29 Facts About Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the Atlantic Ocean's southwest coast of West Africa.

The country was named after the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, who named it "Serra Leoa" (Lion Mountains) after seeing the impressive mountains while sailing along the West African coast in 1462.

The white-sand beaches that line the Freetown Peninsula are well-known.

The Cotton Tree landmark and King's Yard Gate in Freetown commemorate the nation's slave-trade history. In the 18th and 19th centuries, both were known as havens for returned slaves. During the slave trade, Bunce Island was an important departure point.

According to the UN's Human Development Index, Sierra Leone is one of the world's least developed countries (HDI). It was the eighth least-developed country in 2020.

Sierra Leone has been inhabited for thousands of years, according to archaeological evidence, with successive waves of invaders as well as immigration from inland peoples making up today's diverse population.

In 1560, the North American slave trade was essentially launched from the location of modern-day Freetown. Portuguese and British trading settlements lined the coast by the 18th century.

Bunce Island, an uninhabited island about 20 miles up the Sierra Leone River from Freetown, was one of more than sixty slave-trading forts on the West African coast that were established in 1670. Bunce Island is a significant African memorial to the North American slave trade.

Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital city, was founded in 1787 as a home for repatriated and rescued former slaves.

In 1808, the British increased their efforts to end the slave trade by establishing a naval unit off the coast of Sierra Leone, as well as a court in Freetown to prosecute the crews of seized slave ships. Between 1808 and 1864, approximately 84,000 slaves were freed in this manner and relocated to the hills that now comprise the Western Area Peninsula National Park.

The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary is located within the Western Area Peninsula National Park. The sanctuary, founded in 1995 by a Sri Lankan man, rescues and rehabilitates endangered primates.

Sierra Leone remained a British colony until its independence in 1961.

Sierra Leone experienced multiple coups (three in a single year once), economic turmoil, and state corruption in the decades following independence.

Sierra Leone has a simple green, white, and blue horizontally striped flag. Green stands for agriculture and the mountains, white for unity and justice, and blue for the aspiration to "contribute to world peace, especially through the use of its unique natural harbour at Freetown". 

Sierra Leone entered a decade-long civil war in 1991, killing over 50,000 people and witnessing many atrocities such as murder, rape, mutilation, and the recruitment of child soldiers. The war was declared over in 2002.

The war also displaced over 2 million people, or roughly one-third of Sierra Leone's population at the time.

The "blood diamonds" of Sierra Leone fueled atrocities during the war. Blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, have been used to fund certain African conflicts. The Kimberley Process was established in 2000 to reduce the flow of conflict diamonds.

Blood Diamond, a political thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connelly, was set in Sierra Leone. The film depicts civil war events as well as the historic meeting in Kimberley, South Africa, that resulted in the Kimberley Process.

Sierra Leone is one of 27 countries without a single UNESCO World Heritage Site. It does, however, have six properties on the Tentative List that are intended to be nominated.

The Outamba-Kilimi National Park in Sierra Leone is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including chimps, colobus monkeys, and sooty mangabeys, as well as hippos, bongo antelopes, buffalo, forest elephants, and over 150 bird species.

Tiwai Island in Sierra Leone is one of West Africa's last remaining stretches of ancient rainforest. The name Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary refers to the entire island, which is a nature reserve.

Around 9,000 vascular plant species, 785 bird species, 320 mammal species, 425 herptiles, and 510 freshwater fish live on the island.

Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea experienced a deadly Ebola virus outbreak from 2013 to 2016. Around 11,300 people died, with Sierra Leone accounting for 3,956 of them.

The most famous landmark in Freetown is a massive Cotton Tree in the city centre. It is said to be hundreds of years old and to have played an important role in the history of the city when impoverished black settlers rested in its shade after landing in Freetown in 1787.

Sierra Leone has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. It had the fourth-lowest life expectancy in 2020, at 54.3 years.

Sierra Leone is also considered to be one of the world's poorest countries, with severe hunger.

The "Taste of Paradise" commercial for Bounty chocolate bar was shot in Sierra Leone in 1987.

Following the collapse of Timbuktu University, Freetown became home to the first institution of higher learning in modern Sub-Saharan Africa. Fourah Bay College was founded in 1827 and was the only alternative to Europe and America for British colony West Africans seeking a university education at the time.

Mount Bintumani, known as the "King of the Mountains," is Sierra Leone's highest peak. At 1,948m, the peak is also the highest point in West Africa (west of Cameroon's Mount Cameroon, which stands at 4,095m).