Population:
5,732,681 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,259,421; female 1,310,516)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,420,900; female 1,557,597)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 89,078; female 95,169) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.5 years
male: 17.2 years
female: 17.8 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
2.94% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
43.89 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
20.66 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
6.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly
returning (2003 est.)
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: 0.94 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 146.86 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 128.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 164.23 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 42.84 years
male: 40.33 years
female: 45.42 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.86 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
7% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
170,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
11,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean
Ethnic groups:
20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%),
Creole (Krio) 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.)