Part 743

Total fertility rate: 6.29 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality: noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups: 13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 39%), Creole, European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%

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: definition: age 15 and over can read and write in English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.)

@Sierra Leone:Government

Country name: conventional long form : Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone

Data code: SL

Government type: constitutional democracy

National 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 : President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (inaugurated 29 March 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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; election held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to 2 five-year terms election results : Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of popular vote - NA

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats, 68 elected, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve NA-year terms) elections : last held NA February 1996 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - 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 or NPP [Andrew TURAY]; Democratic Center Party or DCP [Abu KOROMA]; Peoples Progressive Party or PPP [Edward KAMARA, chairman]; Coalition for Progress Party or CPP [Geredine WILLIAMS-SARHO]; National Unity Movement or NUM; United National Peoples Party or UNPP; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; All Peoples Congress or APC [S. A. T. KOROMA, chairman]; National Republican Party or NRP; Social Democratic Party or SDP; Peoples National Convention or PNC [I. B. KARGBO, chairman]; National Unity Party or NUP [A. O. D. GEORGE, chairman]; Sierra Leone Peoples Party or SLPP [Paul DUNBAR, chairman]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA; National Alliance for Democracy Party or 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 the US: chief of mission: Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: (202) 483-1793

Diplomatic representation from the US: 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 description: three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue

Economy

Economy - 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 hamper economic development. 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 - $4.7 billion (1996 est.)