republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch
Independence date
27 October 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Religions
Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
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%)
