Sierra Leone People 2001

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.)

NOTE: The information regarding Sierra Leone on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sierra Leone People 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sierra Leone People 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.