4. The majority of Sierra Leone’s population (62 percent) lives in rural areas. Given the annual migration rate of 2.3 percent, the country’s urban population increased from 19 percent in 1963 to 37 percent in 2004. There are approximately 16 different tribes or ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, each with its own language and customs. English is the official language, although the Krio language is spoken by 90 percent of the population. The population is predominantly Muslim with an influential Christian population of about 40 percent. 5. Based on its Human Development Index (HDI) (a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living), Sierra Leone was for many years ranked by the UNDP as the least developed country in the world. In 2006 its position improved slightly to second-least developed country, and since then there has been substantial progress. In 2012 it was ranked the tenth-least developed country, standing 177th in a total of 187 countries. Between 1980 and 2012 its HDI value increased from 0.255 to 0.359, which represents an increase of 41 percent or an average annual increase of 1.1 percent (UNDP, 2013). 6. The increase in its HDI is reflective of a slow but steady improvement in the lives of its people, notably its children, as is evident from the following improvements in a number of key indicators. The data are drawn from Statistics Sierra Leone’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in 2000, 2005 and 2010 as well as the Demographic and Health Survey 2013 Preliminary Report.  Life expectancy improved from 39.8 years in 2000 to 48 in 2012.  The infant mortality rate (IMR) reduced from 286 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 92 in 2013 (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2001) (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2014).  The under-5 mortality rate, which was for many years the worst-recorded rate in the world, has improved from 286 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 156 in 2013 (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2001) (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2014).  The rate of use of an improved source of drinking water increased by 10 percent between 2005 and 2010 from 47 to 57 percent.  The use of improved sanitation increased from 30 to 40 percent in the same period.  The net primary school attendance rate increased from 41 percent in 2000 to 74 percent in 2010.  The measles immunization rate improved by 20 percent from 62 to 82 percent between 2000 and 2010.  Child labour rates reduced from 72 percent in 2000 to 50 percent in 2010. 7. 2 The improving HDI status of the country has been spurred on by a combination of a decade of relatively good economic growth together with a number of developmental programmes initiated and implemented by the GoSL. Domestic revenue tripled from US$152-million in 2008 to US$475-million in 2013, primarily due to better incometax and mining-fee collections. Grants have doubled in the same period, but reliance on grants has declined from 40 to 23 percent of the budget in 2013 (Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, 2013). Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 15 percent in 2012, up from 6 percent in 2011 (International Monetary Fund, 2012). It has since declined slightly again to 13 percent in 2013/14 and the GDP forecast for 2014 is 14 percent (The World Bank, 2014). The combination of  Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone Initial Report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2002-2014