Republic of Sierra Leone
Western Africa
Diamonds · Resilient · Coastal
Sierra Leone (officially Republic of Sierra Leone) is a country located in Western Africa. Its capital city is Freetown, with other major cities including Bo and Kenema. With a population of approximately 8.2M, the main languages spoken are English, Krio. The country covers an area of 71,740 km². The official currency is the Leone (Le). Traffic drives on the right side.
Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital, was founded in 1792 as a home for freed slaves — its Cotton Tree, a vast ceiba tree in the city centre, is the symbol under which liberated slaves gave thanks upon arrival.
Freetown serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Sierra Leone, positioned in Western Africa. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Bo, Kenema, Koidu — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Freetown's name and founding as a settlement for freed slaves in 1787 (followed by the 1792 Nova Scotian Black Loyalist settlers from Canada) gave the city and country a unique identity as a freedom settlement — the Krio language (an English-based creole) and the Krio people (descendants of freed slaves from across the Atlantic world) represent one of history's most extraordinary returns from diaspora.
With a population of approximately 8.2M, Sierra Leone is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are English, Krio, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Sierra Leone is reached via the dialling code +232. Sierra Leoneans rebuilt their society after the 1991-2002 civil war whose defining horror — the systematic amputation of civilians' limbs by RUF rebels — became a global symbol of conflict's capacity for deliberate brutality, with the post-war reconstruction generating the world's first Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute war crimes and producing an amputee football team whose matches became an internationally followed symbol of recovery.
Sierra Leone spans 71,740 km², in the Western Africa subregion of Africa. Geographically centred around 8.5°N, 11.5°W, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Africa convention.
The official currency is the Leone (Le), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Sierra Leone's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football holds a special place in the heart of Sierra Leone's national identity. Football is Sierra Leone's primary sport, with the national team's recent Africa Cup of Nations participation representing achievement for a country still rebuilding sporting infrastructure after war — but the 'Wheel' beach culture of Freetown's Aberdeen Beach generates an informal football tournament culture between neighbourhood teams that functions as the country's actual grassroots sporting foundation.
The highest point in Sierra Leone is Loma Mansa, rising to 1,948 metres above sea level. Sierra Leone's coastline includes beaches considered among West Africa's finest — Bureh Beach's surf and Tokeh Beach's palm-lined shore — while the Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary in the Moa River protects one of West Africa's highest concentrations of primate species (11 species including chimpanzees, red colobus, and diana monkeys) on a river island accessible only by canoe.