![]() ![]() The fund was created to raise local communities' stake in the legal diamond trade. In 2001, the Government of Sierra Leone created a mining community development fund, which returns a portion of diamond export taxes to diamond mining communities. In October 2000, a new UN-approved export certification system for exporting diamonds from Sierra Leone was put into place that led to a dramatic increase in legal exports. Recent efforts on the part of the country to improve the management of the export trade have met with some success. The balance is smuggled out and has been used to finance rebel activities in the region, money laundering, arms purchases, and financing of other illicit activities, leading some to characterize Sierra Leone's diamonds as a " conflict resource." Annual production estimates range between $70–$250 million however, only a fraction of that passes through formal export channels (1999: $1.2 million 2000: $16 million 2001: projections $25 million). Though rich in this resource, the country has historically struggled to manage its exploitation and export. Sierra Leone is a major producer of gem-quality diamonds. Mineral exports remain Sierra Leone's principal foreign exchange earner. ![]() Trade and investment Ī proportional representation of Sierra Leone's exports. Of the remaining airports, all of which have unpaved runways, seven have runways of lengths between 914 and 1,523 m (2,999 and 4,997 ft) the remaining two having runways of shorter length. There are ten airports in Sierra Leone, of which one - Lungi International Airport in Freetown - has a paved runway in excess of 3000m in length. Queen Elizabeth II Quay in Freetown represents the country's only deep water port facility capable of berthing large-hulled cargo or military vessels. Major ports of Sierra Leone include: Bonthe, Freetown and Pepel. There are 800 km (497 mi) of waterways in Sierra Leone, of which 600 km (373 mi) are navigable year-round. There are 11,700 kilometres (7,270 mi) of highway in Sierra Leone, of which 936 km (582 mi) are paved. The mean wage was US$0.32 per hour in 2009.Įconomic sectors Percentage of GDP by sector (2007) Rankįurther information: Transport in Sierra Leoneīecause of widespread poverty, high petroleum prices and a large portion of the population residing in small communities, walking is often the preferred method of transportation in Sierra Leone. But this proved unsustainable and it consequently shrank by 52% in the 1980s and a further 10% in the 1990s. This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Sierra Leone at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund and EconStats with figures in millions of Sierra Leones.Ĭurrent GDP per capita of Sierra Leone grew 32% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 107% in the 1970s. ![]() 5 Membership of international economic bodies.Agriculture accounted for 58 percent national GDP in 2007. Two-thirds of the population of Sierra Leone are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. The economy could thus be described as one which is "exploitative" - a rentier state - and based upon the extraction of unsustainable resources or non-reusable assets. Successive governments and the population as a whole have always believed that "diamonds and gold" are sufficient generators of foreign currency earnings and lure for investment.Īs a result, large scale agriculture of commodity products, industrial development and sustainable investments have been neglected by governments. Sierra Leone's economic development has always been hampered by an overdependence on mineral exploitation. In 2008 it in PPP ranked between 147th by World Bank, and 153rd by CIA, largest in the world. Since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002, the economy is gradually recovering with a gross domestic product growth rate between 4 and 7%. The economy of Sierra Leone is $4.082 billion by gross domestic product as of 2018. All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. ![]()
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