Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Its land area is 73,252 km2 (28,283 sq mi). It has a tropical climate and environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. As of the 2023 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 8,908,040. Freetown is both its capital and its largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.
The economy of Sierra Leone is $7.41 billion by gross domestic product as of 2024. Since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002, the economy is gradually recovering with a gross domestic product growth rate between 4 and 7%. In 2008 it in PPP ranked between 147th by World Bank, and 153rd by CIA, largest in the world.
There are a number of systems of transport in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, which possess road, rail, air and water infrastructure, including a network of highways and several airports.
The African manatee, also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of Western Africa – from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee species to be found in the Old World.
Egusi, also spelled egushi, are the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants, which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. Egusi is a Yoruba word, and the popular method of cooking it is deeply rooted in Yoruba culinary traditions.
The Upper Guinean forests is a tropical seasonal forest region of West Africa. The Upper Guinean forests extend from Guinea and Sierra Leone in the west through Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to Togo in the east, and a few hundred kilometers inland from the Atlantic coast. A few enclaves of montane forest lie further inland in the mountains of central Guinea and central Togo and Benin.
The wildlife of Sierra Leone is very diverse due to the variety of different habitats within the country. Sierra Leone is home to approximately 2090 known higher plant species, 147 known species of mammals, 172 known breeding bird species, 67 known reptile species, 35 known amphibian species and 99 known species of fish.
Berlinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 21 species of trees native to sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Guinea to Chad, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Angola.
Lovoa trichilioides, also called African walnut, Congowood, dibetou or tigerwood, is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is threatened by habitat loss. Germination success is somewhat limited by short-lived seeds which are heavily predated. Exploitation rates are high. It is one of the two principal timber species in Congo.
Tieghemella heckelii is a tree species of the genus Tieghemella in the plant family Sapotaceae. The species occurs in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone and is threatened by habitat loss and over exploitation. This timber tree species can grow up to 45 meters tall and 1.2 meters in diameter. One individual, the Big Tree of Oda, is 66.5 m (218 ft) tall and 396 cm (13 ft) in diameter and is believed to be the tallest tree in West Africa.
Eremospatha is a genus of climbing flowering plants in the palm family found in tropical Africa. These rattans are uncommon in cultivation and poorly understood by taxonomists. Closely related to Laccosperma, they are differentiated by the near complete absence of bracts and bracteoles. The name is from Greek meaning 'without a spathe'.
Chidlowia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It contains a single species, Chidlowia sanguinea, a tree native to West Africa and Chad.
Stachyothyrsus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It includes two species native to tropical Africa.
Pseudoprosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes seven species of shrubs, lianas, or small trees native to tropical Africa. Typical habitats include tropical rain forest, gallery forest, seasonally-dry forest, and dense thicket. Three species are native to west-central Africa, two species to West Africa, and two species to southeastern Africa – one to the Zambezian region and one to the Zanzibar–Inhambane region. The genus belongs to the mimosoid clade of subfamily Caesalpinioideae.
Sinodolichos is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes two species native to southern China, Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Borneo. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae.
Elymandra is a genus of African and South American plants in the grass family. Most known species are native to Africa; one is found in Brazil.
The Timneh parrot, also known as the Timneh grey parrot or Timneh African grey parrot, is a West African parrot. Formerly classified as a subspecies of the grey parrot Psittacus erithacus timneh, it is now considered a full species Psittacus timneh. In aviculture, it is often referred to by the initials TAG and is commonly kept as a companion parrot.
Bangladesh–Sierra Leone relations refer to the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. The relations between the two countries have been largely influenced by the contribution of Bangladesh forces as part of United Nations Peace Keeping mission in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Sierra Leone and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Freetown since February 2018 and Sierra Leone has an embassy in Ankara since January 2020.
