About Sierra Leone
Background
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea & Liberia. Capital and largest city is Freetown.
Coordinates: 8 30 N, 11 30 W
Total area: 71,740 sq km
Land: 71,620 sq km
Water: 120 sq km
Slightly smaller than South Carolina
Two-thirds of Sierra Leone’s 6 Million population was traditionally engaged in subsistence agriculture. The percentage of the population that are Christian is about 10% while 60% are Muslim and 30% hold to indigenous beliefs. Mineral exports remain Sierra Leone’s principal foreign exchange earner. The country is a major producer of gem-quality diamonds and has one of the world’s largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore. Negotiations for reactivation of rutile and bauxite mining are in progress.
Since 1991, civil war between the government & the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths & the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population), many of whom became refugees in neighboring countries.
World Fact Book
http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2003/geos/sl.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html
History of Sierra Leone
http://www.cryfreetown.org/history.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0861084.html