Population 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,230,530; female 1,280,084)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 1,397,070; female 1,528,986)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,256; female 90,817) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 3.21% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 6.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning (2002 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 45.96 years
female: 49.01 years (2002 est.)
male: 43.01 years

Total fertility rate 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 2.99% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS 68,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths 8,200 (1999 est.)

Nationality
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean

Ethnic groups 20 native African tribes 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

Religions Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%

Languages 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%)

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 31.4%
male: 45.4%
female: 18.2% (1995 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Sierra Leone on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sierra Leone People 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sierra Leone People 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.