(1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 290 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the
Sahara (November to May); sandstorms, dust storms

Environment--current issues: rapid population growth pressuring
the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle
grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in
deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural
resources; overfishing

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

People

Population: 5,296,651 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,182,181; female 1,219,956)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,307,475; female 1,423,046)
65 years and over: 3% (male 82,374; female 81,619) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.34% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 45.62 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 14.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 126.23 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 49.13 years
male: 46.07 years
female: 52.27 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.16 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups: 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende
30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendents of freed Jamaican slaves
who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-eighteenth
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 descendents 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%)

Literacy:
defin