Basic Information About Sierra Leone:

Population: The population of Sierra Leone is 6,651,260.

GDP:  $12.6 billion (2016)

Climate:  Nov–Jun The dry season is marked by mild, dusty harmattan winds in December, January and February.

April The average daytime temperature is 32°C. Jun–Nov In the rainy season, spectacular coastal storms means up to 3200mm of precipitation.

People:  Major ethnic groups are the Mende, at about 31% of Sierra Leone’s population. The Mende predominate in the Southern Province and Eastern Sierra Leone (with the exception of Kono District). The Mende are a Muslim majority group, though with a large Christian minority. 

Religion:  Islam is the largest religion in Sierra Leone, with significant Christian and animist minorities. According to a 2015 estimate from the Pew Research Centre, 78.0% of the population is Muslim, 20.9% is Christian, while the rest of the population is either animist or follows other religious beliefs.

Capital:  Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. 

Language:  Although English, as the official language, is spoken in schools, government administration and the media, Krio is spoken as a lingua franca in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone. Krio, an English-based creole language, is the mother tongue of 10.5% of the population but is spoken by 90% of Sierra Leoneans.

Currency:  The Sierra Leonean Leone is the currency of Sierra Leone. 

Time Zone: UTC+00:00