44 Fun Facts About Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone borders Guinea and which other country?

Liberia's civil war spilled over to ignite Sierra Leone's own conflict in 1991.

What is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone?

Freetown, founded in 1792 on the Sierra Leone Peninsula, is the country's capital and by far its largest city, home to more than a million people.

Which Portuguese navigator named the hills above today's Freetown 'Serra Leoa' in 1462?

Pedro de Sintra charted this coast in 1462 and called the peninsula's hills Serra Leoa, 'Lioness Mountains', the Portuguese name from which Sierra Leone derives.

The capital was founded in 1792 by Black Loyalists relocated from which Canadian province?

About 1,200 Black Loyalists, given poor land and facing racism in Nova Scotia, sailed from Halifax in January 1792 under John Clarkson and founded Freetown.

Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827, holds what distinction?

Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827 and affiliated to Durham University from 1876, is the oldest university in West Africa; its scholars earned Freetown the nickname 'Athens of West Africa'.

Which Temne chief led the 1898 Hut Tax War against the British in Sierra Leone before surrendering that November?

Bai Bureh was exiled to the Gold Coast by Governor Cardew, who hanged 96 of his warriors; Madam Yoko was the pro-British Mende paramount chief.

Sierra Leone gained independence from Britain on 27 April of which year?

Sierra Leone became independent on 27 April 1961 with Sir Milton Margai as prime minister; it kept the Queen as head of state until becoming a republic in April 1971.

Which prime minister was ousted within hours of taking office in 1967 and made the APC the sole legal party in 1978?

A counter-coup restored him in 1968; he retired in 1985 and handed over to General Joseph Saidu Momoh.

Which South African private military company was hired in 1995 to push back the RUF?

Executive Outcomes, a South African firm hired in 1995, used a few hundred men to retake the eastern diamond fields from the RUF; the British firm Sandline figured in a separate 1998 arms affair.

The 2000 British military intervention that helped end the war and secure the capital was codenamed what?

Operation Palliser, launched in May 2000, landed British paratroopers to secure Lungi airport and Freetown as the RUF advanced; British forces then retrained the army and the war was declared over in January 2002.

Which Liberian leader was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for backing the RUF?

Charles Taylor, Liberia's president from 1997 to 2003, was convicted in 2012 of aiding and abetting RUF war crimes and sentenced to 50 years, served in a British prison.

The gems mined and sold to buy weapons during the war became known worldwide as what?

'Blood diamonds' paid for RUF weapons; a UN-backed certificate-of-origin scheme for Sierra Leone's rough diamonds began in 2000, three years before the global Kimberley Process.

Which mineral, a titanium ore, does Sierra Leone hold in some of the world's largest deposits?

Rutile, titanium dioxide, is mined at Sierra Rutile in the south-west, one of the world's largest natural rutile deposits; diamonds, gold, bauxite and iron ore round out the sector.

Sierra Leone's July 2022 redenomination swapped how many old leones for one new leone?

The new leone (SLE) launched on 1 July 2022 at 1,000 old leones to one, cutting three zeroes from prices after decades of inflation.

Which language, spoken by almost every Sierra Leonean, is the country's lingua franca?

Krio, an English-based creole that grew among Freetown's settler and Liberated African communities, is understood by about 95% of Sierra Leoneans; English is the official language.

Which two ethnic groups, each roughly a third of the population, dominate Sierra Leone?

The Temne lead in the north and the Mende in the southeast, and national politics runs along that axis.

Roughly what share of Sierra Leoneans are Muslim?

About three-quarters of Sierra Leoneans are Muslim (77% at the 2015 census) and a fifth Christian; the secular state is noted for religious tolerance, with Eid and Christmas both national holidays.

In December 2002 Sierra Leone declared which surprising language an honorary official language?

Bengali was declared an honorary official language in December 2002 by President Kabbah, in thanks for the thousands of Bangladeshi peacekeepers who served in the UN mission UNAMSIL.

What are the three colours of Sierra Leone's flag, top to bottom?

Green, white, blue: the green stands for agriculture and mountains, the blue for the harbour.

The historic Cotton Tree in the centre of the capital, a symbol of the city, is what species?

Legend says the 1792 settlers prayed beneath it and that a slave market was once held in its shade.

What happened to the capital's Cotton Tree on the night of 24 May 2023?

Much of the Cotton Tree toppled in a heavy rainstorm on the night of 24 May 2023, leaving little more than a stump; it had stood in central Freetown since before the 1792 settlers arrived.

Bunce Island, the British slave fort near Freetown, shipped most of its captives to planters in which region?

The Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry planters prized rice-growing skills, and the Gullah people of the Sea Islands trace roots to Sierra Leone.

What is the highest point in Sierra Leone, at about 1,945 metres?

Mount Bintumani, also known as Loma Mansa, crowns the Loma Mountains of the north-east at about 1,945 metres; Sankan Biriwa in the Tingi Hills is the country's second peak.

Sierra Leone claims Africa's largest what, next to the capital?

Freetown's harbour on the Sierra Leone River estuary is claimed as Africa's largest natural harbour; ocean ships dock at the Queen Elizabeth II Quay in Cline Town.

How have most passengers travelled between Lungi airport and the capital?

Lungi airport lies across the Sierra Leone River estuary from Freetown, so most arriving passengers have crossed by ferry or water taxi; the road around the estuary takes hours.

Tiwai Island in southern Sierra Leone, with one of the world's densest primate populations, also shelters which rare animal?

A pygmy hippopotamus population shares Tiwai with over 135 bird species; the Tacugama sanctuary near Freetown shelters chimpanzees.

What is Sierra Leone's staple food, eaten at virtually every meal?

Rice is the staple, eaten at almost every meal and served under 'plasas' such as cassava-leaf, potato-leaf or groundnut stew.

Poyo, a popular Sierra Leonean drink, is what?

Poyo is palm wine, tapped from oil or raffia palms and drunk fresh while lightly fermented; roadside 'poyo bars' are a fixture across the country.

The national football team is nicknamed what?

The Leone Stars have never reached a World Cup, but played the 1994 and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak killed which leading Sierra Leonean physician who was fighting it?

Dr Sheik Umar Khan, head of the Kenema Government Hospital's Lassa fever programme, led the country's Ebola response and died of the disease on 29 July 2014.

Besides its directly elected MPs, Sierra Leone's parliament reserves 14 seats for whom?

Fourteen paramount chiefs, one from each provincial district, sit alongside the directly elected MPs; the chieftaincy system dates from the 1896 Protectorate.

To win the presidency outright, a candidate must gain what share of the vote?

The 1991 constitution requires 55 percent of valid votes for a first-round win, otherwise the top two go to a run-off; presidents serve at most two five-year terms.

Sierra Leone forms the Mano River Union with two of its neighbours and which other country?

Ivory Coast joined the Mano River Union in 2008, alongside founders Liberia and Sierra Leone (1973) and Guinea (1980); Sierra Leone also belongs to ECOWAS and the Commonwealth.

The 1992 coup that installed 25-year-old Valentine Strasser also involved which future president?

Bio later led the NPRC junta briefly and won the presidency democratically in 2018.

Domestic slavery practised by local elites was formally abolished in Sierra Leone in which year?

Domestic slavery in the Protectorate was abolished on 1 January 1928, freeing tens of thousands of people, three decades after Britain declared the Protectorate in 1896.

As of 2016, roughly what share of Sierra Leoneans had access to electricity?

Roughly 12 percent of the population had electricity in 2016, mostly in Freetown; the rest of the country relied on firewood and charcoal, with the Bumbuna dam the main hydro plant.

In which year was the Sierra Leone Police, the country's civilian force, founded?

The Sierra Leone Police was founded in 1894, making it one of West Africa's oldest forces; it answers to the Ministry of Internal Affairs under an Inspector General appointed by the president.

Into how many regions, including the Western Area, is Sierra Leone divided?

Five: the Northern, North West, Southern and Eastern provinces plus the Western Area around Freetown; the North West province was carved out in 2017, when the district count rose to 16.

The Bumbuna hydroelectric dam, long the country's main power plant, stands on which river?

The Bumbuna dam impounds the Seli (Rokel) River in Tonkolili District; its 50 MW first phase was finally commissioned in 2009 after decades of delays.

Before entering politics, Sir Milton Margai qualified in Britain in which profession?

Milton Margai qualified in medicine at Durham University's school in Newcastle in 1926 and served as a colonial medical officer for two decades before founding the SLPP in 1951.

Which two Freetown clubs are the country's fiercest football rivals?

East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool, both from Freetown and two of the league's most successful clubs, contest the country's biggest derby; crowd trouble has followed several meetings.

The 969-carat Star of Sierra Leone diamond was found in 1972 in which district?

The Star of Sierra Leone, at 968.9 carats the largest alluvial diamond ever found, was unearthed on 14 February 1972 at the Diminco mine near Yengema in Kono District.

In which year were Gola Rainforest and Tiwai Island jointly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

The Gowa-Tiwai Complex spans the eastern and southern provinces and was recognised for exceptional biodiversity.

During the dry season, which wind brings cool, dry air off the Sahara to Sierra Leone?

The dry season runs from December to May, and harmattan nights can drop to 16 °C.