Sierra Leone
– background
Facts about Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of
Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered
by Guinea on the north and Liberia on the south, with the
Atlantic Ocean on the west. The name Sierra Leone was adapted
from the Portuguese name for the country: Serra Leoa. The
literal meaning is "Lioness Mountain." During the
1700s Sierra Leone was an important centre of the Transatlantic
Slave Trade. The capital Freetown was founded in 1792 by the
Sierra Leone Company as a home for Black Britons who had fought
for the British in the American Revolutionary War. In 1808,
Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior
of the country became a British Protectorate. The Crown Colony
and Protectorate joined and gained independence in 1961. From
1991 to 2000, the country suffered greatly under a devastating
civil war. To end the civil war, UN and British forces disarmed
17,000 militia and rebels, in the largest UN peacekeeping
act of the decade. In May 2000, the situation in the country
deteriorated to such an extent that further Nigerian troops
were deployed in a 'save Sierra Leone' mission to evacuate
foreign nationals and establish order. They stabilized the
situation, and the Nigerian troops were the catalyst for a
cease fire and ending of the civil war. United Nations peacekeeping
forces withdrew at the end of 2005.
- Full name: Republic of Sierra Leone
- Population: 5.3 million (UN, 2005)
- Capital: Freetown
- Area: 71,740 sq km (27,699 sq miles)
- Major languages: English, Krio (Creole
language derived
from English) and a range of African languages
- Major religions: Islam, indigenous beliefs,
Christianity
- Life expectancy: 39 years (men), 42 years
(women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 Leone = 100 cents
- Main exports: Diamonds, rutile, cocoa,
coffee, fish
- GNI per capita: US $220 (World Bank,
2006)
- Internet domain: .sl
- International dialling code: +232
(1) source: BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1061561.stm |
