Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago. The dense tropical rainforest partially isolated the region from other West African cultures, and it became a refuge for peoples escaping violence and jihads. Sierra Leone was named by Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who mapped the region in 1462. The Freetown estuary provided a good natural harbour for ships to shelter and replenish drinking water, and gained more international attention as coastal and trans-Atlantic trade supplanted trans-Saharan trade.
Sierra Leone maintains formal relations with many Western nations. It also maintains diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Bloc countries as well as with the People's Republic of China.
The Northern Province is one of the five provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It is located in the Northern geographic region of Sierra Leone. It comprises the following four Districts: Bombali, Falaba, Koinadugu and Tonkolili. The Northern Province covers an area of 35,936 km2 (13,875 sq mi) with a population of 2,502,865, based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Its administrative and economic center is Makeni. The North borders the Western Area to the West, the Republic of Guinea to the north-east, the Eastern Province and Southern Province to the south-east.
Articles related to Sierra Leone include:
John Henry Malamah Thomas (1844–1922) was a Sierra Leonean entrepreneur and a long serving mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Sierra Leone:
ISO 3166-2:SL is the entry for Sierra Leone in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.
Synodontis thysi is a species of upside-down catfish native to Guinea and Sierra Leone where it is found in the Little Scarcies, Jong, Rokel, Kolenté and Konkouré Rivers. This species grows to a length of 22.9 centimetres (9.0 in) SL.
The Kolenté River is a river in Guinea and Sierra Leone. The river forms a portion of the international border between the two countries. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Barlo Point, Sierra Leone. In Guinea it is known as the Kolenté and in Sierra Leone it is known as the Great Scarcies.
Enteromius bigornei is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Enteromius, it is only found in Little Scarcies basin in Sierra Leone, western Côte d'Ivoire, and eastern Liberia.
The Limba language, Hulimba, is an erstwhile Atlantic language of Sierra Leone. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of the Niger–Congo family. Dialects include Tonko, Sela, Kamuke, Wara-wara, Keleng, Biriwa, and Safroko. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in Guinea, is quite distinct. Limba has a system of noun classes, marked by an old, eroded set of prefixes augmented by a newer set of enclitics.
Water supply in Sierra Leone is characterized by limited access to safe drinking water. Despite efforts by the government and numerous non-governmental organizations, access has not much improved since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002, stagnating at about 50% and even declining in rural areas. In the capital Freetown, taps often run dry. It is hoped that a new dam in Orugu, for which China committed financing in 2009, will alleviate water scarcity.
The Face of Sierra Leone or also known as Miss Universe Sierra Leone, is a national Beauty pageant in Sierra Leone that selects the winner to represent the country in the Miss Universe, one of the Big Four international beauty pageants. The pageant was established in 2016 and the foundation held in 2012 and is considered the biggest pageant in Sierra Leone.
