]! ^! The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 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. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia ^# 8 30 N, 11 30 W ^$ Africa ^% `! 71,740 sq km `" 71,620 sq km `# 120 sq km ^& slightly smaller than South Carolina ^' `! 958 km `Y Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km ^( 402 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm ^* tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) ^+ coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m ^- diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite ^. `' 7.95% `( 1.05% `) 91% (2005) ^/ 300 sq km (2003) ^0 dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms ^1 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 depleted natural resources; overfishing _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q Environmental Modification ^2 rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa 
]# ^3 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297) `, 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) `- 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 17.5 years `. 17.2 years `/ 17.7 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.292% (2007 est.) ^7 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population `* refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 0.964 male(s)/female `, 0.92 male(s)/female `- 0.877 male(s)/female `2 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births `. 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 40.58 years `. 38.36 years `/ 42.87 years (2007 est.) ^= 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 7% (2001 est.) ^? 170,000 (2001 est.) ^@ 11,000 (2001 est.) _` `h very high `i bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis `x Lassa fever (2007) ^A `3 Sierra Leonean(s) `4 Sierra Leonean ^B 20 African ethnic groups 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, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians ^C Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% ^D 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%) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic `2 29.6% `. 39.8% `/ 20.5% (2000 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Sierra Leone `7 Sierra Leone `Z Republic of Sierra Leone `[ Sierra Leone ^H constitutional democracy ^I `8 Freetown `9 8 30 N, 13 15 W `: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* ^K 27 April 1961 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 27 April (1961) ^M 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times ^N based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998) `= Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president `> president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held on 28 July 2007) `? Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH 70.6%, Ernest Bai KOROMA 22.4% ^Q unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms) `> last held on 14 May 2002 (next to be held on 28 July 2007) `? percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.1%, APC 22.4%, PLP 3%, others 4.5%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 ^R Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court ^S All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others ^T trade unions and student unions ^U ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA `S 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 `T [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 `U [1] (202) 483-1793 ^W `R Ambassador Thomas N. HULL `_ Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown `` use embassy street address `T [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 `U [232] (22) 225471 ^X three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue 
]% ^Y Sierra Leone is an extremely poor 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. Nearly half 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 and rutile mining. ^Z $5.38 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $1.233 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 6.8% (2006 est.) ^] $900 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 49% `A 31% `B 21% (2001 est.) ^_ 1.369 million (1981 est.) ^` `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^a NA% _! 68% (1989 est.) _" `C 0.5% `D 43.6% (1989) _d 62.9 (1989) _# 1% (2002 est.) _$ `E $96 million `F $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) _& rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish _' diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair _( NA% _) 244 million kWh (2004) _* 226.9 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 4 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 6,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $185 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _4 diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish _5 Belgium 65.8%, Germany 13.4%, US 4.6% (2005) _6 $531 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _7 foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals _8 Germany 18.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 11%, UK 8.4%, US 6.8%, China 5.5%, Netherlands 5.3% (2005) _9 $1.61 billion (2003 est.) _: $297.4 million (2003 est.) _; leone (SLL) _< leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 24,000 (2002) _? 113,200 (2003) _@ `G marginal telephone and telegraph service `H the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema `I country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) _B 2 (1999) _C .sl _D 20 (2006) _E 10,000 (2005) 
]' _F 10 (2006) _G `! 1 `a 1 (2006) _R `! 9 `c 7 `W 2 (2006) _] 2 (2006) _H `! 11,300 km `K 904 km `L 10,396 km (2002) _b 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) _S `! 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 `X 14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006) _I Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands 
]( _J Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing) (2007) _T 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001) _K males age 18-49: 1,086,091 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 539,697 (2005 est.) _U 2.5% (2006 est.) 
]) _N as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 _c `o 59,952 (Liberia) (2006) 