Part 666

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

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 in English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic (1995 est.) total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2%

Government ----------

Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone

Data code: SL

Type of government: constitutional democracy

Capital: Freetown

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

Independence: 27 April 1961 (from UK)

National holiday: Republic 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 and head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2000) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives: elections last held NA February 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (80 total, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections) SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: 15 parties registered for the February 1996 elections; National Peoples Party (NPP), Andrew TURAY; Democratic Center Party (DCP), Abu KOROMA; Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Edward KAMARA, chairman; Coalition for Progress Party (CPP), Geredine WILLIAMS-SARHO; National Unity Movement (NUM); United National Peoples Party (UNPP); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Thaimu BANGURA, chairman; All Peoples Congress (APC), S. A. T. KOROMA, chairman; National Republican Party (NRP); Social Democratic Party (SDP); Peoples National Convention (PNC), I. B. KARGBO, chairman; National Unity Party (NUP), A. O. D. GEORGE, chairman; Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), Paul DUNBAR, chairman; National Democratic Alliance (NDA); National Alliance for Democracy Party (NADP)

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: (vacant) chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 939-9261

US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John L. HIRSCH embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: (22) 225471

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

Economy -------

Economic overview: Sierra Leone has substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to push down production, exports, and the value of the leone. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the working population, with subsistence agriculture dominating the sector. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. The mining of diamonds, bauxite, and rutile is the major source of hard currency. The government has worked hard to meet its IMF- and World Bank-mandated stabilization targets, holding down fiscal deficits, and retiring much of its domestic debt - but at a steep cost in terms of forgone capital investments and social spending. Moreover, the economic infrastructure has nearly collapsed due to neglect and war-related disruptions in the mining and agricultural export sectors. The continuing civil war in Liberia has led to a large influx of refugees, who place additional burdens on Sierra Leone's fragile economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1994 est.)

GDP real growth rate: -4% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita: $960 (1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 40% industry: 17% services: 43% (1994)