What every visitor should know about Sierra Leone:

Money
The currency is the Sierra Leonean leone (SLL). 1000 SLL is worth about US$0.26, or €0.18.
Crime
CrimeSafe Travel Score™: 2.5 out of 5 (Use caution)

Areas of concern:

  • Mugging
  • Pick-pocketing / bag-snatching
  • Armed robbery is rare but occurs
Capital
Freetown
Tap water
Very dangerous. Water-borne disease is widespread and purification is unreliable. Drink boiled or bottled water only.

Sierra Leone facts and figures:

People

Population
6,440,053
Language
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%)
Ethnicity
20 African ethnic groups 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

Economy

GDP
US$700 (per capita)
Income equality
Low
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