Sierra Leone Travel Overview
At a glance
Capital: Freetown
Official language: English
Currency: Leone
Continent: West Africa
Travel to Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone has long been marked by war. Now the country is discovering peace.
Location
According to Countryaah, Sierra Leone is located on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa. It shares borders with Guinea and Liberia.
Information Sierra Leone
The country has a long stretch of coastline that turns into a strip of flat land. The country rises in a north-east direction to a mountain plateau with an altitude of 1,200 to 2,000m.
Travel to Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is a beautiful country, but due to the – meanwhile ended – long civil war, little developed for tourism.
Important facts
Capital: Freetown
Official language: English
Currency
Currency (sub-unit)
Leone (100 cents)
ISO 4217 code
SLL / 694
Geography
Continent: Africa
Region: west
Geo coordinates: N 8 ° 27 ’38 ” W -11 ° -46′ -47.6″
Highest mountain: Loma Mansa (1,948 m)
Total area: 71,740 km²
Mainland: 71,620 km²
National border: 958 km
Coastline: 402 km
Politics
Dependency: Great Britain until 1961
UN member since: 1961
Other political affiliation: Commonwealth
Form of government: Presidential Republic
Economy
Export goods: Diamonds, ores
BSP: $ 1,723,400,000
GDP: $ 1,876,000,000
GDP purchasing power parity: $ 5,640,000,000
Economic growth: 6.1%
Electricity consumption: 279 million KWh
Oil consumption: 7,300 million m³
Cultivation area: 9.14%
Bovine: 418,000 pieces
Sheep: 430,000 pieces
Fishing: 90,000 t
Demographic data
Residents: 6.005.300
Residents in cities: 2,225,700
Average age: 17.4 years
0-14 years: 44.8%
15-64 years: 52%
> 65 years: 3.2%
Population growth: 2.3%
Birth rate: 45.76 / 1,000 residents
Death rate: 23.03 / 1,000 residents
Migration: 0.23 / 1,000 residents
Ratio men / women: 0.94
Fertility: 6.08 children / woman
Infant mortality: 160.39 ‰
Life expectancy men: 38.05 years
Life expectancy women: 42.46 years
Country codes and abbreviations
ISO 3166 Alpha 2: SL
ISO 3166 Alpha 3: SLE
ISO 3166 numeric: 694
Top Level Domain: sl
IOC country code: SLE
UN / LOCODE: SL
Source: Abbreviationfinder
Communication
Telephone connections: 27,000
Cell Phones: 226,000
Radios: 1,210,000
TV: 120,000
Computer: 26,000
Internet users: 66,000
Transportation
Paved roads: 1,019 km
Cars: 19,000
Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 54
Health
Number of doctors: 460
Daily food intake: 1,900 kcal / resident
HIV- infected people: 210,000
Education
Illiteracy: 70%
History
Foundation: 1961
Last sovereign since: 1961
Religion
Main religious group: Muslims
Crime
Prison inmates: 6,800
Military
Armed forces (troop strength): 15,000
Defense Spending: $ 15,400,000
GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
Sierra Leone is served by KLM (KL) and Astraeus (SW), among others.
Lufthansa (LH) flies codeshare with Brussels Airlines (SN) (Internet: www.flysn.com) from Brussels to Freetown.
Departure fee
US $ 40, transit travelers and children under two years of age are exempt. Mostly included in the ticket price for flights to non-African countries, to be paid in cash for flights within Africa.
Arrival by car
There are connecting roads from Guinea (Conakry) and Liberia, but depending on the current political situation, they may or may not be. May be blocked. The embassy (see addresses) can provide further information.
Buses and taxis run daily between Conakry and Freetown.
Arriving by train
No passenger trains at the moment.
Arrival by ship
Connections to Liberia and Guinea from the main port of Freetown.
ON THE GO
Traveling by plane
Sierra National Airlines (LJ) does not currently offer scheduled flights. Private planes can be rented.
On the way by car / bus
The main roads are tarred, while secondary roads are poorly maintained and are often impassable in the rainy season. At night there are often road blocks on the main roads near the cities.
Bus: The Sierra Leone Road Transport Corporation provides local and long-distance connections. The buses are fast, inexpensive and run between all major cities.
Rental cars: Rental cars are relatively expensive, but most are offered with a driver. Because of the poor condition of the roads, you should rent a jeep.
Documentation: International driver’s license.
Traveling in the city
The Road Transport Corporation operates in Freetown bus line services to a limited extent. Much of the public transport is minibuses and shared taxis.
Out and about by ship
Ferries connect all coastal ports with each other. Further information on site or from the National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone (see addresses).
