Sierra Leone – Geography, Sierra Leone is located on the West African coast between Liberia to the SE and Guinea to the north. Within the coastal zone, the country consists of plateaus of different levels, and towards NO, isolated mountains rise from the plateau.
The climate is tropical monsoon climate with southwesterly winds from April/June to October/November, providing rainy season. The average rainfall is abundant, above 4000 mm on the coast, but decreases inland to 1900 mm furthest to the north. The temperature is constant throughout the year (24-27 °C in average), and on the coast there are small fluctuations from day to night. Inside the plateaus there are slightly cooler and larger circular fluctuations.
The coastal zone is up to 40 km wide and alternates between mangrove areas and long sandy beaches in front of freshwater swamps and lagoons. Only the high cliff peninsula with the capital Freetown breaks the flat coast. Permanently cultivated fields, sweaty farms and secondary forests have replaced the original rainforest remaining only in isolated lots.
The plateau area is divided by a fault into a central plateau (50-200 m) and an inland plateau (400-600 m). They are composed of deodorized bedrock covered by erosion material, which in large areas is hard laterite. The plateau is divided by deep river valleys and insel mountains rise over the flat land. The area has a number of minerals that are extracted from both the soil layers, the river valleys and the bedrock. Large areas are flooded during the rainy season and there are many swamps in the river valleys. Here and on their terraces there is intensive cultivation, while in many places the plateau lies with a sparse grassland on very nutrient-poor soil.
Population. Sierra Leone is relatively densely populated (approximately 60 in.b. per km2), but the inland plateau is sparsely populated. The original population consists of approximately 20 ethnic groups; most numerous are arriving in lake and Temnei NV. The Creole population (2%) are descendants of freed slaves who came to the country via Britain. In Freetown, Lebanese and Indians form a small but economically influential group. Until 2002, the Civil War made it impossible to obtain useful statistical data; tens of thousands were killed, and in 1998 it was estimated that the two neighboring countries contained 400,000 refugees from Sierra Leone, while even more were internally displaced. The annual population growth is estimated at 2.3% and the average life expectancy is only approximately 40 years, including due to high infant mortality. About 60% of the population lives in the countryside and have the extended family as the economic and social basis.
Countryaah: Do you know how many people there are in Sierra Leone? Check this site to see population pyramid and resident density about this country.
Business and Economics. Agriculture employs a large part of the population, while mining contributes 3/4 exports. The industrial sector is very small. The energy supply is based on wood as household fuel and imported oil products. Agriculture is traditionally sweat farming with burning and long-term fallow, and a wide variety of crops such as rice (mountain rice), peanuts, millet, cassava, corn, cotton and beans are grown. In the southern part there are also oil palms, coffee, cocoa and cola nuts. In the north, fulani keeps the tsetse-resistant ndami cattle, while arable farming is limited by less rainfall and short growing season. In contrast, there is labor-intensive cultivation of rice (wet rice, paddy) and vegetables in the river valleys and on the coastal plain. The re-cultivation of wetlands with rice has been supported since the colonial era, but has not succeeded in creating self-sufficiency with the basic foods. Main export crops are coffee and cocoa.
Before the Civil War, mining included a few modern companies and a large group of fortune hunters, who more or less legally washed gold and diamonds. The mining companies also mined gold and diamonds and rutile (titanium ore), of which the country was the world’s second largest (after Australia) exporter. The civil war crippled much of the mining business, but the illegal leaching increased and was instrumental in financing the warring groups. For culture and traditions of Sierra Leone, please check allunitconverters.
Transport takes place on roads and to a certain extent as river and coastal sailing; the country’s railway network is closed. In 1989, a highway was opened between Freetown and Monrovia in Liberia as part of the West African Coastal Road Project.
