The Republic of Sierra Leone is located in Western Africa.
It is bordered by the Atlantic
Ocean and located between Guinea and Liberia.
This 29,925 square mile country is slightly smaller than
South Carolina. The capital is Freetown. There is a population
of approximately 6.1 million people.
Sierra Leone is an extremely poor country where about two-thirds of the population engages in subsistence agriculture. The official language is English but use is limited to a literate minority. Other languages include Mende, Temne and Krio, an English based Creole spoken by descendants of freed Jamaican slaves. The primary export of Sierra Leone is alluvial diamonds.
Sierra Leone obtained its independence from Britain, April 27, 1961. The government is a constitutional democracy which is trying slowly to reestablish itself in the aftermath of a civil war which lasted from 1991 to 2002. The war resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people. There is a unicameral parliament with 124 seats.
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