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The demographics of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
are made up of an indigenous population from 18 ethnic groups. The Temne in the north and the Mende in the south are the largest. About 60,000 are Krio, the descendants of freed slaves who returned to Sierra Leone from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
and
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
ships captured on the high seas. In the past, some Sierra Leoneans were noted for their
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
al achievements, trading activity, entrepreneurial skills, and arts and crafts work, particularly
woodcarving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ...
. Many are part of larger ethnic networks extending into several countries, which link West African states in the area. Their level of education and
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...
have declined sharply over the last 30 years.


Population

According to the total population was in , compared to only 1 895 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 43%, 55.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 1.9% was 65 years or older .Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Estimates or projections based on the 2015 population census.):


Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Sierra Leone not complete. The website
Our World in Data Our World in Data (OWID) is a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, war, climate change, population growth, existential risks, and inequality. It is a project of the Global Cha ...
prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
.


Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):


Ethnic groups

:18 native African tribes 90% ( Temne 30.5%, Mende 29.2%, Fula 12.4% Limba 6.4%, Kono 4.4%, Mandingo 2.4, Creole 1.2%, other 13.5%) : Creole (descendants of freed
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
n slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century) :Refugees from Liberia's recent civil war :Small numbers of Lebanese


Languages

:English (official, regular use limited to literate minority) : Mende (principal vernacular in the south) : Temne (principal vernacular in the north) : Fula (principal language in Sierra Leone, it is also strongly and widely spoken across West Africa and beyond...) : Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed American and
West India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra al ...
n slaves and Liberated Africans who were settled in the
Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...
area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)


Religion

Muslim 77.1%, Christian 22.9% (2019 est.)


References

{{Africa in topic, Demographics of Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the World Factbook