Military

Sierra Leone's military consists of; the Republic of Sierra Leone, and Army. To be in the military service you need to be at least 17 1/2 years old, and if you are younger you can get parental consent to join. The manpower for the military that is fit is 671,418(males only).

The United States has many branches; Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. For military service you need to be at least 18 yrs. old, and at 17 with parental consent. Manpower fit for service is 59,413,358(males only).

Comparing the two the age for military service is pretty much the same. The United States has more military branches than Sierra Leone. Military size of people fit for war is much larger in the US.

References: CIA The World Fact Book, "Sierra Leone", October 20th, 2008.

Transportation

Sierra Leone has 10 airports. The airports that have paved runways total to just one. The other nine airports are unpaved. The total roadways is 11,300, with most of them being unpaved. The ports and terminals for Sierra Leone are; Freetown, Pepel, and Sherbro Islands.

The United States has 14,947 airports. The airports that are paved total to 5,143. total roadways are 6,430,366, with most of them being paved. The ports and terminals are; Corpus Christi, Duluth, Long Beach, Houston, Hampton Roads, Los Angeles, Tampa, Texas City, Philadelphia, and New York.

Comparing the two The United States has more airports and roadways.

References: PHP Classes, "About Sierra Leone", October 13th, 2008.

Communications

Sierra Leone has 24,000 telephones in use. The cell phones used are 776,000. Sierra Leone has only two television broadcast stations. The use of Internet users is 10,000.

The United States has 172 million telephones in use. The cell phones used are 255 million. The United States has 2,218 television broadcast stations. The number of Internet users is 223 million.

Comparing the two, the United States is greatly more dependant on these communication sources. the numbers speak for themselves, Sierra Leone is still an underdeveloped country.

References: Encyclopedia of the Nations, "Sierra Leone", October 6th, 2008.

Economy

Sierra Leone is a very poor nation that has a huge inequality in income distribution. Sierra Leone has great mineral, agriculture, and fishery resources available, the social structure is not well developed. Almost half of the working age population goes into agriculture. Manufacturing is made up of processing of raw materials. Diamond mining represents the biggest source of currency earnings which adds up to be almost half of Sierra Leone's exports. This economy depends greatly on the maintenance of domestic peace and receipt of aid from abroad. There is a poverty reduction and growth facility program that has helped to stabilize the economy. The population below the poverty line is 70.2% (2004 est.). The agriculture products are ones of rice, coffee, palm oil, sheep, pigs, and fish. Major industries are diamond mining, petroleum refining, and small commercial shop repair.

The United States is the most powerful economy in the world. the rush of technology has left those that lack an education at the bottom and with the professional skilled at the top. More and more fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and benefits. Imported oil accounts for 2/3 of U.S. consumption. The U.S. faces higher barriers to enter their rivals home markets then the foreign firms face going into U.S. markets. The 9-11 attacks led to shifts in national resources to the military. In 2007 worldwide there was a marked reduction in the value and status of the dollar. The unemployment rate is 4.6%(2007 est.). The agricultural products are ones of wheat, corn, fruits, beef, pork and dairy products.

Comparing the two, Sierra Leone is a poor nation, while the U.S. is very powerful. The unemployment rate is very low in the U.S. while in Sierra Leone it is very high. They both have products such as, poultry and fish.

References: Info Please, "Economy", September 29th ,2008.

Government

Sierra Leone is a constitional democracy. The capital of Sierra Leone is Freetown. There are three provinces and 1 area. The Independence day is held on the 27th of April. The legal system is based on English law and the customary laws indigenous to the local tribes. To vote you must be 18 years of age. The judicial branch is the Supreme court. There are different political parties and some of these are the All People's Congress, Peace and Liberation Party, and Sierra Leone People's Party. Sierra Leone's flag is at the right.

The United States is constitution, which is based upon federal republic. The capital is Washington, DC. We celebrate our Indpendence day of July 4th. The legal system is based on English common law, with each state having their own unique legal system. To vote you must be 18 years of age. The judicial branch is the Supreme Court. The political parties consist of Democratic and Republican. The United sates slag is at the left.

Between the two they both have the same voting age and judicial branch. The political parties are different and so are the flags.

References: United Nations, "Government of Sierra Leone", September 22nd, 2008.

People

The population of Sierra Leone is 6,294,774 (July 2008 est.). The median age for both sexes is 17.5 years of age. The average life expectancy at birth is 40.93 years for both sexes. The population that is currently living with AIDS is 170,000 (2001 est.). For major diseases the risk is very high. The food and waterborne diseases include bacteria, diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. There are many different ethnic groups, the largest of them being African, 90%, and the other is Creole making up 10%. There are three major religions which include Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, and indigenous beliefs 30%. The official language is English.

In the United States there are many more people, 303,824,640 (July Est.). With our health care and accessibility to drugs the median age for adults is 36.7 years for both sexes. The United States population affected by AIDS is 950,000. There are no major risks that come with living in the U.S. The major ethnic group is white, 79.96%, and the others are black, 12.85%, and other smaller groups such as American Indian, Alaska native, and other Pacific islander. The religions are Protestant, 51.3%, Roman Catholic, 23.9%, and others such as Mormon, Christian, Jewish, etc. the official language is English.

Between the two, English is the official language. Sierra Leone has a lower median age group because of all the disease. Relgions are pretty different between the two, with Sierra Leone having a large percent with Muslim beliefs and the U.S. with Protestant.

References: Thinkquest, "Sierra Leone", Sepetember 15th, 2008.

Geography

Sierra Leone is located in Western Africa. If you were to compare it's size to a state in the United States it would be a little smaller then South Carolina. The Climate of Sierra Leone is tropical. It's hot, humid and has a summer rainy season which is from May to December. The winter dry season is from December to April. Sierra Leone's terrain consists of a coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded country, mountains in the East, and an upland plateau. Natural Resources that exist in Sierra Leone are diamonds, iron ore, gold, and titanium ore. The current issues are a rapid population growth which has been pressuring the environment. There has been over harvesting of timber, too much cattle grazing, and slash and burn agriculture which has resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion.
A fun fact: rainfall along the coast can reach up to 195 inches per year, this makes is one of the wettest places along the coast.

North America borders the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean. Comparing the size of North America, it is about three-tenths the size of Africa. The climate is mostly temperate excluding Hawaii and Florida. The terrain is plain with mountains in some areas. Natural resources include: coal, copper, zinc, timber, and natural gas. The most current issue is that there is a rise in air pollution with is resulting in acid rain. The US is guilty for being the largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Fun fact: Death Valley is the lowest point in the continent.

Comparing the two, North America has an issue with carbon dioxide pollution. Sierra Leone is struggling with over grazing and soil exhaustion. Both have productions of bauxite and gold.

References: About.com, "Geography", September 10th, 2008.