Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, informally Salone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea to the northeast. Sierra Leone has a tropical climate with a diverse environment ranging from savanna to rainforests, a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. The capital and largest city is Freetown. The country is divided into five administrative regions which are subdivided into sixteen districts. Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president serving a five-year term with a maximum of two terms. The current president is Julius Maada Bio. Sierra Leone is a secular nation with the constitution providing for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience. Muslims make up about three-quarters of the population, though with an influential Christian minority. Religious tolerance in the West African nation is very high and is generally considered a norm and part of Sierra Leone's cultural identity.
Sierra Leone first became inhabited by indigenous African peoples at least 2,500 years ago.The Limba were the first tribe known to inhabit Sierra Leone. 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.
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.
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre, as it is the seat of the Government of Sierra Leone. The population of Freetown was 1,055,964 at the 2015 census.
Major Johnny Paul Koroma was the head of state of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998. His alleged death has not been proven as nobody has found his body, hence he cannot be legally deemed to be dead. He was involved in criminal activities such as heavy drug trafficking.
Freetown International Airport (officially), locally known as Lungi International Airport, is an international airport located in the coastal town of Lungi, Sierra Leone. It is the only international airport in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone River separates Lungi International Airport from Freetown, the nation's capital city.
The Catholic Church in Sierra Leone is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The Liberated Africans of Sierra Leone were Africans who had been illegally enslaved onboard slave ships and rescued by anti-slavery patrols from the West Africa Squadron of the Royal Navy. After the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act 1807, which abolished Britain's involvement in the slave trade, the Admiralty established the West Africa Squadron to suppress the trade in cooperation with other Western powers. All illegally enslaved Africans liberated by the Royal Navy were taken to Freetown, where Admiralty courts legally confirmed their free status. Afterwards, they were consigned to a variety of unfree labor apprenticeships at the hands of the Nova Scotian Settlers and Jamaican Maroons in Sierra Leone. During the 19th century, it has been estimated by historians that roughly 80,000 illegally enslaved Africans were liberated by the Royal Navy.
Articles related to Sierra Leone include:
Sierra Leone National Premier League is the top professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful clubs. The National Premier League is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association. The season runs from March to July.
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.
The following list is of events that happened during 2007 in Sierra Leone.
On 20 December 2007, a series of explosions occurred in the shopping district of Free Street in downtown Freetown, Sierra Leone, killing 18 people while injuring at least five more.
Solomon Yambassu is a Sierra Leonean footballer, who plays for East End Lions in Sierra Leone National Premier League.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sierra Leone refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Sierra Leone. At year-end 2009, there were 8,054 members in 17 branches in Sierra Leone. In 2019, there were 22,787 members in 79 congregations.
Elizabeth II was the Queen of Sierra Leone from 1961 to 1971, when Sierra Leone was an independent constitutional monarchy. She was also the monarch of other Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. Her constitutional roles in Sierra Leone were mostly delegated to the governor-general of Sierra Leone.
India–Sierra Leone relations refers to the international relations that exist between India and Sierra Leone. India maintains a High Commission in Freetown. Sierra Leone does not have a resident diplomatic mission in India. The Sierra Leonean embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is accredited to India.
The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crown colony, which included the area surrounding Freetown, was established in 1808. The protectorate was established in 1896 and included the interior of what is today known as Sierra Leone.
Thomas Frederick Hope OBE CEng was a Sierra Leonean civil engineer, businessman, and scholar who was the general manager and Chief Engineer of the Guma Valley Water Company and President of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce. He was one-time President of the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and was one-time President of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce.
On 5 November 2021 a collision between a petrol fuel tanker and a lorry at a busy junction of Sierra Leone's capital and largest city Freetown resulted in an explosion and fire that killed at least 101 people, and injured more than 100, overwhelming the city's medical services.
