Sierra Leone is a West African country that was originally established as a British colony in 1787 for freed slaves from Britain and the United States, with Krio as the primary language spoken by most citizens today. Though Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961 and has a population of over 6 million, it remains a poor country still recovering from its civil war and relying on mining, farming and fishing for economic potential. The current president of Sierra Leone is Earnest Bai Koroma.