graphy - note:
rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year,
making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa

People Sierra Leone

Population:
6,005,250 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,321,563/female 1,370,721)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,502/female 1,625,733)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 90,958/female 101,773) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.4 years
male: 17.1 years
female: 17.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.3% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
45.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
23.03 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly
returning (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 160.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 177.47 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 142.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 40.22 years
male: 38.05 years
female: 42.46 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
6.08 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
7% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
170,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
11,000 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in
some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever (2007)

Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups:
20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%),
Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were
settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees
from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans,
Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians

Religions:
Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

Languages:
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende
(principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principa