Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea, Liberia and the Atlantic Ocean. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 km² and has a population estimated at 6,296,803.The country has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests.

Sierra Leone became an important centre of the transatlantic slave trade, until 1787 when Freetown, the largest city of Sierra Leone, was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African American and West Indians. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate; in 1961, the two combined and gained independence. Over two decades of government neglect of the interior followed by the spilling over of the Liberian conflict into its borders eventually led to the Sierra Leone Civil War, which began in 1991 and was resolved in 2000 after the United Nations led by Nigeria defeated the rebel forces and restored the civilian government elected in 1998 to Freetown.