PP 83, APC 27, PLP 2
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Political parties and leaders:
All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and
Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman];
People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI];
Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; 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, ICRM,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU,
ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000
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. Alluvial diamond
mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings,
accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. 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. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth
Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce
inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led
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