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Sierra Leone |
| Surface area: |
71'621 m2 |
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| Population: |
6'144'562 inhabitants |
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| Capital city: |
Freetown |
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1'051'000 inhabitants |
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| Life expectancy: |
40.6 years |
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| Currency: |
Leone |
| Economy: |
GDP/PPP (est. 2005): $5.022 billion |
| Poverty: |
70.2% of the population lives under the poverty level. |
| Infant mortality: |
25% of children die before the age of 5 (malnutrition and infectious illnesses) |
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| President: |
Ernest Koroma |
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| Languages: |
English (official language), Mende (South), Temne (North), Krio |
| Religions: |
Islam 60%, indigenous 30%, christians 10% |
| Arable land: |
8% |
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| Agriculture: |
rice, coffee, cocao, palm oil and nuts, peanuts, chicken, beef, mutton, pigs, fish. |
| Natural resources: |
diamonds,
titanium, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
| Commercial partners: |
Belgium, Germany, USA, United Kingdom, Ivory Coast, China, the Netherlands, South Africa |
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| Politics: |
Sierra Leone is a multipartite republic with a presidential regime, where the president is both the head of state and of government. The current president, Ernest Koroma, was elected in September 2007. |
| Geography: |
A large part of the coastal area is marsh land and mangroves except for the peninsula where the capital city, Freetown, is located. The rest of the country is mainly a plateau covered with forests at about 300 meters above sea level. To the east are mountains, with the highest peak being at 1'948 meters, called Loma Mansa.
The climate is tropical, with the rainy season from may to december (5 meters of rain) and the dry season from December to April.
The main towns are Freetown, Koidu (Sefadu), Bo, Kenema and Makeni. |
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| History: |
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1495 |
The Portugese built a port in the region where Freetown is today. It is from Sierra Leone that the first slaves are transported to America. |
1787 |
White and black settlers arrive in Sierra Leone. |
1792 |
1’200 free blacks travel in a sail boat from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone and establish Freetown. |
1799 |
A royal charter grants a legal status to the colony. |
1808 |
Creation of a colony of the crown. |
1827 |
Creation of Fourah Bay College, the first sub-saharan university in Africa. |
1961 |
Independance. |
1964 |
The first prime minister, Sir Milton MARGAI, dies. The power goes to his brother Albert MARGAI. |
1967 |
General elections – Margai wants to establish a state with a single party. Corruption, intimidation ad violence start. |
1990 |
The civil war starts. |
2002 |
End of the civil war that caused the death of 200'000 people and the displacement of over 2 million people. |
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