conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone
local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
local short form: Sierra Leone
71,740 km²
Freetown
leone (SLL)
232
.sl
English, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende, Temne, Krio, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca, a first language for
Muslim, Christian, indigenous beliefs
6,144,562
constitutional democracy
three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007.
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
