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Sierra Leone

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Republic of Sierra Leone
Coat of Arms of Sierra Leone
Coat of Arms
Motto:"Unity, Freedom, Justice"
Anthem:High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free
Location of  Sierra Leone  (dark blue) – in Africa  (light blue & dark grey) – in the African Union  (light blue)  —  [Legend]
Location ofSierra Leone(dark blue)

– inAfrica(light blue & dark grey)
– in theAfrican Union(light blue) — [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Freetown
Official languagesEnglish
National languages
  • Krio
  • Mende
  • Temne
  • Limba
  • Bengali
Demonym(s)Sierra Leonean
GovernmentUnitarypresidentialConstitutionalrepublic
Julius Maada Bio
Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh
Jacob Jusu Saffa[1]
Abass Chernor Bundu
• Chief Justice
Desmond Babatunde Edwards
Independence
• from theUnited Kingdom
27 April 1961
•Republicdeclared
19 April 1971
Area
• Total
71,740 km2(27,700 sq mi) (119th)
• Water (%)
1.1
Population
• Estimate
6.3 million (2008 estimate)[1][2][3][4][5][6]
• 2004 census
4,976,871
• Density
79.4/km2(205.6/sq mi) (114th1)
GDP(PPP)2010 estimate
• Total
$4.837 billion[2]
• Per capita
$780[2]
GDP(nominal)2009 estimate
• Total
$1.877 billion[2]
• Per capita
$311[2]
Gini(2003)62.9
very high
HDI(2011)Increase0.336
low·180th
CurrencyLeone(SLL)
Time zoneUTC+0(GMT)
Driving sideright
Calling code232
ISO 3166 codeSL
Internet TLD.sl
1Rank based on 2007 figures.

Sierra Leoneis a country inWest Africa.Its capital isFreetown.The official language isEnglish.

The country was first made as a place where freed slaves could live. From1991until2000,there was a civil war in Sierra Leone between rebels and the government. The war is now over. Sierra Leone is known for itsblood diamonds.These were mined and sold during thecivil war.This was in order to buy the weapons for the civil war.[3]

There are 71,740 square kilometres of land in Sierra; In terms of land area it is similar in size toIreland.

Sierra Leone has relied onmining,especiallydiamonds,for its economic base. The country is among the largest producers oftitaniumandbauxite,and a major producer ofgold.The country has one of the world's largest deposits ofrutile.Sierra Leone is also home to the third largest natural harbour in the world. Shipping from all over the globe goes to Freetown's famousQueen Elizabeth II Quay.Despite this natural wealth, 70% of its people live inpoverty.[4]

Sierra Leone is a mostlyMuslimcountry.[5][6][7]

The country has 2,090 knownspeciesof higher plants, 147mammals,626birds,67reptiles,35amphibians,and 99fishspecies.

History[change|change source]

In 1672,The Royal African Companybuiltfortson some islands close to Sierra Leone for trading.Slave tradingwas becoming more popular, so the forts mostly traded humans. In fact,Bunce Islandbecame a popular place to transport slaves toEuropeandAmericas.[8]

Geography and climate[change|change source]

The country is bordered byGuineato the north and northeast,Liberiato the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.[9]

Mount Bintumanireaches 1,948 m (6,391 ft). It is the highest point in the country.

The climate is hot, tropical and humid all year round, with two seasons. Therainy seasonis from May to November, and thedry seasonis from December to May.

March & April are the hottest months and daytime temperatures are around 38 °C (100 °F) - 41 °C (106 °F) with a solid 82% humidity. Nighttime temperatures do not vary a lot and may fluctuate by 2 °C - 4 °C.

December and January are preferably the best times to visit Sierra Leone as temperatures and humidity are much lower and reasonable due to the hammattan breeze from the Sahara desert, although afternoon temperatures can still climb up to 40 °C and above, the hammattan breeze stops it from getting too humid, even though it will still be hot, humidity would be can be lowered down to 39%, meaning you'll sweat less during this time than you would when the climate goes back to its original state, so therefore the heat would be more endurable especially around coastal areas.

When the hammattan breeze has lowered the heat and the humidity to its base, the highest average daily temperature in December and January will only reach a maximum of 31 °C (88 °F) and nighttime temperatures will be 24 °C (75 °F), although it can sometimes drop to 21 °C (70 °F) at night, and sometimes in the morning which is the lowest the temperature can get. During this time, humidity is 70% & it is pleasantly warm and enjoyable.

The rainy season from May-November, average temperatures are 27 °C (81 °F) - 29 °C (84 °F) with humidity 95% - 100%. Some days when it doesn't rain, temperatures can climb up to 32 °C (90 °F) and humidity can be moderate around 75%. Rainfall can be torrential, so if you're travelling to Sierra Leone around this time of the year, it is advisable to bring waterproof clothing as it can rain for a whole week without interruption from sunlight.

Largest cities[change|change source]

The largest cities in Sierra Leone are:

  1. Freetown1,070,200
  2. Bo269,000[7]Archived2011-07-20 at theWayback Machine
  3. Kenema158,496[8]
  4. Koidu Town111,800[9]Archived2012-09-20 at theWayback Machine
  5. Makeni105,900[10]Archived2012-09-20 at theWayback Machine

Education[change|change source]

concrete walls with many children standing on the left
School destroyed by the war

Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years. A shortage of schools and teachers has made this impossible.[10]Two thirds of the adult population of the country are not able to read.[11]TheSierra Leone Civil Warcaused the destruction of 1,270 primary schools. In 2001, 67% of all school-age children were out of school.[10]This has been better since the end of the civil war.

The country has threeuniversities:Fourah Bay College,University of Makeni andNjala University.Teacher training colleges and religious seminaries are found in many parts of the country.

Provinces and districts[change|change source]

The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone.

The Republic of Sierra Leone has five regions theNorthern Province,North West Province,Southern Province,theEastern Provinceand theWestern Area.The first four provinces are divided into 14 districts. The districts are further divided into 149 chiefdoms.

District Capital Area km2 Province Population (2004 census)[12] Population (2008 estimates)
Bombali District Makeni 7,985 Northern Province 408,390 424,100[13]
Koinadugu District Kabala 12,121 265,758
Port Loko District Port Loko 5,719 455,746 483,752[14]
Tonkolili District Magburaka 7,003 347,197 370,425[15]
Kambia District Kambia 3,108 270,462 299,725[16]
Kenema District Kenema 6,053 Eastern Province 497,948 522,656[17]
Kono District Koidu Town 5,641 335,401
Kailahun District Kailahun 3,859 358,190 389,253[18]
Bo District Bo 5,473.6[19] Southern Province 463,668 527,131[20]
Bonthe District Mattru Jong 3,468 129,947 137,155[21]
Pujehun District Pujehun 4,105 228,392 262,073[22]
Moyamba District Moyamba 6,902 260,910
Western Area Urban District Freetown 3,568 Western Area 1,272,873 1,473,873
Western Area Rural District Waterloo 4,175 174,249 205,400

Food and customs[change|change source]

Riceis thestaple foodof Sierra Leone. It is eaten at nearly every meal daily. The rice is prepared in many ways, and topped with different sauces made from some of Sierra Leone's favorite toppings. These includepotatoleaves,cassavaleaves,crain crain,okrasoup,fried fishandgroundnutstew.[23]

Along the street of towns and cities one can find snacks such as freshmangoes,oranges, pineapple, friedplantains,ginger beer,fried potato, friedcassavawith pepper sauce; small bags of popcorn or peanuts, bread, roasted corn, or skewers of grilled meat or shrimp.

Poyo is a popular Sierra Leonean drink. It is a sweet, lightly fermentedpalm wine.[24]Poyo bars are areas of lively informal talk about politics,football,entertainment and other issues.

Sports[change|change source]

Footballis by far the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. Children, youth and adult are often seen playingstreet footballacross Sierra Leone.

The Sierra Leone national football team, popularly known as theLeone Stars,represents the country in international competitions. It has never qualified for theFIFA World Cup.They were in the1994and1996 African Cup of Nations.Many of the national team footballers arecelebritiesacross Sierra Leone. They are often well known by most of the country's general population. Some well known Sierra Leonean international footballers includeMohamed Kallon,Mohamed Bangura,Rodney Strasser,Ibrahim Teteh Bangura,Alhassan Bangura,Sheriff Suma,Mohamed Kamara,Umaru BanguraandKei Kamara.

Related pages[change|change source]

References[change|change source]

  1. ↑"Big shake-up in Sierra Leone's cabinet".Politico SL.4 May 2021.Retrieved6 May2021.
  2. ↑2.02.12.22.3"Sierra Leone".International Monetary Fund.Retrieved21 April2010.
  3. ↑"UN targets 'blood diamonds' trade".BBC News.1 August 2003.Retrieved28 April2011.
  4. ↑"Sierra Leone Population below poverty line – Economy".Indexmundi. 9 January 2012.Retrieved20 May2012.
  5. ↑71% of Sierra Leoneans are Muslims « Oluseguntoday's Blog.Oluseguntoday.wordpress (13 October 2009). Retrieved on 15 August 2012.
  6. ↑Islam In Sierra Leone Information, Videos, Pictures and NewsArchived2013-02-08 at theWayback Machine.Rtbot.net. Retrieved on 15 August 2012.
  7. ↑Sama Banya wants Awareness Times to call Tom Nyuma a BuffoonArchived2014-10-06 at theWayback Machine.News.sl (18 April 2012). Retrieved on 15 August 2012.
  8. ↑"About Sierra Leone: History".UNIPSIL.2017-03-01.Retrieved2021-05-20.
  9. ↑LeVert, Suzanne (2006).Cultures of the World: Sierra Leone.Marshall Cavendish (published 2007). p. 7.ISBN978-0-7614-2334-8.
  10. ↑10.010.1"Sierra Leone"Archived2013-11-02 at theWayback Machine.2001 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.Bureau of International Labor Affairs,U.S. Department of Labor(2002).This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  11. ↑"Human Development Report 2009 – Proportion of international migrant stocks residing in countries with very high levels of human development (%)".Hdrstats.undp.org. Archived fromthe originalon 6 June 2009.Retrieved22 August2010.
  12. ↑"Final Results 2004 population and housing census"(PDF).Statistics Sierra Leone. p. 3. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 June 2008.Retrieved9 June2008.
  13. ↑World Gazetteer: Bombali – profile of geographical entity including name variants[permanent dead link]at world-gazetteer
  14. ↑World-gazetteer[permanent dead link]
  15. ↑World Gazetteer: Tonkolili – profile of geographical entity including name variants[permanent dead link]at world-gazetteer
  16. ↑World Gazetteer: Kambia – profile of geographical entity including name variants[permanent dead link]at world-gazetteer
  17. ↑World Gazetteer: Kenema – profile of geographical entity including name variants[permanent dead link]at world-gazetteer
  18. ↑World Gazetteer: Kailahun – profile of geographical entity including name variants[permanent dead link]at world-gazetteer
  19. ↑"Bo District".Sierra Leone Encyclopedia (UN and Government of Sierra Leone). July 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2008.Retrieved6 June2008.
  20. ↑World Gazetteer: Bo – profile of geographical entity including name variants[permanent dead link]at world-gazetteer
  21. ↑World-gazetteer
  22. ↑World Gazetteer: Pujehun – profile of geographical entity including name variantsArchived2012-03-25 at theWayback Machineat world-gazetteer
  23. ↑Massaquoi, Rachel C. J. (2011).Foods of Sierra Leone and Other West African Countries: A Cookbook.AuthorHouse. p. 5.ISBN9781449081546.
  24. ↑Albala, Ken (2011).Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia.ABC-CLIO. p. 165.ISBN9780313376276.

Other websites[change|change source]

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