Discover Sierra Leone: Top 9 Amazing Fun Facts You Never Knew!

1. United Colors of Sierra Leone

In the great melting pot of Sierra Leone, you'll find a smorgasbord of cultural zest – it's the "United Colors of Benetton" poster child of Africa: This fascinating country boasts more than 20 ethnic groups, including the Mende, Temne, and Krio people, each carrying their own distinctive customs and traditions just waiting to be explored.
Source => britannica.com

2. Birth of Freetown

Once upon a time, when guilt-ridden British abolitionists put their heads together to play real-life SimCity for the formerly enslaved: the bustling capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown, was born in 1787. Today, this city is a sizzling melting pot of creative souls, housing artists, musicians, and writers who continue to make waves across the cultural landscape.
Source => cpreview.org

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=> Fun Facts about Ghana

3. Nature's Playground

If you're ever feeling "wild" and need to "paws" for a moment, Sierra Leone is just the "nature-al" choice to "take flights" and "scale" new heights in your exploration journey: The country boasts a staggering variety of creatures, with over 147 species of mammals, 172 nesting bird species, 67 reptile species, 35 amphibians, and 99 fish species, along with 2,000 plant species – 74 of them exclusive to Sierra Leone itself!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Mountain-Top Hoppin'

If you ever feel like you've got a serious case of the "mountain-top hoppin' blues," you might just find your new groove in Sierra Leone: This vivacious West African nation boasts the region's highest peak, Mount Bintumani, standing tall and proud at an elevation of 6,381 feet.
Source => independent.co.uk

5. Football Fever

When Sierra Leone's national football team isn't adding a kick to the "Lion Mountains" on the pitch, they're busy scoring invitations to prestigious parties: The Africa Cup of Nations has welcomed them thrice, with their debut in 1994 and subsequent group-stage appearances in each invite!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Classy Classroom

In Sierra Leone, they put the "class" in "classroom" before it was cool in the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa: Fourah Bay College, the region's first Western-style university, started molding young minds as early as 1827.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Star of Sierra Leone

Whoever said "diamonds are a girl's best friend" clearly hadn't met the Star of Sierra Leone – a gem so massive, you could probably see your reflection in it from space: In 1972, the third largest diamond in the world was discovered in Sierra Leone, weighing an astonishing 969.8 carats. Now housed in the National Museum in Freetown, this celestial rock dwarfs mere mortals and continues to dazzle visitors with its untamed beauty.
Source => nytimes.com

8. Tarzan's Dream Vacay

If Tarzan and Jane were planning their next vacay, they'd probably swing by Sierra Leone's Gola Rainforest National Park for the perfect selfie backdrop: This West African wonderland spans over 350,000 hectares, housing more than 899 vascular plants, 49 mammal species, 327 bird species, and 43 amphibian species, including some of the world's rarest creatures like forest elephants, Chimpanzee Verus, and Bay Colobus. Plus, it does its share of saving the planet by being a crucial carbon sink!
Source => whc.unesco.org

9. Solar-Powered Traffic

As sung by The Beatles, "Here Comes the Sun": Sierra Leone recently installed its first solar-powered traffic light at Hillside Bypass Road Junction in Freetown, which is expected to complement the work of traffic police in the future, while also instructing drivers and riders on how to use it properly.
Source => sierraloaded.sl