Sierra Leone operates on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+0). The country does not observe daylight saving time, so the offset remains constant throughout the year.
All of Sierra Leone follows the same timezone. Major cities including Freetown, Bo, Kenema, and Makeni all observe GMT. Freetown, the capital and largest city, has one of the world's largest natural harbors and is located on the Sierra Leone Peninsula.
Sierra Leone's name means "Lion Mountain" in Portuguese, named by explorer Pedro de Sintra in 1462. The capital Freetown was founded in 1792 as a home for freed slaves, making it one of the first planned cities in West Africa. The country is known for producing some of the world's finest diamonds.