Portal:Sierra Leone

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Sierra Leone Portal

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern border with Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north. With a land area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi), Sierra Leone has a tropical climate and with a variety of environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. According to the 2015 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 7,092,113, with Freetown serving as both the capital and largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.

Sierra Leone is governed as a presidential republic, with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president. Sierra Leone is a secular state with the constitution providing for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience, encompassing freedom of thought and religion. Muslims constitute three-quarters of the population with a significant Christian minority. Notably, religious tolerance is very high, reflecting a social norm and part of the nation's cultural identity.

Sierra Leone's current territorial configuration was established by the British Empire through two historical phases: initially, the coastal Sierra Leone Colony was founded in 1808 to resettle returning Africans following the abolition of the slave trade; subsequently, the inland Protectorate was created in 1896 in the wake of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. This led to the formal recognition of the territory as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, or British Sierra Leone. Independence from the United Kingdom was attained in 1961, with Sierra Leone transitioning into a Commonwealth realm as the Dominion of Sierra Leone under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

Under prime minister Siaka Stevens of the All People's Congress (APC), the country adopted a new constitution in 1971, transforming Sierra Leone into a presidential republic with Stevens as the inaugural president. After declaring the APC the sole legal party in 1978, Stevens was succeeded by Joseph Saidu Momoh in 1985. Momoh's enactment of a new constitution in 1991 reintroduced a multi-party system. That year, a protracted civil war initiated, featuring the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, leading to significant turmoil. The conflict, characterized by multiple coups d'état, persisted for 11 years. Intervention by ECOMOG forces and later the United Kingdom resulted in the defeat of the RUF in 2002, ushering in a period of relative stability and recovery efforts. The remaining two main political parties are the APC and the SLPP. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

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

General images - show another

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

Image 1Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 2A 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 3A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 4A 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 5A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 6The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 7Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 8African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 9Temne 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 10Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 11The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 12An 1835 illustration of liberated Africans arriving in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 13Temne 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 14An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 15A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 16Isata 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 17Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 18Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 19The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 20The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 21A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 22A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 23A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 24Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 25British 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 26Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone. Lisk-Carew Brothers, Freetown, Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 27A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 28Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 29National Stadium in Freetown (from Sierra Leone)
Image 30Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 31The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 32Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 33Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 34The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 35A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 36Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 37Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 38Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 39An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 40African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 41Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 42A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 43Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 44British 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 45Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 46A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 47Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 48Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 49The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 50A proportional representation of Sierra Leone exports, 2019 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 51The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 52Isata 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 53A proportional representation of Sierra Leone exports, 2019 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 54A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 55Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 56A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 57The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 58Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone. Lisk-Carew Brothers, Freetown, Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 59Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 60The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 61National Stadium in Freetown (from Sierra Leone)
Image 62An 1835 illustration of liberated Africans arriving in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

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 hippo 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 hippo, 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 hippo 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

edit

Did you know

... that Femi Claudius Cole offers free health checks as she campaigns to become President of Sierra Leone?

More did you know

edit

Topics

Books

Provinces: Eastern Province • Northern Province • Southern Province • Western Area

History: Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate • Kingdom of Koya • British West Africa • Sierra Leone Liberated Africans • Sierra Leone Civil War • United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone

Law: Sierra Leone Police • Special Court for Sierra Leone • Truth and Reconciliation Commission • Prisons in Sierra Leone

Politics: List of Presidents • Political Parties • Parliament • Foreign relations • Elections • Military of Sierra Leone

Geography: Protected • Sierra Leone River • Western Guinean lowland forests • Outamba-Kilimi National Park • Transport

Society: Sport • Demographics • Education • Cuisine • Media • Music

Symbols: Flag • Coat of arms • National anthem (High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free) The time allocated for running scripts has expired.The time allocated for running scripts has expired.

The time allocated for running scripts has expired.

The time allocated for running scripts has expired. The time allocated for running scripts has expired.

Religions in Sierra Leone The time allocated for running scripts has expired.

West Africa The time allocated for running scripts has expired.