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Sierra Leone is a republic with an executive president and a multi-party system of government. Civil rights and religious freedom are respected. A critical press continues to operate, although the government has intervened for alleged inaccurate reporting. The judicial system continues to function for civil cases but is severely handicapped by shortages...
Rich in minerals, Sierra Leone has relied on the mining sector in general, and diamonds in particular, for its economic base. In the 1970s and early 1980s, economic growth rate slowed because of a decline in the mining sector and increasing corruption among government officials. By the 1990
The most outstanding feature of the country's cultural life is its dancing. The Sierra Leone Dance Troupe is internationally known. The different communities of the nation have their own styles of costume and dance. In addition, certain closed societies, such as the Wunde, the Sande (Bundu), and the Gola, have characteristic ceremonial dances. A wide...
European contacts with Sierra Leone were among the first in West Africa. In 1652, the first slaves in North America were brought from Sierra Leone to the Sea Islands off the coast of the southern United States. During the 1700s there was a thriving trade bringing slaves from Sierra Leone to the plantations of South Carolina and Georgia where their rice-farming...
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia Map references: Africa Area: total area: 71,740 sq km land area: 71,620 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina Land boundaries: total 958 km, Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km Coastline: 402 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm continental...
The indigenous population is made up of 18 ethnic groups. The Temne in the north and the Mende in the South are the largest. About 60,000 are Krio, the descendants of freed slaves who returned to Sierra Leone from Great Britain and North America and slave ships captured on the high seas. In addition, about 4,000 Lebanese, 500 Indians, and 2,000 Europeans...
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