's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party
or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone
People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others

Political pressure groups and leaders:
trade unions and student unions

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263
FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485
FAX: [232] (22) 225471

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light
blue

Economy Sierra Leone

Economy - overview:
Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous
inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial
mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and
social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social
disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds
of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture.
Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and
of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Plans to reopen
bauxite and rutile mines shut down during an 11 year civil war have
not been implemented due to lack of foreign investment. Alluvial
diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings.
The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic
peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad,
which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and
supplement government revenues. International financial institutions
contributed over $600 million in development aid and budgetary
support in 2003.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$3.335 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.)

GDP - compositi