Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone Temne predominate in the Northern Sierra Leone and the areas around the capital of Sierra Leone. The vast majority of Temne are Muslims, with a small Christian minority. The Temne are thought to have come from Futa Jallon, which is in present-day Guinea. Sierra Leone's former president Ernest Bai Koroma is the first ethnic Temne to be elected to the office. The majority of the Temne support the All People's Congress (APC). A major ethnic group are the Mende, at about 33% of Sierra Leone's population. The Mende predominate in the Southern Province and Eastern Sierra Leone (with the exception
Languages of Sierra Leone Languages of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone is a multilingual country. English is the "de facto" official language, and Krio is the most widely spoken. Other major languages include Mende, which is spoken by 31% of the population as a mother tongue and as a lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone, and Temne, which is spoken by 37% as a mother tongue and also as a lingua franca in the northern province, north Western province, and other part of Sierra Leone and some part of the Capital and the Western Area. Other languages include Kono, Kissi, Kuranko, Limba, Fula (Pular),Mandingo and