Sierra Leone

A CIVIL WAR (1991–2002) in Sierra Leone led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the displacement of around a third of the population. Since United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces left Sierra Leone in 2005, the government has begun the recovery process. Internal political tensions, the tenuous political and economic situation in Guinea, and security issues with Liberia, however, threaten the stability of Sierra Leone. Even though the country has a wealth of natural resources that include diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, and chromite, weak infrastructures make adequate exploitation of resources difficult.

Nearly seven percent of land area in Sierra Leone is arable; two-thirds of the work force is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which provides 49 percent of the Gross Domestic ...