ge 15-49 18,982; fit for military service 9,710 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $12 million, 4% of GDP (1990 est.)

*Sierra Leone, Geography

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea and
Liberia
Map references:
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
71,740 km2
land area:
71,620 km2
comparative area:
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
total 958 km, Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Coastline:
402 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
200 nm
International disputes:
none
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry
season (December to April)
Terrain:
coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau,
mountains in east
Natural resources:
diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Land use:
arable land:
25%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
31%
forest and woodland:
29%
other:
13%
Irrigated land:
340 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea; deforestation; soil
degradation

*Sierra Leone, People

Population:
4,510,571 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.61% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
45.47 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
19.39 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
145 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
45.87 years
male:
43.1 years
female:
48.71 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.01 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective:
Sierra Leonean
Ethnic divisions:
13 native African tribes 99% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 39%), Creole,
European, Lebanese, and Asian 1%
Religions:
Muslim 30%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%, other or none 30%
Languages:
English (official; regular use limited to literate minority), Mende
principal vernacular in the south, Temne principal vernacular in the north,
Krio the language of the re-settled ex-slave population of the Freetown area
and is lingua franca
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Merde, Temne, or Arabic (1990)
total population:
21%
male:
31%
female:
11%
Labor force:
1.369 million (1981 est.)
by occ