Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/213.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 8.6 KB | 338 lines

@node Geography (Sierra Leone)
@section Geography (Sierra Leone)

@display

Location:
  Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea and
  Liberia
Map references:
  Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  71,740 km2
 land area:
  71,620 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
  total 958 km, Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Coastline:
  402 km
Maritime claims:
 territorial sea:
  200 nm
International disputes:
  none
Climate:   tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry
  season (December to April)
Terrain:
  coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau,
  mountains in east
Natural resources:
  diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Land use:
 arable land:
  25%
 permanent crops:
  2%
 meadows and pastures:
  31%
 forest and woodland:
  29%
 other:
  13%
Irrigated land:
  340 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea; deforestation; soil
  degradation



@end display

@node People (Sierra Leone)
@section People (Sierra Leone)

@display

Population:
  4,510,571 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.61% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  45.47 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  19.39 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  145 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  45.87 years
 male:
  43.1 years
 female:
  48.71 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.01 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Sierra Leonean(s)
 adjective:
  Sierra Leonean
Ethnic divisions:
  13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 39%), Creole,
  European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%
Religions:
  Muslim 30%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%, other or none 30%
Languages:
  English (official; regular use limited to literate minority), Mende
  principal vernacular in the south, Temne principal vernacular in the north,
  Krio the language of the re-settled ex-slave population of the Freetown area
  and is lingua franca
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write English, Merde, Temne, or Arabic (1990)
 total population:
  21%
 male:
  31%
 female:
  11%
Labor force:
  1.369 million (1981 est.)
 by occupation:
  agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981 est.)
 note:
  only about 65,000 wage earners (1985); 55% of population of working age



@end display

@node Government (Sierra Leone)
@section Government (Sierra Leone)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Sierra Leone
 conventional short form:
  Sierra Leone
Digraph:
  SL
Type:
  military government
Capital:
  Freetown
Administrative divisions:
  3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*, Independence:
  27 April 1961 (from UK)
Constitution:
  1 October 1991; amended September 1991
Legal system:
  based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not
  accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Republic Day, 27 April (1961)
Political parties and leaders:
  status of existing political parties is unknown following 29 April 1992 coup
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
  suspended after 29 April 1992 coup; Chairman STRASSER promises multi-party
  elections sometime within three years
Executive branch:
  National Provisional Ruling Council
Legislative branch:
  unicameral House of Representatives (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court (suspended after coup of 29 April 1992)
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  Chairman of the Supreme Council of State Capt. Valentine E. M. STRASSER
  (since 29 April 1992)
Member of:
  ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
  IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU,
  OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  (vacant)
 chancery:
  1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
 telephone:
  [phone]
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Lauralee M. PETERS
 embassy:
  Walpole and Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown
 mailing address:
  use embassy street address
 telephone:
  [232] (22) 226-481



@end display

@node Government (Sierra Leone 2. usage)
@section Government (Sierra Leone 2. usage)

@display

 FAX:
  [232] (22) 225-471
Flag:
  three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue



@end display

@node Economy (Sierra Leone)
@section Economy (Sierra Leone)

@display

Overview:
  The economic and social infrastructure is not well developed. Subsistence
  agriculture dominates the economy, generating about one-third of GDP and
  employing about two-thirds of the working population. Manufacturing, which
  accounts for roughly 10% of GDP, consists mainly of the processing of raw
  materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Diamond mining
  provides an important source of hard currency. The economy suffers from high
  unemployment, rising inflation, large trade deficits, and a growing
  dependency on foreign assistance. The government in 1990 was attempting to
  get the budget deficit under control and, in general, to bring economic
  policy in line with the recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank. Since
  March 1991, however, military incursions by Liberian rebels in southern and
  eastern Sierra Leone have severely strained the economy and have undermined
  efforts to institute economic reforms.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.4 billion (FY92 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  -1% (FY92 est.)
National product per capita:
  $330 (FY92 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  5% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $68 million; expenditures $118 million, including capital
  expenditures of $28 million (FY92 est.)
Exports:
  $75 million (f.o.b., FY92 est.)
 commodities:
  rutile 50%, bauxite 17%, cocoa 11%, diamonds 3%, coffee 3%
 partners:
  US, UK, Belgium, Germany, other Western Europe
Imports:
  $62 million (c.i.f., FY92 est.)
 commodities:
  capital goods 40%, food 32%, petroleum 12%, consumer goods 7%, light
  industrial goods
 partners:
  US, EC countries, Japan, China, Nigeria
External debt:
  $633 million (FY92 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate NA%
Electricity:
  85,000 kW capacity; 185 million kWh produced, 45 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
  mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile), small-scale manufacturing (beverages,
  textiles, cigarettes, footwear), petroleum refinery
Agriculture:
  accounts for over 30% of GDP and two-thirds of the labor force; largely
  subsistence farming; cash crops - coffee, cocoa, palm kernels; harvests of
  food staple rice meets 80% of domestic needs; annual fish catch averages
  53,000 metric tons
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $161 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $848 million; OPEC
  bilateral aid (1979-89), $18 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $101
  million



@end display

@node Economy (Sierra Leone 2. usage)
@section Economy (Sierra Leone 2. usage)

@display

Currency:
  1 leone (Le) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
  leones (Le) per US$1 - 552.43 (January 1993), 499.44 (1992), 295.34 (1991),
  144.9275 (1990), 58.1395 (1989), 31.2500 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  1 July - 30 June



@end display

@node Communications (Sierra Leone)
@section Communications (Sierra Leone)

@display

Railroads:
  84 km 1.067-meter narrow-gauge mineral line is used on a limited basis
  because the mine at Marampa is closed
Highways:
  7,400 km total; 1,150 km paved, 490 km laterite (some gravel), 5,760 km
  improved earth
Inland waterways:
  800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Ports:
  Freetown, Pepel, Bonthe
Merchant marine:
  1 cargo ship totaling 5,592 GRT/9,107 DWT
Airports:
 total:
  11
 usable:
  7
 with permanent-surface runways:
  4
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  1
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  3
Telecommunications:
  marginal telephone and telegraph service; national microwave radio relay
  system unserviceable at present; 23,650 telephones; broadcast stations - 1
  AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Sierra Leone)
@section Defense Forces (Sierra Leone)

@display

Branches:
  Army, Navy, Police, Security Forces
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 983,281; fit for military service 475,855 (1993 est.); no
  conscription
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $6 million, 0.7% of GDP (1988 est.)



@end display