Sierra Leone ( Sierra Leone) is a country in Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia. Sierra Leone geographic coordinates 8 30 N, 11 30 W; area 120 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina; land boundaries Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km; coastline 402 km; maritime claims 20; climate tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April); terrain coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east; elevation extremes Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m; natural resources diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite; land use 92.13% (2001); irrigated land 290 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms; environment current issues 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; environment international agreements Environmental Modification; geography note rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa;

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The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population), many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability. government type constitutional democracy; capital Freetown; administrative divisions 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*; independence 27 April 1961 (from UK); national holiday Independence Day, 27 April (1961); constitution 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times; legal system based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Sierra Leone population 6,017,643 (July 2005 est.); age structure 3.3% (male 93,047/female 103,580) (2005 est.); median age 17.84 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.22% (2005 est.); birth rate 42.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 20.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population refugees currently in surrounding countries are slo; sex ratio 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 161.06 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 44.98 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 5.72 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 7% (2001 est.); hiv people with aids 170,000 (2001 est.); hiv deaths 11,000 (2001 est.); major infectious diseases malari; nationality Sierra Leonean; ethnic groups 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans,; religions Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%; languages 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 Free; literacy 18.2% (1995 est.);

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