Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

Sierra Leone (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

Sierra Leone

REGION: West Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Freetown
POPULATION: 5,336,000
LAND AREA: Twice the size of Maryland

Sierra Leone endured a devastating civil war from 1991 to 2002. Tens of thousands of people died, and more than two million (a third of the population) were displaced – some within Sierra Leone, others as refugees to neighboring countries. Postwar recovery began with refugee resettlement and troop demobilization. Still underway is the work of rebuilding a devastated infrastructure and helping farmers, fishermen and others among the agrarian poor to get back on their feet. Diamonds represent an important source of foreign exchange. Nevertheless, Sierra Leone remains a poor country. The U.N. Development Program's Human Development Index for 2007/2008 ranks Sierra Leone as the least-developed country in the world. On an historical note, the capital city, Freetown, was founded in 1787 as a home for repatriated former slaves.
           

Country Stats

Life expectancy: 41.8 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 282/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [0.9 - 2.4]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 3 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 51% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 57% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 34.8% (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $806 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $216 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: 57% (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)

 

(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)