Sierra Leone
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Freetown
- Population
- 9,331,203 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 71,740 sq km
- Government
- presidential republic
- Languages
- English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves; a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
- Religions
- Muslim 77.1%, Christian 22.9% (2019 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Temne 35.4%, Mende 30.8%, Limba 8.8%, Kono 4.3%, Korankoh 4%, Fullah 3.8%, Mandingo 2.8%, Loko 2%, Sherbro 1.9%, Creole 1.2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century; also known as Krio), other 5% (2019 est.)
- Currency
- leones (SLL)
- Life Expectancy
- 59.4 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .sl
- Climate
- tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
- Terrain
- coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
- Natural Resources
- diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
- Major Exports
- iron ore, titanium ore, diamonds, aluminum ore, cocoa beans (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Continuously populated for at least 2,500 years, the area now known as Sierra Leone is covered with dense jungle that allowed the region to remain relatively protected from invading West African empires.