50 Fun Facts About Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone borders Guinea and which other country?

Liberia's civil war spilled over to ignite Sierra Leone's own conflict in 1991.

What is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone?

It sits on a mountainous coastal peninsula beside a vast sheltered estuary.

The country's name comes from a 1462 Portuguese name meaning what?

Pedro de Sintra called the hills near Freetown Serra Leoa; the modern spelling is Venetian, from Alvise Cadamosto.

The 1787 settlement founded by the British Crown for London's 'Black Poor' was called what?

Of the 411 who sailed in April 1787, 96 died on the voyage; the settlement collapsed and Freetown was refounded in 1792.

The capital was founded in 1792 by Black Loyalists relocated from which Canadian province?

Nearly 1,200 crossed the Atlantic under Thomas Peters and John Clarkson's Sierra Leone Company; they had endured harsh winters and racism.

In 1792 the heads of the new colony's households were given the vote. What was notable about this?

It foreshadowed British women's suffrage by over a century; settlers elected 'tithingmen' and other representatives.

Which 500-strong group was shipped from Jamaica via Canada in 1800 to crush a settler revolt?

Led by Colonel Montague James, they had been deported from Trelawny Town and stayed to become part of the Krio people.

What were the thousands of people freed from illegal slave ships and landed in Sierra Leone after 1807 called?

Each was given a registration number; together with the settlers and Maroons they formed the Creole ethnicity.

Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827, holds what distinction?

For over a century it was the only European-style university in sub-Saharan West Africa, earning Freetown the tag 'Athens of West Africa'.

Which Temne chief led the 1898 Hut Tax War against the British before surrendering in November?

Governor Cardew exiled him to the Gold Coast and hanged 96 of his warriors; Madam Yoko was the pro-British Mende paramount chief.

Sierra Leone gained independence from Britain on 27 April of which year?

Sir Milton Margai became first prime minister; it stayed a dominion under the Queen until becoming a republic in 1971.

Which prime minister was ousted within hours of taking office in 1967 and made the APC the sole legal party in 1978?

A counter-coup restored him in 1968; he retired in 1985 and handed over to General Joseph Saidu Momoh.

The rebel group that fought the government from 1991 to 2002 was the RUF. What did it stand for?

Founded by ex-corporal Foday Sankoh with help from across the Liberian border, it seized the diamond fields of the east.

Which South African private military company was hired in 1995 to push back the RUF?

Several hundred mercenaries helped retake the diamond districts; Sandline was later involved in a separate arms affair.

The 2000 British military intervention that helped end the war and secure the capital was codenamed what?

Backed by a renewed UN mandate and Guinean air support, it finally defeated the RUF; peace was declared in 2002.

Which Liberian leader was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for backing the RUF?

He was later convicted of aiding and abetting war crimes and jailed in Britain.

The gems mined and sold to buy weapons during the war became known worldwide as what?

A UN-approved certification scheme in 2000 sharply increased legal exports; Sierra Leone remains a top-ten diamond producer.

Which mineral, a titanium ore, does Sierra Leone hold in some of the world's largest deposits?

Diamonds, gold and iron ore round out the mining sector, long the main currency earner.

What is the country's currency?

It was redenominated in July 2022 at 1,000 old to one new; the Bank of Sierra Leone floats it freely.

Which language, spoken by almost every Sierra Leonean, is the country's lingua franca?

The English-based creole grew from the settler and Liberated African communities of Freetown; English remains the official language.

Which two ethnic groups, each roughly a third of the population, dominate Sierra Leone?

The Temne lead in the north and the Mende in the southeast, and national politics runs along that axis.

Roughly what share of Sierra Leoneans are Muslim?

Christians are about a fifth; the country is a secular state famed for religious tolerance, and Christmas and Eid are both national holidays.

In December 2002 Sierra Leone declared which surprising language an honorary official language?

It was a thank-you to the Bangladeshi peacekeepers of the UN mission.

What are the three colours of Sierra Leone's flag, top to bottom?

Adopted at independence in 1961 to replace the Blue Ensign; the green is for agriculture and mountains, the blue for the harbour.

The historic Cotton Tree in the centre of the capital, a symbol of the city, is what species?

Legend says the 1792 settlers prayed beneath it and that a slave market was once held in its shade.

What happened to the capital's Cotton Tree on the night of 24 May 2023?

One legend had warned that catastrophe would follow if the tree ever fell.

Bunce Island near the capital was a British slave fort that shipped captives mainly to which region?

Planters there prized rice-growing skills; the Gullah people of the Sea Islands trace roots to Sierra Leone.

What is the highest point in Sierra Leone, at 1,948 metres?

It rises in the Loma Mountains of the east; the Moa River's upper basin lies in the same region.

Sierra Leone claims Africa's largest what, next to the capital?

Ships use the Queen Elizabeth II Quay at Cline Town; there are 800 km of inland waterways.

Before any estuary bridge was built, how did most passengers reach the capital from Lungi airport?

A bridge across the estuary was planned for completion by the end of 2027; until then the ferry crossing was the usual route.

Tiwai Island in the south is famous for which rare animal alongside its dense primate populations?

Over 135 bird species also live there; the Tacugama sanctuary near Freetown shelters chimpanzees.

What is Sierra Leone's staple food, eaten at virtually every meal?

Consumption runs about 76 kg per person a year, topped with potato-leaf, cassava-leaf or groundnut sauces.

Poyo, a popular Sierra Leonean drink, is what?

It is sweet and lightly fermented; ginger beer is another street favourite.

The national football team is nicknamed what?

They have never reached a World Cup but played the 1994 and 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 2014 Ebola outbreak killed which leading Sierra Leonean physician who was fighting it?

By October 2014 there had been 3,706 cases and 1,259 deaths; borders shut and airlines cancelled flights.

Sierra Leone's parliament has 149 seats, 14 of which are filled by whom?

The other 135 are elected; the country has 186 chiefdoms recognised since the 1896 Protectorate.

To win the presidency outright, a candidate must gain what share of the vote?

Otherwise a run-off follows; the president is limited to two five-year terms.

Sierra Leone forms the Mano River Union with two of its neighbours and which other country?

The union promotes regional integration; Sierra Leone also belongs to ECOWAS and the Commonwealth.

The 1992 coup that installed 25-year-old Valentine Strasser also involved which future president?

Bio later led the NPRC junta briefly and won the presidency democratically in 2018.

Domestic slavery practised by local elites was formally abolished in Sierra Leone in which year?

Seven years later De Beers' Sierra Leone Selection Trust was granted a 98-year mining monopoly.

As of 2016, roughly what share of Sierra Leoneans had access to electricity?

Most of that was in Freetown; the rest of the country ran on firewood and charcoal, with the Bumbuna dam the main hydro plant.

The country's civilian law-enforcement body, founded in 1894, is described as what?

It answers to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and is headed by an Inspector General appointed by the president.

Sierra Leone is divided into how many regions, four of them provinces plus the Western Area?

Northern, North West, Southern, Eastern and the Western Area around Freetown, split into 16 districts.

Farming employs the great majority of Sierra Leoneans. What share of the population works in agriculture?

Two-thirds are subsistence farmers and agriculture was 58 percent of GDP in 2007.

Who led Sierra Leone to independence in 1961 and became its first prime minister?

Margai had founded the SLPP in 1951 with Lamina Sankoh and became Chief Minister in 1953 on the road to independence.

Which two Freetown clubs are the country's fiercest football rivals?

Fourteen clubs contest the Sierra Leone National Premier League, and fans of the two giants often clash before and after derbies.

In 1935 a 98-year mineral monopoly in Sierra Leone went to a trust run by which company?

The Sierra Leone Selection Trust's concession drew labourers to the diamond fields of the east from across the country.

In which year were Gola Rainforest and Tiwai Island jointly inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

The Gowa-Tiwai Complex spans the eastern and southern provinces and was recognised for exceptional biodiversity.

Which woman ruled the Kpaa Mende chiefdom as a paramount chief under the British until 1906?

Her friendship with the British prompted some sub-chiefs to rebel, forcing her to shelter in the police barracks.

During the dry season, which wind brings cool, dry air off the Sahara to Sierra Leone?

The dry season runs from December to May, and harmattan nights can drop to 16 °C.