|
 |
| .gif) Republic of Sierra Leone is on the shores of North Atlantic Ocean. It shares its boundaries with Guinea and Liberia.
The country consists of three main geographical regions. The Sierra Leone Peninsula in the extreme west which is most mountainous, rising to about 2,900ft. This area was called Sierra Leone (the Lion Mountains) by the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Cintra in 1462. The western part of the country, excluding the Peninsula, consists of coastal mangrove swamps and a coastal plain that extends inland from 60 to 100 miles. Many rivers in this area are navigable for short distances. In the east and northeast is a plateau region ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 ft, with peaks of over 6,000 ft (Loma Mansa - Bintimani 6,390 ft) in the Loma Mountains and Tingi Hills
Sierra Leone got its independence from Britain as early as in 1961 but they took more than 30 years to prepare a Constitution for the country. Even this constitution has had several amendments since 1991. The curse of Sierra Leone is its civil war. Several people are dead and almost 30% of the population got displaced in the civil war. Almost all of them are refugees in the neighboring countries. Disarmament and demobilization of the fighting factions were achieved by the involvement of international community and the World Bank.
The country seems to limp back to normalcy with the help of UN peace keepers, after the general elections in 2002. |
|
|
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) |
| Religions: |
Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
| Languages: |
English, Mende, Temne, Krio |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic |
|
| 
|
|
| |
|
