Sierra Leone

A CIVIL WAR (1991-2002) in Sierra Leone led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the displacement of around a third of the population. Since United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces left Sierra Leone in 2005, the government has begun the recovery process. Internal political tensions, the tenuous political and economic situation in Guinea, and security issues with Liberia, however, threaten the stability of Sierra Leone. Even though the country has a wealth of natural resources that include diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, and chromite, weak infrastructures make adequate exploitation of resources difficult.

Nearly seven percent of land area in Sierra Leone is arable; two-thirds of the work force is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which provides 49 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Alluvial diamond mining accounts for almost half of export earnings, and bauxite mining has resumed operation. Participation in the International Monetary Fund's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program has helped to promote economic stability. With a per capita income of only $900, however, Sierra Leone is the 16th poorest county in the world. Some 68 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and half the population is seriously undernourished. Great income disparity exists in Sierra Leone, which ranks 62.9 on the Gini index of inequality. The richest 10 percent of society holds 43.6 percent of all wealth, with the poorest 10 percent sharing only 0.5 percent. The UN Development Programme's Human Development Reports rank Sierra Leone 176 of 232 countries on overall quality-of-life issues.

Bordering on the North Atlantic Ocean, Sierra Leone has a coastline of 402 kilometers and 120 square kilometers of inland water resources. The land is comprised of a coastal belt of mangrove swamps that give way to wooded hills and an upland plateau with mountains in the east. Elevations ...