Republic of Sierra Leone Flag Coat of arms Motto: "Unity, Freedom, Justice" Anthem: "High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free" Location of Sierra Leone (dark green) Capital and largest city Freetown .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}8°29.067′N 13°14.067′W﻿ / ﻿8.484450°N 13.234450°W﻿ / 8.484450; -13.234450Coordinates: 8°29.067′N 13°14.067′W﻿ / ﻿8.484450°N 13.234450°W﻿ / 8.484450; -13.234450 Official languages English Recognised national languages Krio Religion Islam (78%) Christianity (21%)[1] Demonym(s) Sierra Leonean Government Unitary presidential constitutional republic • President Julius Maada Bio • Vice-President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh • Chief Minister David J. Francis • Speaker of Parliament Abass Chernor Bundu • Chief Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards[2] Legislature Parliament Independence • from the United Kingdom 27 April 1961 • Republic declared 19 April 1971 Area • Total 71,740 km2 (27,700 sq mi) (117th) • Water (%) 1.1 Population • 2015 census 8,059,155[3] (102nd) • Density 112/km2 (290.1/sq mi) (114tha) GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate • Total $12.177 billion[4] • Per capita $1,608[4] GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate • Total $3.824 billion[4] (155th) • Per capita $505[4] Gini (2018) 35.7[5] medium HDI (2019) 0.452[6] low · 182nd Currency Leone (SLL) Time zone UTC (GMT) Driving side rightb Calling code +232 ISO 3166 code SL Internet TLD .sl Rank based on 2007 figures Since 1 March 1971