- Outline of Sierra Leone
-
The location of Sierra Leone
An enlargeable map of the Republic of Sierra LeoneSee also: Index of Sierra Leone-related articlesThe Republic of Sierra Leone is a sovereign country located in West Africa.[1] Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea in the northeast, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi)[2] and has a population of 5,900,000. The country has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests.[3] Freetown is the capital, seat of government, and largest city.[2] Other major cities in the country with a population over 100,000 are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. Although English is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, Krio (language derived from English and several West African languages and is native to the Sierra Leone Krio people) is the lingua franca spoken throughout the country. The Krio language unites all the different ethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other.
Early inhabitants of Sierra Leone included the Sherbro, Temne and Limba peoples, and later the Mende,[4] who knew the country as Romarong, and the Kono who settled in the East of the country.[5] In 1462, it was visited by the Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra, who gave it its name Serra de Leão, meaning 'Lion Mountains'.[6] Sierra Leone became an important centre of the transatlantic slave trade, until 1787 when Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African and West Indians.[7] In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate;[5] in 1961, the two combined and gained independence. Over two decades of government neglect of the interior followed by the spilling over of the Liberian conflict into its borders eventually led to the Sierra Leone Civil War,[8] which began in 1991 and was resolved in 2000 after the United Nations led by Nigeria defeated the rebel forces and restored the civilian government elected in 1998 to Freetown. Since then, almost 72,500 former combatants have been disarmed[9] and the country has reestablished a functioning democracy.[1] The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up in 2002 to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since 1996.[10]
Sierra Leone is the lowest ranked country on the Human Development Index and seventh lowest on the Human Poverty Index,[11] suffering from endemic corruption[12] and suppression of the press.[13]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Sierra Leone:
General reference
An enlargeable relief map of Sierra Leone- Pronunciation:
- Common English country name: Sierra Leone
- Official English country name: The Republic of Sierra Leone
- Common endonym(s):
- Official endonym(s):
- Adjectival(s): Sierra Leonean
- Demonym(s):
- Etymology: Name of Sierra Leone
- ISO country codes: SL, SLE, 694
- ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:SL
- Internet country code top-level domain: .sl
Geography of Sierra Leone
An enlargeable topographic map of Sierra LeoneMain article: Geography of Sierra Leone- Sierra Leone is: a country
- Population of Sierra Leone: 6,294,774 (July 2008 est.)
- Area of Sierra Leone:71,740 km²
- land: 71,620 km²
- water: 120 km²
- Atlas of Sierra Leone
Location
- Sierra Leone is situated within the following regions:
- Time zone: Coordinated Universal Time UTC+00
- Extreme points of Sierra Leone
- High: Mount Bintumani 1,948 m (6,391 ft)
- Low: North Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- Land boundaries: 958 km
Environment of Sierra Leone
An enlargeable satellite image of Sierra LeoneMain article: Environment of Sierra Leone- Climate of Sierra Leone
- Environmental issues in Sierra Leone
- Upper Guinean Rainforest Ecoregions
- Renewable energy in Sierra Leone
- Geology of Sierra Leone
- Protected areas of Sierra Leone
- Biosphere reserves in Sierra Leone
- Wildlife of Sierra Leone
- Flora of Sierra Leone
- Fauna of Sierra Leone
- Birds of Sierra Leone
- Mammals of Sierra Leone
Natural geographic features of Sierra Leone
Main article: Landforms of Sierra Leone- Glaciers in Sierra Leone: none [14]
- Islands of Sierra Leone
- Lakes of Sierra Leone
- Mountains of Sierra Leone
- Volcanoes in Sierra Leone
- Rivers of Sierra Leone
- Waterfalls of Sierra Leone
- Valleys of Sierra Leone
- World Heritage Sites in Sierra Leone: None
Regions of Sierra Leone
Main article: Regions of Sierra LeoneEcoregions of Sierra Leone
Main articles: List of ecoregions in Sierra Leone and Ecoregions in Sierra LeoneAdministrative divisions of Sierra Leone
Main article: Administrative divisions of Sierra Leone- Provinces of Sierra Leone
- Districts of Sierra Leone
- Chiefdoms of Sierra Leone of Sierra Leone
- Districts of Sierra Leone
Provinces of Sierra Leone
Main article: Provinces of Sierra LeoneDistricts of Sierra Leone
Main article: Districts of Sierra LeoneChiefdoms of Sierra Leone
Main article: Chiefdoms of Sierra LeoneDemography of Sierra Leone
Main article: Demographics of Sierra LeoneGovernment and politics of Sierra Leone
- Main article: Government of Sierra Leone and Politics of Sierra Leone
- Form of government: presidential representative democratic republic
- Capital of Sierra Leone: Freetown
- Elections in Sierra Leone
- (specific elections)
- Political parties in Sierra Leone
- Political scandals of Sierra Leone
- Taxation in Sierra Leone
Branches of the government of Sierra Leone
Main article: Government of Sierra LeoneExecutive branch of the government of Sierra Leone
- Head of state and Head of government: President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma
- Cabinet of Sierra Leone
Legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone
- Parliament of Sierra Leone (unicameral, also known as the House of Representatives)
Judicial branch of the government of Sierra Leone
Main article: Court system of Sierra Leone- Supreme Court of Sierra Leone
Foreign relations of Sierra Leone
Main article: Foreign relations of Sierra LeoneInternational organization membership
The Republic of Sierra Leone is a member of:[1]
Law and order in Sierra Leone
Main article: Law of Sierra Leone- Capital punishment in Sierra Leone
- Constitution of Sierra Leone
- Crime in Sierra Leone
- Human rights in Sierra Leone
- LGBT rights in Sierra Leone
- Freedom of religion in Sierra Leone
- Law enforcement in Sierra Leone
Military of Sierra Leone
Main article: Military of Sierra Leone- Command
- Commander-in-chief:
- Ministry of Defence of Sierra Leone
- Commander-in-chief:
- Forces
- Army of Sierra Leone
- Navy of Sierra Leone
- Air Force of Sierra Leone
- Special forces of Sierra Leone
- Military history of Sierra Leone
- Military ranks of Sierra Leone
Local government in Sierra Leone
Main article: Local government in Sierra LeoneHistory of Sierra Leone
- Main article: History of Sierra Leone, Timeline of the history of Sierra Leone, and Current events of Sierra Leone
- Economic history of Sierra Leone
- Military history of Sierra Leone
Culture of Sierra Leone
Main article: Culture of Sierra Leone- Architecture of Sierra Leone
- Cuisine of Sierra Leone
- Ethnic minorities in Sierra Leone
- Festivals in Sierra Leone
- Humor in Sierra Leone
- Languages of Sierra Leone
- Media in Sierra Leone
- National symbols of Sierra Leone
- Coat of arms of Sierra Leone
- Flag of Sierra Leone
- National anthem of Sierra Leone
- People of Sierra Leone
- Prostitution in Sierra Leone
- Public holidays in Sierra Leone
- Records of Sierra Leone
- Religion in Sierra Leone
- Christianity in Sierra Leone
- Islam in Sierra Leone
- Judaism in Sierra Leone
- World Heritage Sites in Sierra Leone: None
Art in Sierra Leone
- Art in Sierra Leone
- Cinema of Sierra Leone
- Literature of Sierra Leone
- Music of Sierra Leone
- Television in Sierra Leone
- Theatre in Sierra Leone
Sports in Sierra Leone
Main article: Sports in Sierra LeoneEconomy and infrastructure of Sierra Leone
Main article: Economy of Sierra Leone- Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 158th (one hundred and fifty eighth)
- Agriculture in Sierra Leone
- Banking in Sierra Leone
- Communications in Sierra Leone
- Internet in Sierra Leone
- Companies of Sierra Leone
- Economic history of Sierra Leone
- Energy in Sierra Leone
- Energy policy of Sierra Leone
- Oil industry in Sierra Leone
- Health care in Sierra Leone
- Mining in Sierra Leone
- Sierra Leone Stock Exchange
- Tourism in Sierra Leone
- Transport in Sierra Leone
- Airports in Sierra Leone
- Rail transport in Sierra Leone
- Roads in Sierra Leone
- Water supply and sanitation in Sierra Leone
Education in Sierra Leone
Main article: Education in Sierra LeoneSee also
Main article: Sierra Leone- Index of Sierra Leone-related articles
- List of international rankings
- List of Sierra Leone-related topics
- Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations
- Member state of the United Nations
- Outline of Africa
- Outline of geography
References
- ^ a b c "Sierra Leone". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b Encarta Encyclopedia. "Sierra Leone". http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563681/Sierra_Leone.html. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ The World Guide. "Sierra Leone Geography". http://sbs.com.au/theworldnews/Worldguide/index.php3?country=178&header=3. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Kup (1961), p. 116
- ^ a b Classic Encyclopedia. "Sierra Leone". http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Sierra_Leone. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Room (1995), p. 346-7
- ^ History World. "History of Sierra Leone". http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad45. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Sillinger (2003), p. 104
- ^ Keen (2005), p. 268
- ^ The Special Court for Sierra Leone. "About the Special Court for Sierra Leone". Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20071215015126/http://www.sc-sl.org/about.html. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Human Development Reports. "Sierra Leone — The Human Development Index". http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_SLE.html. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ David Tam-Baryoh, Worldpress.org. "Corruption in Sierra Leone". http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/352.cfm. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ Reporters without Borders. "Media body curbs press freedom". http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=3775. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ The only glaciers in Africa are on Mt Kenya (in Kenya), on Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania), and in the Ruwenzori Mountains (which are located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). See Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978): IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.
External links
Wikimedia Atlas of Sierra Leone
- Government and Diplomacy
- The Republic of Sierra Leone official government site
- Sierra Leone High Commission in London
- Diplomatic Representations of Sierra Leone
- British High Commission in Sierra Leone
- US Embassy in Sierra Leone
- Tourism and Travel
- Outline of Sierra Leone travel guide from Wikitravel
- Aisha's Eye on Sierra Leone a photo documentary
- National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone official site
- Visit Sierra Leone Travel and Tourism information
- US Department of State travel information
- Economy and Business
- Index of Economic Freedom - Sierra Leone is 48.4% free
- Sierra Leone Business Directory
- Fadugu Sending Money to Sierra Leone
- (pdf) Doing Business in Sierra Leone - A Commercial Guide for US Companies
- World Bank Data & Statistics on Sierra Leone
- News Media and Discussion
- allAfrica.com - Sierra Leone News Aggregator
- Awareness Times Newspaper
- The New People The New People Newspaper
- IRIN Sierra Leone humanitarian news and analysis
- ENCISS civil society and governance
- Sierra Eye Sierra Leone News Portal
- Other Resources
- CIA World Factbook - Sierra Leone
- "Country profile: Sierra Leone". BBC News. 2008-06-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1061561.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- Sierra Leone at the Open Directory Project
- Sierra Leone Web
- Sweet Salone, 2008
- War Crimes Trials in Sierra Leone
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- Sierra Leone-related lists
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