Demographic Indicator	Data
Population (mid-2009)*	5,696,000
Population growth rate (Rate of Natural Incr: birth rate minus death rate, expressed as a %)*	2%
Gender (2009 est.)**	male: 48%  female: 52%
Adult Literacy rate (% aged 15 and older ) 1999-2007***	Men: 50%  Women: 27%
Population below poverty line (Population living below the national poverty line (%), 2000-2006)***	70%
Age Distribution*	less than 15 yrs: 42% 15-65: 54% 65+: 4%
HIV/AIDS Among Adult Population, Ages 15-49, 2007/2008 (%)	2%
Urban population*	37%
Average Annual Rate of Change of Urban Population, 2005-2010 (%)	3%
Urban Population Living in Slums (%), 2005	77%
Religion (2001)**	Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
Ethnic groups**	20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
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%)
* = Population Reference Bureau ** = CIA World Factbook *** = UNDP Human Development Report