History On 27 April 1961 , the country obtained its independence. But because of fighting between ethnic groups , the country is experiencing political instability.
Milton Margai's brother, Albert Margai , his place as Prime Minister in 1964.
In March 1967 , Siaka Stevens , leader of the All People's Congress (APC), won the election, but his accession to power was delayed until April 1968 by a series of military coups.
On 19 April 1971 , Siaka Stevens introduced a one-party rule. He began trying to clean up politics, fighting against corruption, for example. But he quickly abandons this path to the mines of diamonds in the north.
On 28 May 1975 , with 14 other countries, Sierra Leone established the Economic Community of West Africa.
Siaka Stevens gives way to the commander in chief, Joseph Saidu Momoh , in November 1985. He was formally elected president in January 1986.
In November 1987 , Joseph Saidu Momoh decreed a "state of economic emergency." Of drastic austerity measures are taken. But the mining of diamonds continues to bring in a lot of money to key leaders of the regime.
Civil war
The civil war in Sierra Leone took place from March 1991 to 18 January 2002. This war was the main purpose of control zones diamond.
It caused the death of 100 000-200 000 people and displaced more than two million people (representing a third of the population at the time). Many female were also held, and the massive use of child soldiers.
The De Beers of South Africa to guard a very controversial since it was the first buyer of diamonds, sold illegally in Liberia neighbor. Also, the South Africa she keeps another influence, that the deployment of its armed forces on the private territory of Sierra Leone to secure the diamond.
Since the end of the Civil War
On 14 May 2002 , outgoing President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah , was re-elected with 70.6% of votes.
The country is now at peace. The various measures taken by the UN are gradually reduced or eliminated, such as the lifting of the embargo on the export of diamonds. A rundown of the strengths of blue helmets ( UN Mission in Sierra Leone ) is also involved. After a peak of 17 500 men in March 2001 , enrollment dropped to 13,000 in June 2003 and 5000 in October 2004.
However, for economic reasons, many children still work in the diamond mines are very dangerous. The spread of AIDS is also very important, 16 000 children under 15 years are HIV positive.
In 2007, according to the Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.365, Sierra Leone was among the three least developed countries in the world. GDP / inhabitants of Sierra Leone is the world's lowest ( 330 per year per population)
Politics
Sierra Leone is a republic multiparty presidential regime to where the president is both head of state and head of government. Executive power rests with the government while legislative power is shared between the government and the House of Representatives. The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches. The new president is Ernest Koroma was elected in September 2007.
Geography
Much of the coast are marshes mangroves , with the exception of the peninsula where the capital Freetown. The rest of the country is mainly a plateau covered with forests , located about 300 meters above sea level at the east are mountains, whose highest is Loma Mansa , peaking at 1948 meters.
The climate is tropical, rainy season is from May to December and dry season from December to April.
The main cities are Freetown , Koidu (Sefadu), Bo , Kenema and Makeni.
Demographics
Demographic changes between 1961 and 2002 (figure in
FAO , 2004). Population in thousands.
Provinces
Sierra Leone is divided into four provinces:
- Eastern Province
- Northern Province
- Southern Province
- Western Zone, including the capital Freetown
Education
Sierra Leone has the oldest university in Africa south of Sahara . Illiteracy is a strong majority . The educational infrastructure is weak .
Economy
The economy is mainly based on mining of diamonds and gold. The country is one of the world's poorest in terms of GDP per capita, estimated in 2006 to 900 dollars . In 2008 , the country is the last in the Human Development Index of 2008.
Culture
Public Holidays | Date | French name | Local Name | Notes |
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| April 27 | Independence Day | Independence Day | |
Health
The female life expectancy is estimated in 2010 at age 58, and one male 53 years . Life expectancy in healthy women was 30 years in 2003, and the men's 27 . Public expenditures on health were 41 in 2006 Intl .
Codes
Sierra Leone has the code:
- SL , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (list of country codes), code alpha-2
- SL according to the list of country codes used by NATO , alpha-2 code,
- . Sl , according to the list of Internet TLDs ( top level domain )
- SLE , according to the list of country codes IOC ,
- SLE , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 (list of country codes)
- SLE , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , code alpha-3,
- WAL , according to the list of international codes of plates ,
Notes and references
See also
External Links
African Union |
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| Existence awidely disputed in the international community, including Morocco , non-member African Union, which considers Western Sahara as part of its territory. |
 Africa portal |
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