Sierra Leone

I was very interested in learning about Sierra Leone because I had always heard about the country but never really new much about it, and one of my best friends is also from Sierra Leone. Officially labeled the Republic of Sierra Leone, and is located in West Africa between Guinea and Liberia. It is a constitutional republic with an elected president. The climate is tropical and has a very diverse environment. The population of Sierra Leone is somewhere around 6 million and the total area covers 27,699 square miles.
                                                                           
                                               
People have inhabitated Sierra Leone for about 2,500 years. Iron was introduced in the 9th century and Sierra Leone was the first country in West Africa to have European contacts. The Portugees explorer Pedro de Sintra named the country Sierra Leone. In 1562, the English joined the Portugeese, French, and Dutch in using the country for trading slaves. In 1924 Sierra Leone was divided into a colony and a protectorate with separate and different political systems. The United Kingdom granted Sierra Leone independence on April 27, 1961. Over the last half century, It has been plagued by civil wars destroying the economy.

Today, Sierra Leone is slowly but succesfully returning from a civil war. They rely heavily on mining minerals especially diamonds for its economy. They annually get between $250-$350 million from diamonds. Despite its recent succes the nation is still plagued by a high unemployment rate.The water supply is categorized by limited access to safe drinking water. Even after efforts by the government and numerous non-governmental organisations, access has not much improved since the end of the civil wars. Sadly,  70 percent of the nation lives in poverty.
Freetown, Sierra Leone (today)