• 5.5 Million Population
• Capital is Freetown
• Gained Independence in 1961 from the British
• 45 years is the current Life Expectancy
• 35% Literacy rate
• 1 in 8 women die from childbirth related complications
• 165/1000 Infant Mortality Rate
• 75% of population live on less than $2 a Day
• 5 years removed from a decade long civil war in which they lost 50,000 people
• Remains at the bottom of the UN Human Index Chart which measures dimensions of human development including life expectancy, literacy rates and standard of living .
• Attains a prominent history in regard to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade to which Sierra Leone was a departure point for thousands of West African slaves. In 1787 Freetown was founded as a home for repatriated former slaves.