Life expectancy for males and females is 34 years. English is the official language, but most people speak Krio. Rice is a staple food, but malnutrition is wide-spread among children. Extreme poverty affects two-thirds of the population. Government-provided health care is considered inadequate.
Citizens have a limited knowledge of nutrition and preventive care.
Common illnesses include anemia, gastrointestinal disease, malaria and tuberculosis, and the HIV infection rate is high. Civil war in 1998 and 1999 inflicted terrible atrocities on the population. Try Language Line Services, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, translating more than 140 languages. Today's immigration rates are fast approaching the peak rates of the 20th century, reached between 1901 and 1910 when 8.8 million immigrants were admitted. Recent U.S. immigrants hail predominantly from Asian, Latin American, African and Caribbean nations.