About Sierra Leone

Explore this Sierra Leone map to learn everything you want to know about this country. Learn about Sierra Leone location on the world map, official symbol, flag, geography, climate, postal/area/zip codes, time zones, etc. Check out Sierra Leone history, significant states, provinces/districts, & cities, most popular travel destinations and attractions, the capital city’s location, facts and trivia, and many more.

The name of the country “Sierra Leone” translates as ‘Lion Mountain’ in Portuguese; and was christened in then 15th century by a Portuguese explorer.Later in the 19th century, the British took over the territory of Sierra Leone and made it one of its colonies. The country regained freedom from the British in the year 1961, but soon fell into a spate of incessant civil war.
After being ravaged for 10 long years, peace was finally restored in the year 2002 with the intrusion of UN peace keepers.

Physical Map of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone being a coastal country, there are plenty of mangrove swamps lining the coasts. A portion of the coastal region also consists of the peninsula on which is the capital is situated. Inland, the terrain of Sierra Leone is primarily plateaus and mountains; and so, densely blanketed with forests. The highest region of the country is Loma Mansa. Rokel River is the most important river in the country.

Location of Sierra Leone

The country of Sierra Leone is positioned in the western region of the continent of Africa. Its immediate political neighbors are Guinea to the north and northeast; and Liberia to the southeast. The western and the southern region of the country is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.

Flag of Sierra Leone

The flag of the country of Sierra Leone has a simple rectangular shape. It is dominated by three colors, which appear in three equal horizontal stripes on the rectangular flag. The colors in the flag are light green, white and light blue (top to bottom). The color green is representative of the natural resources in the country, agriculture and the mountains that cover its terrain; the color white symbolizes justice and unity; and the color light blue is an emblem of hope that peace will be restored to the country.

Climate of Sierra Leone

the climate of Sierra Leone is tropical in nature. So, it is primarily hot and humid. The rainy season falls between the months of April and September, making the days extremely sweltering and unbearable. The most pleasant months are those between October and March; because though they may be hot they are comfortable and dry.

Flora and Fauna of Sierra Leone

Flora: the plant life in Sierra Leone is very diverse with Savannah grasslands, to bush vegetation; to swamplands; to rainforests. Some of the trees that the country is famous for is African teak, the Khaya – which is better known as the African mahogany – and fire-resistant palm tree.

Fauna: Sierra Leone has a limited but exotic fauna. While the swamps and marshlands are populated with crocodiles and hippopotamus; chimpanzees, Diana monkeys, red colobus, wild dogs, African elephants, African golden cat, Buettikofer’s epauletted fruit bats, Jentink’s duikers, lions, pygmy spotted-necked otters, West African manatees and zebra duikers dot the other vregions of the land. Avian fauna of the country of Sierra Leone includes the emerald cuckoo, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful birds in the world. Other birds include Senegal firefinch, bulbuls, little African swifts, didric cuckoos, bronze manakins and cattle egrets.

People of Sierra Leone

the country of Sierra Leone comprises of some 16 ethnic tribes within the country. The dominant one among them is the Mende. The others include the Temne, the Limba, the Kono, the Koranko, the Yalunka, the Loko, the Soso, the Madingo, the Fula, the Bullom, the Sherbro, the Krim, the Vai, the Gola, the Kissi and the Krio.

Arts, Culture and Music of Sierra Leone

• Art: the art in the country of Sierra Leone comprises mainly of traditional native forms. Apart from performing arts like dance that revolve around the country’s religious ceremonies, the handicrafts of Sierra Leone like textile weaving, leather-crafts, basket weaving, pottery and rug making are immensely popular.
• Culture: culture and tradition in Sierra Leone is a rich remain of the country’s historical past along with its national disturbance. Most of the cultural aspects and practices in the country, however, carry down via hierarchy. Of these the oral tradition is of immense importance. It not just preserved and propagated the native language, it also kept alive the legends and myths of the land that would otherwise have been lost. Also the proverbs from the Kiro district keep alive the wisdom of the ancestors of the land.
• Music: the music of Sierra Leone is a rich mix of the native traditions with French traits thrown for good measure. One of the renowned musical genres originating in Sierra Leone is called the “Palm Wine”.

The genre gets its name from a drink by the same name, which were served at places that played this type of music. You can hear versions of it all along the west coast of Africa. The Palm Wine is performed to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar and drum. The formal name for the genre is “Maringa”.

Economy of Sierra Leone

despite being a very beautiful country the fact remains that Sierra Leone is an economically reduced nation. Adding to it is the fact that the national income distribution is extremely disparate. However, the country has quite a few important natural resources. Of them, diamonds, fishes and agricultural products are the most important. So, mining diamonds and rutile is a major industry in the country. The primary agricultural produce includes cacao, coffee, palm kernels and rice. All these, along with canned food and fishes, make up the export commodities of the country.