Portal:Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is 73,252 km² (28,283 sq mi). It has a tropical climate and environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. As of the 2023 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 8,460,512. Freetown is its capital and largest city.

Sierra Leone is a presidential republic, with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president. It is a secular state. Its constitution provides for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience. Muslims constitute three-quarters of the population, and there is a significant Christian minority. Notably, religious tolerance is very high.

Sierra Leone's current territorial configuration was established in two phases: in 1808, the coastal Sierra Leone Colony was founded as a place to resettle returning Africans after the abolition of the slave trade; then in 1896, the inland Protectorate was created as a result of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. This led to the formal recognition of the territory as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate. Sierra Leone attained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). In 1971, under Prime Minister Siaka Stevens of the All People's Congress (APC), the country adopted a new constitution, transforming Sierra Leone into a presidential republic, with Stevens as the inaugural president. In 1978, Stevens declared the APC to be the sole legally recognized party. In 1985, he was succeeded by Joseph Saidu Momoh. Momoh's enactment of a new constitution in 1991 reintroduced a multi-party system. That same year, a protracted civil war broke out between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group. The conflict, characterized by multiple coups d'état, persisted for 11 years. Intervention by ECOMOG forces and later by the United Kingdom resulted in the defeat of the RUF in 2002, ushering in a period of relative stability.

Sierra Leone is a culturally diverse country, home to approximately 18 ethnic groups, with the Temne and Mende peoples being predominant. The Creole people, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean slaves and liberated Africans, constitute about 1.2% of the population. English is the official language, while Krio is the lingua franca, spoken by 97% of the population. The country is rich with natural resources, notably diamonds, gold, bauxite and aluminium. As of the most recent survey in 2019, 59.2% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 21.3% vulnerable to it. Sierra Leone maintains membership in several international organisations, including the United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Commonwealth of Nations, among others. (Full article...)

Special Court for Sierra Leone

The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court's working language was English. The court listed offices in Freetown, The Hague, and New York City.

Following its dissolution in 2013, it was replaced by the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone in order to complete its mandate and manage a variety of ongoing and ad-hoc functions, including witness protection and support, supervision of prison sentences and claims for compensation. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

The following are images from various Sierra Leone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Sierra leone, sapi, olifante, 1490-1510 ca (from Sierra Leone)
Image 2A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 3The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 4Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean West African Frontier Force soldier stands guard next to him (from Sierra Leone)
Image 5Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 6A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 7An Ivory Hunting Horn, Sapi people, Modern day Bullom or Temne People, Sierra Leone, late 15th century (from Sierra Leone)
Image 8An Ivory Hunting Horn, Sapi people, Modern day Bullom or Temne People, Sierra Leone, late 15th century (from Sierra Leone)
Image 9A farmer with his rice harvest in Sierra Leone. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 10Isata Mahoi shown editing radio programmes in Talking Drum studio Freetown; she is also an actress in the Sierra Leone radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda (from Sierra Leone)
Image 11The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 12An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 13African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 14Sierra leone, sapi, olifante, 1490-1510 ca (from Sierra Leone)
Image 15Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 16A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 17A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 18National Stadium in Freetown (from Sierra Leone)
Image 19The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 20The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 21A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 22A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 23Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 24Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 25A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 26Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 27Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 28Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 29Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 30The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 31A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 32Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 33National Stadium in Freetown (from Sierra Leone)
Image 34A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 35A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 36Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 37The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 38The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 39Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 40An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 41Isata Mahoi shown editing radio programmes in Talking Drum studio Freetown; she is also an actress in the Sierra Leone radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda (from Sierra Leone)
Image 42A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 43The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 44Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 45Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 46Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 47British West African Campaign troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the German Cameroons, the main object of the attack being the port of Duala. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare." (from Sierra Leone)
Image 48African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 49Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 50A farmer with his rice harvest in Sierra Leone. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 51Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 52Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 53The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 54British West African Campaign troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the German Cameroons, the main object of the attack being the port of Duala. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare." (from Sierra Leone)
Image 55The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 56A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 57Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 58Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 59Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 60Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean West African Frontier Force soldier stands guard next to him (from Sierra Leone)

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A pygmy hippopotamus at Edinburgh Zoo

The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has been extirpated from Nigeria.

The pygmy hippopotamus is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being its much larger relative, the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or Nile hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial adaptations, but like the common hippopotamus, it is semiaquatic and relies on water to keep its skin moist and its body temperature cool. Behaviors such as mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippopotamus is herbivorous, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses, and fruits it finds in the forests. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles
Aniru Conteh British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War Sierra Leone women's national football team Sierra Leone at the 2016 Summer Paralympics 2017 Sierra Leone mudslides Sierra Leone at the 2012 Summer Olympics Western African Ebola virus epidemic Operation Barras