Sierra Leone Country Guide | Guide to Sierra Leone

Capital: Freetown

Population: 5,525,000

Currency: leone (SLL)

Religions: Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

Government: constitutional democracy

Languages: English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)

Phone Code: 232