Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10%
Languages
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Exports
External Debt
Exchange Rate
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Area
71,740 km sq
27,830 km sq
Coastline
402 km
0 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January)
