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Last Minute Tips Before you Travel to Sierra Leone
- Time Zone: GMT/UTC 0
- Electricity: 230V, 50 Hz (bring an adapter/transformer for your hair drier, laptop, cellullar phone etc.)
- Currency: Leone (Le)
- Country Dialing Code: 232
Sierra Leone
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Capital
Freetown
Population
6,017,643 (July 2005 est.)
Regions
3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Ethnic groups
20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Religions
Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
Languages
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Government type
constitutional democracy
Background
The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population).. The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability.
Visitor's Impressions
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