Portal:Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone Portal

Location of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia, and the northern half of the nation is surrounded by Guinea. Covering a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with diverse environments ranging from savanna to rainforests. The country has a population of 7,092,113 as of the 2015 census. Freetown is the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are subdivided into 16 districts.

Sierra Leone is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president. Sierra Leone is a secular state with the constitution providing for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience (which includes freedom of thoughts and religion). Muslims make up about three-quarters of the population, though with an influential Christian minority. Religious tolerance in the West African country is very high and is generally considered a norm and part of Sierra Leone's cultural identity.

The geographic area has been inhabited for millennia, but Sierra Leone, as the country and its borders are known today, was founded by the British Crown in two phases: first, the coastal Sierra Leone Colony in 1808 (for returning Africans after the abolition of the slave trade); second, the inland Protectorate in 1896 (as the Crown sought to establish more dominion inland following the outcome of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885). Hence, the country formally became known as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate or simply British Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961, becoming a Commonwealth realm as the Dominion of Sierra Leone with Sir Milton Margai of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) as the country's first prime minister.

A new constitution was adopted in 1971, transforming the country into a presidential republic led by Siaka Stevens of the All People's Congress (APC). After declaring the APC the sole legal party in 1978, Stevens was succeeded by Joseph Saidu Momoh in 1985, who enacted a new constitution reintroducing a multi-party system in 1991. A brutal civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group broke out the same year, which went on for 11 years with devastating effects. During the war, the country experienced three coups d'état and alternated between civilian and military rule. Following military interventions by the ECOMOG and later the United Kingdom, the RUF was definitively defeated in 2002. The country has remained relatively stable since then, and is attempting to recover from the war. The two main political parties are the APC and the SLPP. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Koidu Limited a subsidiary of OCTÉA Limited, is a locally registered Company in the Republic of Sierra Leone. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images -

The following are images from various Sierra Leone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1British West African Campaign troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the German Cameroons, the main object of the attack being the port of Duala. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare." (from Sierra Leone)
Image 2Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 3Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 4The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 5Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 6Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone. Lisk-Carew Brothers, Freetown, Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 7The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 8The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 9A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 10A proportional representation of Sierra Leone exports, 2019 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 11An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 12A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 13The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 14A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 15Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 16A farmer with his rice harvest in Sierra Leone. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 17British West African Campaign troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the German Cameroons, the main object of the attack being the port of Duala. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare." (from Sierra Leone)
Image 18A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 19National Stadium in Freetown. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 20Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 21A proportional representation of Sierra Leone exports, 2019 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 22Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 23Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 24Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean West African Frontier Force soldier stands guard next to him (from Sierra Leone)
Image 25A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 26A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 27An 1835 illustration of liberated Africans arriving in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 28Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone. Lisk-Carew Brothers, Freetown, Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 29African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 30The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 31The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 32Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean West African Frontier Force soldier stands guard next to him (from Sierra Leone)
Image 33An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 34A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 35A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 36African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 37Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 38Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 39Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 40The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 41Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 42Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 43Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 44Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 45Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 46The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 47A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 48The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 49The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 50National Stadium in Freetown. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 51An 1835 illustration of liberated Africans arriving in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 52Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 53A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 54Isata Mahoi shown editing radio programmes in Talking Drum studio Freetown; she is also an actress in the Sierra Leone radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda (from Sierra Leone)
Image 55Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 56A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 57Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 58Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 59Isata Mahoi shown editing radio programmes in Talking Drum studio Freetown; she is also an actress in the Sierra Leone radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda (from Sierra Leone)
Image 60A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 61Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 62A farmer with his rice harvest in Sierra Leone. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. (from Sierra Leone)

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A pygmy hippopotamus at Edinburgh Zoo

The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has been extirpated from Nigeria.

The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being its much larger relative, the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or Nile hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial adaptations, but like the hippo, it is semiaquatic and relies on water to keep its skin moist and its body temperature cool. Behaviors such as mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippo is herbivorous, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses, and fruits it finds in the forests. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles
Aniru Conteh British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War Sierra Leone women's national football team Sierra Leone at the 2016 Summer Paralympics 2017 Sierra Leone mudslides Sierra Leone at the 2012 Summer Olympics Western African Ebola virus epidemic Operation Barras

Did you know

Class at a secondary school in Pendembu, Sierra Leone

... that education in Sierra Leone (pictured) had to recover from the destruction of 1,270 primary schools during the Sierra Leone Civil War?

Topics

Books

Provinces: Eastern Province • Northern Province • Southern Province • Western Area

History: Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate • Kingdom of Koya • British West Africa • Sierra Leone Liberated Africans • Sierra Leone Civil War • United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone

Law: Sierra Leone Police • Special Court for Sierra Leone • Truth and Reconciliation Commission • Prisons in Sierra Leone

Politics: List of Presidents • Political Parties • Parliament • Foreign relations • Elections • Military of Sierra Leone

Geography: Protected • Sierra Leone River • Western Guinean lowland forests • Outamba-Kilimi National Park • Transport

Society: Sport • Demographics • Education • Cuisine • Media • Music

Symbols: Flag • Coat of arms • National anthem (High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free)

Selected picture -

Credit: L. Lartigue and USAID
Diamond mining in Kono District, diamonds are key part of the economy of Sierra Leone. (read more . . . )

Related portals

Religions in Sierra Leone

West Africa

All Africa-related portals

WikiProjects

WikiProject Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone

Wikiproject Africa
Africa

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Things to do

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Article requests : Culture of Sierra Leone (presently a redirect)
Cleanup : Communications in Sierra Leone, Hinduism in Sierra Leone, Telecommunications in Sierra Leone
Stubs : Bo Airport,Loko language, Brima Dawson Kuyateh, Roman Catholicism in Sierra Leone
Verify : John Akar, Mohamed B. Daramy, Bunce Island
Other : St. George Cathedral (Freetown)

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