Sierra Leone: Economy
Economy
Average SL income is about $200 per person per year. Residents under age 18 comprise 50% of the population and 57% of the people live on less than $1.50 per day. The nation is well known for its fabulous diamond mines, many of them are alluvial. At one time the country produced 60% of the worlds diamonds, but the mineral wealth did not benefit the people.
The Freetown economy is driven by nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s). This has inflated the economy such that hotels and restaurants are expensive by western standards and a two-tier economy exists. This makes it an expensive country to visit. Labourers get paid $3 per day and the more skilled up to $6.
Statistics
Population - 5.1 million
Area - 72,325 sq km
Official Language - English.
Others - Krio, Mende and Temne
Currency - Leone.
Exchange rate- www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi