UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH
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 John L. HIRSCH
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

Economy - overview: Sierra Leone has substantial mineral,
agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social
infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders
continue to hamper economic development. Agriculture employs about
two-thirds of the working population, with subsistence agriculture
dominating the sector. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing
of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market.
The mining of diamonds, bauxite, and rutile is the major source of
hard currency. The government has worked hard to meet its IMF- and
World Bank-mandated stabilization targets, holding down fiscal
deficits and retiring much of its domestic debt, but at a steep cost
in terms of forgone capital investments and social spending. Moreover,
the economic infrastructure has nearly collapsed due to neglect and
war-related disruptions in the mining and agricultural export sectors.
The continuing civil war in Liberia has led to a large influx of
refugees, who place additional burdens on Sierra Leone's fragile
economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.7 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $980 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 49%
industry: 21%
services: 30% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 5.6% (1996)

Labor force:
total: 1.369 million (1981 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 19%, services 16% (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues : $75 million
expenditures: $128 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY94/95 est.)

Industries: mining (diamonds, bauxite, rutile); small-scale
manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); pet