Country Facts and Statistics
Sierra Leone
Population:
5,363,669 (July 2011 est.)
Government:
Constitutional democracy
Official name: Republic of Sierra Leone
President: Ernest Bai Koroma
Capital: Freetown
Independence Day: April 27, 1961 (from UK)
Religions:
Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, Indigenous beliefs 30%
Exports:
diamonds, rutile, cocao, coffee, fish
Currency:
Leone (SLL); USD equivalent = 4,200 leones (2011)
Population Below the Poverty Line:
53.4% (2011)
This statistic is based upon the UN Development Programme's figures of Sierra Leoneans living below an income poverty line of $1.25, adjusted for purchasing power parity. However, this is just one way of measuring poverty, and the UNDP suggests that in fact 81.5% of Sierra Leoneans live in multidimensional poverty.
Education:
In Sierra Leone, primary school is free, however parents are expected to pay for books, uniforms, shoes, school supplies and ceremonies. Secondary school is not free.
Typical Secondary School Fees: $50–250 per term (3 terms)
Literacy Rate: (definition: age 15 and over can read and write) total population: 39.8% (2008 est.)
On average, the adult population has had just under 3 years at school. Today's children are expected to be in school for, on average, 7 years.
Just 49.4% of Primary School teachers have been trained.
Health:
Infant mortality: about 123/1,000 births
Births per woman: about 5
Life expectancy: about 48 years
Physicians per 1,000 people: Less than .5. (The World Health Organization's most up-to-date figure comes from 2008, and stated that there was a total of 95 physicians in the whole country.)
Health Expenditures per capita: $32 (US was $7,285) (2007)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 55,000; 1.7% adults (2007)
People undernourished: 46%
Climate:
Tropical; hot, humid; summer/rainy season (May through December); winter/dry season (December through April)
Other Facts:
Airports: 10
Airports with paved runways: 1
Internet Users: 13,900 people (2008)
Telephone landlines: 31,500 (2008)
Cell Phones: 1,009,000 (2008)
Environmental 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 depleted natural resources; overfishing
Staple Food: Cassava (a plant that is used to make a variety of dishes) and rice.
Refugees and internally displaced people: 32,500 (mostly from Liberia)
All facts and information stated has been taken from: www.CIA.gov, www.worldbank.com and www.state.gov.