The Republic of Sierra Leone is located on the west coast of Africa, south of Guinea and north of Liberia. The terrain
varies considerably. Beaches and mangrove swamps along the coast, rise past wooded hills just inland to a mountainous
plateau in the interior. The 4.5 million people of Sierra Leone are divided into 19 ethnic groups speaking 19 separate
languages. The most important groups are the Temne and the Mende, each roughly 30% of the population; and the Krio,
descendants of returned slaves from the British Empire and the United States, 1% of the population, who have historically
dominated the government and economy along with the small Lebanese community. Mining, especially of diamonds, is Sierra
Leone's most important industry. But two thirds of the population lives off subsistence agriculture. The estimated per
capita income of Sierra Leone is $107.
(Statistics are courtesy of the
The U.S. Department of State.)
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Reprinted from
WeatherHub Website
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