The Republic of Sierra Leone is a country suitated on the western coast of Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 6.4 million. The country has a tropical climate with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests.

The capital city, Freetown, is the seat of the central government, and the largest city. The second largest city is Bo, in the southeastern part of the country. Other major cities in the country with a population over 100,000 are Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni. The country is home to Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa, established in 1827. Another major university in the country is the Njala University . It is located in the country's second largest city of Bo.

Sierra Leone is home to the third largest natural harbours in the world, the Queen Elizabeth II Quay -also known as the QE II Quay and locally as the Deep Water Quay or Government Wharf.

Sierra Leone is officially home to fifteen ethnic groups, each with its own language and costume. The two largest tribes are the Mende and Temne, each comprising of thirty percent of the population. The Mendes are predominantly found in south-eastern Sierra Leone and the Temnes are predominant in northern Sierra Leone. English is the official language of Sierra Leone spoken at schools, by the government administration and the media. Another widely spoken language is the Krio language (a local vernacular derived from English and several African languages and native to the Sierra Leone Krio people). It is spoken by ninety-eight percent of Sierra Leone's population and unites all the different ethnic groups, especially in their trade and interaction with each other.

Early inhabitants of Sierra Leone included the Sherbro, Temne and Limba, and Tyra peoples, and later the Mende, who knew the country as Romarong, and the Kono who settled in the East of the country. In 1462, Sierra Leone was visited by the Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra, who gave it its name Serra de Leão, meaning 'Lion Mountains'.

Sierra Leone became an important center of the transatlantic trade in human beings (i.e. slaves), until 1792 when Freetown was founded by the Sierra Leone Company as a home for formerly enslaved African Americans. In 1808, Freetown became a British Crown Colony, and in 1896, the interior of the country became a British Protectorate. The British Crown Colony and British Protectorate were then combined in 1961 and Sierra Leone then gained independence.

In 1991, the Sierra Leone civil war broke out as a result of over two decades of government neglect of the interior coupled with the spilling over of the Liberian conflict into its borders. This war was resolved in 2000 after the United Nations led by Nigeria defeated the rebel forces and restored the civilian government elected in 1998 to Freetown. Since then, almost 72,500 former combatants have been disarmed and the country has reestablished a functioning democracy. The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up in 2002 to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since 1996.

Today, Sierra Leone enjoys peace and tranquility under the democratically elected presidency of His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma.