Research Library: Sierra Leone
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Last Updated Dec 20, 2007
Country Information
Government
- Republic. Sierra Leone has a democratically elected President and Parliament under its 1991 Constitution. It has a judicial system for civil cases composed of a Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court as well as lower courts. It gained independence from Britian in 1961. The chiefdom is the basic unit of local government. The chiefdoms and local councils are becoming increasingly powerful and important in relation to the central government.
- President Ernest Bai Koroma won the September 2007 run-off election with 54.6% of the vote. President Koroma's "All People's Party" also won a majority in parliament.
Political Stability
- Sierra Leone has a history of military coups and civil strife and has been under a state of emergency since 1999. A civil war that began in 1991 ended in 2002, with the election of President Kabbah. Law required Kabbah to step down after the July 2007 elections.
- UN peacekeeping troops left Sierra Leone in late 2005, after a five-year presence in the country to help restore order.
- Sierra Leone suffers from corruption, declining levels of education, and neglected infrastructure.
Current Government Policies
- Government policies focus on dealing with war crimes and violations of humanitarian rights under international law.
- Economically, government policy has sought to improve the management of the export trade. In 2001, the government created a mining community development fund to return a portion of diamond export taxes to the mining communities.
- In September 2007, President Koroma announced a zero tolerance corruption policy and said he would work to prevent mismanagement of state funds.
International Reputation
- Sierra Leone is a member of the United Nations, the Arican Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity), the African Development Bank, the Mano River Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
- In December of 2006, Sierra Leone announced that it had arrange to have $1.6 billion of its debt canceled. The arrangement was made with the World Bank as well as other creditors. After the debt cancellation, Sierra Leone will only have $110 million of debt.
Economics
- Sierra Leone's economic base is provided by the mining sector, especially diamonds.
- Most Sierra Leoneans engage in subsistence farming which accounts for over 50% of the national economy. The government is attempting to increase food and cash production and works with foreign donors to operate rural and agricultural development projects.
- Sierra Leone encourages foreign investment, but the business climate suffers from a shortage of foreign exchange, corruption, and civil conflict.
- Sierra Leone is a member of the Economic Community of West African States.
Foreign Aid
Statistics
Click on statistic name for source information.
Web Resources
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