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Religions:

Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%

Languages:

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%)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic

total population: 35.1%

male: 46.9%

female: 24.4% (2004 est.)

Government Sierra Leone

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone

conventional short form: Sierra Leone

local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone

local short form: Sierra Leone

Government type:

constitutional democracy

Capital:

name: Freetown

geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W

time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*

Independence:

27 April 1961 (from UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 27 April (1961)

Constitution:

1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

Legal system:

based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007)

cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012)

election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%

Legislative branch:

unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court

Political parties and leaders:

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

Political pressure groups and leaders:

other: student unions; trade unions

International organization participation:

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, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Bockari Kortu STEVENS

chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263

FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL

embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown

mailing address: use embassy street address

telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000

FAX: [232] (22) 225471

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

Economy Sierra Leone

Economy - overview:

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical 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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$3.971 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$1.664 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$700 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 49%

industry: 31%

services: 21% (2001 est.)

Labor force:

1.369 million (1981 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: NA%

industry: NA%

services: NA%

Unemployment rate:

NA%

Population below poverty line:

70.2% (2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 0.5%

highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

62.9 (1989)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

11.7% (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $96 million

expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:

rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish

Industries:

diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production:

245 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100%

hydro: 0%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

227.9 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

0.7008 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

8,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

431.1 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:

8,864 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$63 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$216 million f.o.b. (2006)

Exports - commodities:

diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish

Exports - partners:

Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006)

Imports:

$560 million f.o.b. (2006)

Imports - commodities:

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals

Imports - partners:

Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.4%, France 4.2% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$343.4 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:

$1.61 billion (2003 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

leone (SLL)

Currency code:

SLL

Exchange rates:

leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications Sierra Leone

Telephones - main lines in use:

24,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

113,200 (2003)

Telephone system:

general assessment: marginal telephone service

domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema

international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)

Radios:

1.12 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

2 (1999)

Televisions:

53,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.sl

Internet hosts:

46 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2001)

Internet users:

10,000 (2005)

Transportation Sierra Leone

Airports:

10 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1

over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 9

914 to 1,523 m: 7

under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports:

2 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 11,300 km

paved: 904 km

unpaved: 10,396 km (2002)

Waterways:

800 km (600 km year round) (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT

by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4

foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands

Military Sierra Leone

Military branches:

Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Navy (Maritime Wing), Air Wing) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service (younger with parental consent); no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,315,561 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 671,418 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

2.3% (2006)

Transnational Issues Sierra Leone

Disputes - international:

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 27,311 (Liberia) (2007)

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Singapore

Introduction Singapore

Background:

Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.

Geography Singapore

Location:

Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia

Geographic coordinates:

1 22 N, 103 48 E

Map references:

Southeast Asia

Area:

total: 692.7 sq km

land: 682.7 sq km

water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

193 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 3 nm

exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice

Climate:

tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon (December to March) and Southwestern monsoon (June to September); inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms

Terrain:

lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m

highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m

Natural resources:

fish, deepwater ports

Land use:

arable land: 1.47%

permanent crops: 1.47%

other: 97.06% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Total renewable water resources:

0.6 cu km (1975)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural):

total: 0.19 cu km/yr (45%/51%/4%)

per capita: 44 cu m/yr (1975)

Natural hazards:

NA

Environment - current issues:

industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes

People Singapore

Population:

4,608,167 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 14.8% (male 353,333/female 329,005)

15-64 years: 76.5% (male 1,717,357/female 1,809,462)

65 years and over: 8.7% (male 177,378/female 221,632) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 38.4 years

male: 38 years

female: 38.8 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.135% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

8.99 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

4.53 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

6.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 2.51 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 2.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 81.89 years

male: 79.29 years

female: 84.68 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.08 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.2% (2003 est.)