Sierra Leone

American  

[lee-oh-nee, lee-ohn] / liˈoʊ ni, liˈoʊn /

noun

1. an independent republic in W Africa: member of the Commonwealth of Nations; formerly a British colony and protectorate. 27,925 sq. mi. (72,326 sq. km). Freetown.

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Sierra Leone British  

/ sɪˈɛərə lɪˈəʊnɪ, lɪˈəʊn /

noun

1. a republic in W Africa, on the Atlantic: became a British colony in 1808 and gained independence (within the Commonwealth) in 1961; declared a republic in 1971; became a one-party state in 1978; multiparty democracy restored in 1991 but military rule was imposed following a coup in 1992, which led to civil unrest; consists of coastal swamps rising to a plateau in the east. Official language: English. Religion: Muslim majority and animist. Currency: leone. Capital: Freetown. Pop: 5 612 685 (2013 est). Area: 71 740 sq km (27 699 sq miles)

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Sierra Leone Cultural  

1. Republic in western Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea to the north and east, and Liberia to the south. Freetown is its capital and largest city.

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Discover More

After the American Revolutionary War, attempts were made to settle freed slaves in Sierra Leone. Formerly a British protectorate, Sierra Leone became independent in 1961.

Other Word Forms

• Sierra Leonean
  noun

Example Sentences

Before then there were only six fully-trained physiotherapists in Sierra Leone for a population of about nine million people, according to Mercy Ships.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

Companies are looking for oil in far-away places—from Sierra Leone to Uruguay, Turkey to Malaysia, Azerbaijan to Argentina.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

And John and I have also helped raise $30 million to fund a hospital in Sierra Leone.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2026

Sierra Leone made child marriage illegal in 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

We learned that he was Sherbro, one of the many tribes in Sierra Leone.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah