Outline of Sierra Leone

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The Flag of Sierra Leone
The Coat of arms of Sierra Leone
The location of Sierra Leone
An enlargeable map of the Republic of Sierra Leone
See also: Index of Sierra Leone-related articles

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a sovereign country located in West Africa.[1] Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea in the northeast, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi)[2] and has a population of 5,900,000. The country has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests.[3] Freetown is the capital, seat of government, and largest city.[2] Other major cities in the country with a population over 100,000 are Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. Although English is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, Krio (language derived from English and several West African languages and is native to the Sierra Leone Krio people) is the lingua franca spoken throughout the country. The Krio language unites all the different ethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other.

Early inhabitants of Sierra Leone included the Sherbro, Temne and Limba peoples, and later the Mende,[4] who knew the country as Romarong, and the Kono who settled in the East of the country.[5] In 1462, it was visited by the Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra, who gave it its name Serra de Leão, meaning 'Lion Mountains'.[6] Sierra Leone became an important centre of the transatlantic slave trade, until 1787 when Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African and West Indians.[7] In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate;[5] in 1961, the two combined and gained independence. Over two decades of government neglect of the interior followed by the spilling over of the Liberian conflict into its borders eventually led to the Sierra Leone Civil War,[8] which began in 1991 and was resolved in 2000 after the United Nations led by Nigeria defeated the rebel forces and restored the civilian government elected in 1998 to Freetown. Since then, almost 72,500 former combatants have been disarmed[9] and the country has reestablished a functioning democracy.[1] The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up in 2002 to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since 1996.[10]

Sierra Leone is the lowest ranked country on the Human Development Index and seventh lowest on the Human Poverty Index,[11] suffering from endemic corruption[12] and suppression of the press.[13]

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Sierra Leone:

Contents

[edit] General reference

An enlargeable relief map of Sierra Leone

[edit] Geography of Sierra Leone

An enlargeable topographic map of Sierra Leone
Main article: Geography of Sierra Leone

[edit] Location

 Guinea 652 km
 Liberia 306 km

[edit] Environment of Sierra Leone

An enlargeable satellite image of Sierra Leone

[edit] Natural geographic features of Sierra Leone

[edit] Regions of Sierra Leone

Main article: Regions of Sierra Leone

[edit] Ecoregions of Sierra Leone

Main articles: List of ecoregions in Sierra Leone and Ecoregions in Sierra Leone

[edit] Administrative divisions of Sierra Leone

Main article: Administrative divisions of Sierra Leone
[edit] Provinces of Sierra Leone
Main article: Provinces of Sierra Leone
[edit] Districts of Sierra Leone
Main article: Districts of Sierra Leone
[edit] Chiefdoms of Sierra Leone
Main article: Chiefdoms of Sierra Leone

[edit] Demography of Sierra Leone

Main article: Demographics of Sierra Leone

[edit] Government and politics of Sierra Leone

Main article: Government of Sierra Leone and Politics of Sierra Leone

[edit] Branches of the government of Sierra Leone

Main article: Government of Sierra Leone

[edit] Executive branch of the government of Sierra Leone

[edit] Legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone

[edit] Judicial branch of the government of Sierra Leone

Main article: Court system of Sierra Leone

[edit] Foreign relations of Sierra Leone

Main article: Foreign relations of Sierra Leone

[edit] International organization membership

The Republic of Sierra Leone is a member of:[1]

[edit] Law and order in Sierra Leone

Main article: Law of Sierra Leone

[edit] Military of Sierra Leone

Main article: Military of Sierra Leone

[edit] Local government in Sierra Leone

Main article: Local government in Sierra Leone

[edit] History of Sierra Leone

Main article: History of Sierra Leone, Timeline of the history of Sierra Leone, and Current events of Sierra Leone

[edit] Culture of Sierra Leone

Main article: Culture of Sierra Leone

[edit] Art in Sierra Leone

[edit] Sports in Sierra Leone

Main article: Sports in Sierra Leone

[edit] Economy and infrastructure of Sierra Leone

Main article: Economy of Sierra Leone

[edit] Education in Sierra Leone

Main article: Education in Sierra Leone

[edit] See also

Portal icon Sierra Leone portal
Portal icon Africa portal
English language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Main article: Sierra Leone

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Sierra Leone". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 3, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 
  2. ^ a b Encarta Encyclopedia. "Sierra Leone". http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563681/Sierra_Leone.html. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  3. ^ The World Guide. "Sierra Leone Geography". http://sbs.com.au/theworldnews/Worldguide/index.php3?country=178&header=3. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  4. ^ Kup (1961), p. 116
  5. ^ a b Classic Encyclopedia. "Sierra Leone". http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Sierra_Leone. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  6. ^ Room (1995), p. 346-7
  7. ^ History World. "History of Sierra Leone". http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad45. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  8. ^ Sillinger (2003), p. 104
  9. ^ Keen (2005), p. 268
  10. ^ The Special Court for Sierra Leone. "About the Special Court for Sierra Leone". Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20071215015126/http://www.sc-sl.org/about.html. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  11. ^ Human Development Reports. "Sierra Leone — The Human Development Index". http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_SLE.html. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  12. ^ David Tam-Baryoh, Worldpress.org. "Corruption in Sierra Leone". http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/352.cfm. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  13. ^ Reporters without Borders. "Media body curbs press freedom". http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=3775. Retrieved 2008-02-19. 
  14. ^ The only glaciers in Africa are on Mt Kenya (in Kenya), on Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania), and in the Ruwenzori Mountains (which are located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). See Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978): IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.

[edit] External links

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