Sierra Leone: Flag and Facts
Sierra Leone's flag is a simple triband of light green, white, and light blue, running top to bottom in bands of equal height.
- Official name
- Republic of Sierra Leone
- Capital
- Freetown
- Region
- Western Africa
- Population
- 9.3 million (2025)
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- Sierra Leonean leone
- Area
- 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi)
- People
- Sierra Leonean
- Calling code
- +232
- Highest point
- Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m
- Independence
- 27 April 1961 (from the UK)
- National symbols
- lion
About Sierra Leone
Green covers farming, mountains, and natural resources. White means unity and justice. Blue is the sea and the natural harbor at Freetown. The lion serves as the national symbol.
Settlement here goes back at least 2,500 years, and thick jungle long shielded the area from West African empires. Traders brought Islam, which became central to local culture. The British opened a trading post near Freetown in the 17th century, dealing first in timber and ivory and later in enslaved people. In 1787, once the American Revolution ended, Black loyalists who had sided with Britain left the new United States and resettled here, and once Britain banned the slave trade in 1807, its ships landed thousands of freed Africans on these shores. Independence came on 27 April 1961. A civil war that began in 1991 killed tens of thousands and drove more than 2 million people from their homes.
Did you know?
- Loma Mansa, also called Bintimani, is the tallest peak at 1,948 meters.
- Mangrove swamps line the coast, giving way to wooded hills and eastern mountains.
- Sierra Leone stays wet from May to December, then dries out from December to April.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about Sierra Leone
What is the capital of Sierra Leone?
Freetown, which has about 1.3 million people.
What currency does Sierra Leone use?
The Sierra Leonean leone, shortened to Le.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.