1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Religions
Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census)
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%)
Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)
Exports
machinery and transport equipment 52%, raw materials and fuel 9%, chemicals 5% (2003)
External Debt
$90,180,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 17.037 (2008 est.), 20.53 (2007), 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
6
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Area
71,740 km sq
78,867 km sq
Coastline
402 km
0 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
