Travel and Tourism Information] * [http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2003/countryratings/sierra-leone.htm Dossier about Sierra Leone from Freedomhouse.org] *[http://www.cryfreetown.org Cry Freetown] * [http://www.sc-sl.org War Crimes Trials in Sierra Leone] * [http://www.npwj.net No Peace Without Justice in Sierra Leone] * [http://www.daco-sl.org/encyclopedia2004/index.htm Sierra Leone Encyclopedia 2004] {{Africa}} Category:Sierra Leone Category:African Union member states Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations af:Sierra Leone ar:سييرا ليون ca:Sierra Leone da:Sierra Leone de:Sierra Leone et:Sierra Leone es:Sierra Leona eo:Siera-Leono fr:Sierra Leone ko:시에라리온 id:Sierra Leone it:Sierra Leone lt:Siera Leonė ms:Sierra Leone nl:Sierra Leone nds:Sierra Leone ja:シエラレオネ no:Sierra Leone pl:Sierra Leone pt:Serra Leoa ru:Сьерра-Леоне sk:Sierra Leone sl:Sierra Leone fi:Sierra Leone sv:Sierra Leone uk:С'єрра-Леоне zh:塞拉利昂 First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Sierra Leone is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sierra Leone".

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