Short facts about people of Sierra Leone

Population:

5,426,618 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years:  44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years:  52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over:  3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:

3.61% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:

45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:

19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:

10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) note:  by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning

Sex ratio:

at birth:  1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years:  0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years:  0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over:  0.98 male(s)/female total population:  0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population:  45.6 years male:  42.69 years female:  48.61 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:

6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

2.99% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

68,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

8,200 (1999 est.)

Nationality:

noun:  Sierra Leonean(s) adjective:  Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups:

20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians

Religions:

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

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%)

Literacy:

definition:  age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population:  31.4% male:  45.4% female:  18.2% (1995 est.)

Source: World Factbook