Total area: 71,740 km2
land area: 71,620 km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries: 958 km total; Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims:

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)

Terrain: coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east

Natural resources: diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite

Land use: 25% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 31% meadows and pastures; 29% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: extensive mangrove swamps hinder access to sea; deforestation; soil degradation

NOTE: The information regarding Sierra Leone on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sierra Leone Geography 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sierra Leone Geography 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.