Liberia ( (listen)), officially the Republic
of Liberia, is a country on the West African
coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its
west, Guinea to its north and Ivory Coast
to its east, the Atlantic Ocean to its south.
It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers
(43,000 sq mi) and has a population of around
4,700,000 people. English is the official
language and over 20 indigenous languages
are spoken, representing the numerous ethnic
groups who make up more than 95% of the population.
The country's capital and largest city is
Monrovia.
Liberia began as a settlement of the American
Colonization Society (ACS), who believed black
people would face better chances for freedom
and prosperity in Africa than in the United
States. The country declared its independence
on July 26, 1847. The U.S. did not recognize
Liberia's independence until February 5, 1862,
during the American Civil War. Between January
7, 1822, and the American Civil War, more
than 15,000 freed and free-born black people
who faced legislated limits in the U.S., and
3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to the settlement.
The black settlers carried their culture and
tradition with them to Liberia. The Liberian
constitution and flag were modeled after those
of the U.S. On January 3, 1848, Joseph Jenkins
Roberts, a wealthy, free-born African American
from Virginia who settled in Liberia, was
elected as Liberia's first president after
the people proclaimed independence.Liberia
was the first African republic to proclaim
its independence, and is Africa's first and
oldest modern republic. Liberia retained its
independence during the Scramble for Africa.
During World War II, Liberia supported the
United States war efforts against Germany
and in turn, the U.S. invested in considerable
infrastructure in Liberia to help its war
effort, which also aided the country in modernizing
and improving its major air transportation
facilities. In addition, President William
Tubman encouraged economic changes. Internationally,
Liberia was a founding member of the League
of Nations, United Nations and the Organisation
of African Unity.
The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate
well to the indigenous peoples they encountered,
especially those in communities of the more
isolated "bush". The colonial settlements
were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their
inland chiefdoms. Americo-Liberians developed
as a small elite that held on to political
power, and the indigenous tribesmen were excluded
from birthright citizenship in their own lands
until 1904, in a repetition of the United
States' treatment of Native Americans. The
Americo-Liberians promoted religious organizations
to set up missions and schools to educate
the indigenous peoples.
Political tensions from the rule of William
R. Tolbert resulted in a military coup in
1980 during which Tolbert was killed, marking
the beginning of years-long political instability.
Five years of military rule by the People's
Redemption Council and five years of civilian
rule by the National Democratic Party of Liberia
were followed by the First and Second Liberian
Civil Wars. These resulted in the deaths of
250,000 people (about 8% of the population),
the displacement of many more and shrunk Liberia's
economy by 90%. A peace agreement in 2003
led to democratic elections in 2005, in which
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President.
Recovery proceeds but about 85% of the population
lives below the international poverty line.
Liberia's economic and political stability
was threatened in the 2010s by an Ebola virus
epidemic; it originated in Guinea in December
2013, entered Liberia in March 2014, and was
declared officially ended on May 8, 2015.
== History ==
The Pepper Coast, also known as the Grain
Coast, has been inhabited by indigenous peoples
of Africa at least as far back as the 12th
century. Mende-speaking people expanded westward
from the Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic
groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean.
The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some
of the earliest documented peoples in the
area.This influx of these groups was compounded
by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali
Empire in 1375 and the Songhai Empire in 1591.
Liberia was a part of the Kingdom of Koya
from 1450 to 1898. As inland regions underwent
desertification, inhabitants moved to the
wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought
skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving,
iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation,
and social and political institutions from
the Mali and Songhai empires. Shortly after
the Mane conquered the region, the Vai people
of the former Mali Empire immigrated into
the Grand Cape Mount County region. The ethnic
Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an
alliance with the Mane to stop further influx
of Vai.People along the coast built canoes
and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert
to the Gold Coast. Arab traders entered the
region from the north, and a long-established
slave trade took captives to north and east
Africa.
=== Early colonization ===
Between 1461 and the late 17th century, Portuguese,
Dutch and British traders had contacts and
trading posts in the region. The Portuguese
named the area Costa da Pimenta ("Pepper Coast")
but it later came to be known as the Grain
Coast, due to the abundance of melegueta pepper
grains. European traders would barter commodities
and goods with local people.
In the United States there was a movement
to resettle free-born blacks and freed slaves
who faced racial discrimination in the form
of political disenfranchisement and the denial
of civil, religious, and social privileges
in the United States. Most whites and later
a small cadre of black nationalists believed
that blacks would face better chances for
freedom in Africa than in the U.S. The American
Colonization Society was founded in 1816 in
Washington, DC, for this purpose by a group
of prominent politicians and slaveholders,
but its membership grew to include mostly
people who supported the abolition of slavery.
Slaveholders wanted to get free people of
color out of the South, where they were thought
to threaten the stability of the slave societies.
Some abolitionists collaborated on the relocation
of free blacks, as they were discouraged by
racial discrimination against them in the
North and believed they would never be accepted
in the larger society.In 1822, the American
Colonization Society began sending black volunteers
to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony
for freed blacks. By 1867, the ACS (and state-related
chapters) had assisted in the migration of
more than 13,000 blacks to Liberia. These
free African-Americans and their descendants
married within their community and came to
identify as Americo-Liberians. Many were of
mixed race and educated in American culture;
they did not identify with the indigenous
natives of the tribes they encountered. They
intermarried largely within the colonial community,
developing an ethnic group that had a cultural
tradition infused with American notions of
political republicanism and Protestant Christianity.
The ACS, the private organization supported
by prominent American politicians such as
Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, and James Monroe,
believed repatriation of free African Americans
was preferable to widespread emancipation
of slaves. Similar state-based organizations
established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa
and the Republic of Maryland, which were later
annexed by Liberia.
The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate
well to the indigenous peoples they encountered,
especially those in communities of the more
isolated "bush", They knew nothing of their
cultures, languages or animist religion. Encounters
with tribal Africans in the bush often developed
as violent confrontations. The colonial settlements
were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their
inland chiefdoms. Because of feeling set apart
and superior by their culture and education
to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians
developed as an elite minority that held on
to political power. It excluded the indigenous
tribesmen from birthright citizenship in their
own lands until 1904, in a parallel of the
United States' treatment of Native Americans.
Because of ethnocentrism and the cultural
gap, the Americo-Liberians envisioned creating
a western-style state to which the tribesmen
should assimilate. They promoted religious
organizations to set up missions and schools
to educate the indigenous peoples.
=== Government ===
On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration
of Independence and promulgated a constitution.
Based on the political principles denoted
in the United States Constitution, it established
the independent Republic of Liberia. The United
Kingdom was the first country to recognize
Liberia's independence.The leadership of the
new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians,
who initially established political and economic
dominance in the coastal areas that had been
purchased by the ACS; they maintained relations
with United States contacts in developing
these areas and the resulting trade. Their
passage of the 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited
foreign commerce with the inland tribes, ostensibly
to "encourage the growth of civilized values"
before such trade was allowed in the region.By
1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party
was the most powerful political power in the
country. It was made up primarily of people
from the Americo-Liberian ethnic group, who
maintained social, economic and political
dominance well into the 20th century, repeating
patterns of European colonists in other nations
in Africa. Competition for office was usually
contained within the party; a party nomination
virtually ensured election.Pressure from the
United Kingdom, which controlled Sierra Leone
to the west, and France with its interests
in the north and east led to a loss of Liberia's
claims to extensive territories. Both Sierra
Leone and the Ivory Coast annexed some territories.
Liberia struggled to attract investment in
order to develop infrastructure and a larger,
industrial economy.
There was a decline in production of Liberian
goods in the late 19th century, and the government
struggled financially, resulting in indebtedness
on a series of international loans. On July
16, 1892, Martha Ann Erskine Ricks met Queen
Victoria at Windsor Castle and presented her
a hand made quilt, Liberia's first diplomatic
gift. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Ricks
stated, "I had heard it often, from the time
I was a child, how good the Queen had been
to my people – to slaves – and how she
wanted us to be free."
=== 20th century ===
American and other international interests
emphasized resource extraction, with rubber
production a major industry in the early 20th
century. In 1914 Imperial Germany accounted
for three quarters of the trade of Liberia.
This was a cause for concern amongst the British
colonial authorities of Sierra Leone and the
French colonial authorities of French Guinea
and the Ivory Coast as tensions with Germany
increased.
=== First World War ===
In 1919 Liberia attended the Versailles Peace
Conference, when the League of Nations was
founded in January 1920 Liberia was one of
the founding members.However, in 1929 allegations
of modern slavery in Liberia led the League
of Nations to establish the Christy commission.
Findings included government involvement in
widespread "Forced or compulsory labour",
minority ethnic groups especially were exploited
in a system which enriched well connected
elites within Liberia. As a result of the
Christy report, President Charles D. B. King
and Vice-president Allen N. Yancy both resigned.In
the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began
to modernize with American assistance. During
World War II, the United States made major
infrastructure improvements to support its
military efforts in Africa and Europe against
the Nazis. It built the Freeport of Monrovia
and Roberts International Airport under the
Lend-Lease program before its entry into the
Second World War.After the war, President
William Tubman encouraged foreign investment
in the country. Liberia had the second-highest
rate of economic growth in the world during
the 1950s.
Liberia also began to take a more active role
in international affairs. It was a founding
member of the United Nations in 1945 and became
a vocal critic of the South African apartheid
regime. Liberia also served as a proponent
both of African independence from the European
colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism, and
helped to fund the Organisation of African
Unity.
On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by
Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic
group overthrew and killed President William
R. Tolbert, Jr.. Doe and the other plotters
later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet
and other Americo-Liberian government officials
and True Whig Party members. The coup leaders
formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC)
to govern the country. A strategic Cold War
ally of the West, Doe received significant
financial backing from the United States while
critics condemned the PRC for corruption and
political repression.After Liberia adopted
a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected
president in subsequent elections, which were
internationally condemned as fraudulent. On
November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was
launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers
briefly occupied the national radio station.
Government repression intensified in response,
as Doe's troops retaliated by executing members
of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba
County.The National Patriotic Front of Liberia,
a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched
an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's
government with the backing of neighboring
countries such as Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.
This triggered the First Liberian Civil War.
By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled
only a small area just outside the capital,
and Doe was captured and executed in that
month by rebel forces.The rebels soon split
into various factions fighting one another.
The Economic Community Monitoring Group under
the Economic Community of West African States
organized a military task force to intervene
in the crisis. From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's
bloodiest civil wars broke out, claiming the
lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing
a million others into refugee camps in neighboring
countries. A peace deal between warring parties
was reached in 1995, leading to Taylor's election
as president in 1997.Under Taylor's leadership,
Liberia became internationally known as a
pariah state due to its use of blood diamonds
and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary
United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999
when Liberians United for Reconciliation and
Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest
of the country, launched an armed insurrection
against Taylor.
=== 2000s ===
In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement
for Democracy in Liberia, began launching
attacks against Taylor from the southeast.
Peace talks between the factions began in
Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was
indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone
for crimes against humanity the same month.
By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault
on Monrovia. Under heavy pressure from the
international community and the domestic Women
of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,
Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into
exile in Nigeria.A peace deal was signed later
that month. The United Nations Mission in
Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to
provide security and monitor the peace accord,
and an interim government took power the following
October.The subsequent 2005 elections were
internationally regarded as the most free
and fair in Liberian history. Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated economist and
former Minister of Finance, was elected as
the first female president in Africa. Upon
her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition
of Taylor from Nigeria and transferred him
to the SCSL for trial in The Hague.In 2006,
the government established a Truth and Reconciliation
Commission to address the causes and crimes
of the civil war.
== Geography ==
Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering
the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's
southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and
9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.
The landscape is characterized by mostly flat
to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves
and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau
and low mountains in the northeast.Tropical
rainforests cover the hills, while elephant
grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the
dominant vegetation in the northern sections.
The equatorial climate is hot year-round with
heavy rainfall from May to October with a
short interlude in mid-July to August. During
the winter months of November to March, dry
dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing
many problems for residents.Liberia's watershed
tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards
the sea as new rains move down the forested
plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée
Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the
border with Sierra Leone receives the most
precipitation in the nation.Liberia's main
northwestern boundary is traversed by the
Mano River while its southeast limits are
bounded by the Cavalla River. Liberia's three
largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia,
the river St. John at Buchanan and the Cestos
River, all of which flow into the Atlantic.
The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation
at 515 kilometers (320 mi).The highest point
wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 1,440
meters (4,724 ft) above sea level in the northwestern
Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains
and the Guinea Highlands. However, Mount Nimba
near Yekepa, is higher at 1,752 meters (5,748
ft) above sea level but is not wholly within
Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea
and Ivory Coast and is their tallest mountain
as well.
=== Forests ===
Forests on the coastline are composed mostly
of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, while the
more sparsely populated inland has forests
opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands.
The climate is equatorial, with significant
rainfall during the May–October rainy season
and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of
the year. Liberia possesses about forty percent
of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest.
It was an important producer of rubber in
the early 20th century.
=== Administrative divisions ===
Liberia is divided into fifteen counties,
which, in turn, are subdivided into a total
of 90 districts and further subdivided into
clans. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa
and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior
to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the
newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the
largest of the counties in size at 11,551
km2 (4,460 sq mi), while Montserrado is the
smallest at 1,909 km2 (737 sq mi). Montserrado
is also the most populous county with 1,144,806
residents as of the 2008 census.The fifteen
counties are administered by superintendents
appointed by the president. The Constitution
calls for the election of various chiefs at
the county and local level, but these elections
have not taken place since 1985 due to war
and financial constraints.Parallel to the
administrative divisions of the country are
the local and municipal divisions. Liberia
currently does not have any constitutional
framework or uniform statutes which deal with
the creation or revocation of local governments.
All existing local governments - cities, townships,
and a borough - were created by specific acts
of the Liberian government, and thus the structure
and duties/responsibilities of each local
government varies greatly from one to the
other.
=== Environmental issues ===
Endangered species are hunted for human consumption
as bushmeat in Liberia. Species hunted for
food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus,
chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and other
monkeys. Bushmeat is often exported to neighboring
Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, despite a ban
on the cross-border sale of wild animals.Bushmeat
is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered
a delicacy. A 2004 public opinion survey found
that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst
residents of the capital Monrovia as a preferred
source of protein. Of households where bushmeat
was served, 80% of residents said they cooked
it "once in a while," while 13% cooked it
once a week and 7% cooked bushmeat daily.
The survey was conducted during the last civil
war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed
to be far higher.
Liberia is a global biodiversity hotspot – a
significant reservoir of biodiversity that
is under threat from humans.Slash-and-burn
agriculture is one of the human activities
eroding Liberia's natural forests. A 2004
UN report estimated that 99 per cent of Liberians
burnt charcoal and fuel wood for cooking and
heating, resulting in deforestation.Illegal
logging has increased in Liberia since the
end of the Second Civil War in 2003. In 2012,
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf granted licenses
to companies to cut down 58% of all the primary
rainforest left in Liberia. After international
protests, many of those logging permits were
canceled. Liberia and Norway struck an agreement
in September 2014 whereby Liberia ceases all
logging in exchange for $150 million in development
aid.Pollution is a significant issue in Liberia's
capital city Monrovia. Since 2006, the international
community has paid for all garbage collection
and disposal in Monrovia via the World Bank.
== Politics ==
The government of Liberia, modeled on the
government of the United States, is a unitary
constitutional republic and representative
democracy as established by the Constitution.
The government has three co-equal branches
of government: the executive, headed by the
president; the legislative, consisting of
the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and
the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court
and several lower courts.
The president serves as head of government,
head of state and the commander-in-chief of
the Armed Forces of Liberia. Among the other
duties of the president are to sign or veto
legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint
Cabinet members, judges and other public officials.
Together with the vice president, the president
is elected to a six-year term by majority
vote in a two-round system and can serve up
to two terms in office.The Legislature is
composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The House, led by a speaker, has 73 members
apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis
of the national census, with each county receiving
a minimum of two members. Each House member
represents an electoral district within a
county as drawn by the National Elections
Commission and is elected by a plurality of
the popular vote of their district into a
six-year term. The Senate is made up of two
senators from each county for a total of 30
senators. Senators serve nine-year terms and
are elected at-large by a plurality of the
popular vote. The vice president serves as
the President of the Senate, with a President
pro tempore serving in their absence.
Liberia's highest judicial authority is the
Supreme Court, made up of five members and
headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia. Members
are nominated to the court by the president
and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until
the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided
into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate
courts and justices of the peace. The judicial
system is a blend of common law, based on
Anglo-American law, and customary law. An
informal system of traditional courts still
exists within the rural areas of the country,
with trial by ordeal remaining common despite
being officially outlawed.Between 1877 and
1980, the government was dominated by the
True Whig Party. Today, over 20 political
parties are registered in the country, based
largely around personalities and ethnic groups.
Most parties suffer from poor organizational
capacity. The 2005 elections marked the first
time that the president's party did not gain
a majority of seats in the Legislature.
=== Corruption ===
Corruption is endemic at every level of the
Liberian government. When President Sirleaf
took office in 2006, she announced that corruption
was "the major public enemy." In 2014, the
US ambassador to Liberia stated that corruption
there was harming people through "unnecessary
costs to products and services that are already
difficult for many Liberians to afford".Liberia
scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean)
to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption
Perceptions Index. This gave it a ranking
87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of
47 in Sub-Saharan Africa. This score did,
however, represent a significant improvement
since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and
ranked 150th of 180 countries. When dealing
with public-facing government functionaries
89% of Liberians say they have had to pay
a bribe, the highest national percentage in
the world according to the organization's
2010 Global Corruption Barometer.
=== Military ===
The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the
armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Founded
as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, the
military was retitled in 1956. For virtually
all of its history, the AFL has received considerable
material and training assistance from the
United States. For most of the 1941–89 period,
training was largely provided by U.S. advisers.
After the UN Security Council Resolution 1509
of September 2003, the United Nations Mission
in Liberia arrived to referee the ceasefire
with units from Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan,
and China with the view to assist the National
Transitional
Government of Liberia in forming the new Liberian
military.
=== Foreign relations ===
After the turmoil following the First and
Second Liberian Civil Wars, Liberia's internal
stabilization in the 21st century brought
a return to cordial relations with neighboring
countries and much of the Western world. As
in other African countries, China is an important
part of the post-conflict reconstruction.In
the past, both of Liberia's neighbors, Guinea
and Sierra Leone, have accused Liberia of
backing rebels inside their countries.
=== Law enforcement ===
The Liberian National Police are the national
police force of the country. It has 844 officers
in 33 stations in Montserrado County, which
contains the capital Monrovia, as of October
2007. The National Police Training Academy
is in Montserrado County in Paynesville City.
A history of corruption among the police officers
diminishes the public trust and operational
effectiveness. The internal security is characterized
by a general lawlessness coupled with the
danger that former combatants in the late
civil war might reestablish militias to challenge
the civil authorities.
== Economy and infrastructure ==
The Central Bank of Liberia is responsible
for printing and maintaining the Liberian
dollar, which is the primary form of currency
in Liberia.
Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries,
with a formal employment rate of 15%. GDP
per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when
it was comparable to Egypt's (at the time).
In 2011, the country's nominal GDP was US$1.154
billion, while nominal GDP per capita stood
at US$297, the third-lowest in the world.
Historically, the Liberian economy has depended
heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment
and exports of natural resources such as iron
ore, rubber, and timber.Following a peak in
growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began
a steady decline due to economic mismanagement
following the 1980 coup. This decline was
accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in
1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90%
between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest
declines in history. Upon the end of the war
in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching
9.4% in 2007. The global financial crisis
slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009, though
a strengthening agricultural sector led by
rubber and timber exports increased growth
to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011,
making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing
in the world.Current impediments to growth
include a small domestic market, lack of adequate
infrastructure, high transportation costs,
poor trade links with neighboring countries
and the high dollarization of the economy.
Liberia used the United States dollar as its
currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues
to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian
dollar.
Following a decrease in inflation beginning
in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result
of worldwide food and energy crises, reaching
17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009. Liberia's
external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately
$4.5 billion, 800% of GDP. As a result of
bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt
relief from 2007 to 2010, the country's external
debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.While
official commodity exports declined during
the 1990s as many investors fled the civil
war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the
exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.
The country acted as a major trader in Sierra
Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300
million in diamonds in 1999. This led to a
United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports
in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following
Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme.In 2003, additional UN
sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports,
which had risen from US$5 million in 1997
to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed
to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone. These
sanctions were lifted in 2006. Due in large
part to foreign aid and investment inflow
following the end of the war, Liberia maintains
a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly
60% in 2008. Liberia gained observer status
with the World Trade Organization in 2010
and is in the process of acquiring full member
status.Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign
direct investment to GDP in the world, with
US$16 billion in investment since 2006. Following
the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration
in 2006, Liberia signed several multibillion-dollar
concession agreements in the iron ore and
palm oil industries with numerous multinational
corporations, including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal,
and Sime Darby. Especially palm oil companies
like Sime Darby (Malaysia) and Golden Veroleum
(USA) are being accused by critics of the
destruction of livelihoods and the displacement
of local communities, enabled through government
concessions. The Firestone Tire and Rubber
Company has operated the world's largest rubber
plantation in Harbel, Margibi County since
1926 with more than 8,000 mostly Liberian
employees in 2015, making Firestone Liberia
the largest private employer in Liberia.
=== Shipping flag of convenience ===
Due to its status as a flag of convenience,
Liberia has the second-largest maritime registry
in the world behind Panama. It has 3500 vessels
registered under its flag accounting for 11%
of ships worldwide.
=== Telecommunications ===
There are six major newspapers in Liberia,
and 45% of the population has a mobile phone
service.
Much of Liberia's communications infrastructure
was destroyed or plundered during the two
civil wars (1989–1996 and 1999–2003).
With low rates of adult literacy and high
poverty rates, television and newspaper use
is limited, leaving radio as the predominant
means of communicating with the public.
=== Transportation ===
Liberia's economic main links to the outside
world come through Monrovia, via the port
and airport in the capital.
=== Energy ===
Formal electricity services are provided solely
by the state-owned Liberia Electricity Corporation,
which operates a small grid almost exclusively
in the Greater Monrovia District. The vast
majority of electric energy services is provided
by small privately owned generators. At $0.54
per kWh, the electricity tariff in Liberia
is among the highest in the world. Total installed
capacity in 2013 was 20 MW, a sharp decline
from a peak of 191 MW in 1989 before the wars.Completion
of the repair and expansion of the Mount Coffee
Hydropower Plant, with a maximum capacity
of 80 MW, is scheduled to be completed by
2018. Construction of three new heavy fuel
oil power plants is expected to boost electrical
capacity by 38 MW. In 2013, Liberia began
importing power from neighboring Ivory Coast
and Guinea through the West African Power
Pool.Liberia has begun exploration for offshore
oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess
of one billion barrels. The government divided
its offshore waters into 17 blocks and began
auctioning off exploration licenses for the
blocks in 2004, with further auctions in 2007
and 2009. An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore
blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned
for auction. Among the companies to have won
licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and
Woodside Petroleum.
== Demographics ==
As of the 2017 national census, Liberia was
home to 4,694,608 people. Of those, 1,118,241
lived in Montserrado County, the most populous
county in the country and home to the capital
of Monrovia. The Greater Monrovia District
has 970,824 residents. Nimba County is the
next most populous county, with 462,026 residents.
As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is
more than four times more populous than all
the county capitals combined.Prior to the
2008 census, the last census had been held
in 1984 and listed the country's population
as 2,101,628. The population of Liberia was
1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368
in 1974. As of 2006, Liberia has the highest
population growth rate in the world (4.50%
per annum). In 2010 some 43.5% of Liberians
were below the age of 15.
=== Ethnic groups ===
The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic
groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous
peoples comprise about 95 percent of the population.
The 16 officially recognized ethnic groups
include the Kpelle, Bassa, Mano, Gio or Dan,
Kru, Grebo, Krahn, Vai, Gola, Mandingo or
Mandinka, Mende, Kissi, Gbandi, Loma, Fante,
Dei or Dewoin, Belleh, and Americo-Liberians
or Congo people.
The Kpelle comprise more than 20% of the population
and are the largest ethnic group in Liberia,
residing mostly in Bong County and adjacent
areas in central Liberia. Americo-Liberians,
who are descendants of African American and
West Indian, mostly Barbadian settlers, make
up 2.5%. Congo people, descendants of repatriated
Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived
in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%. These
latter two groups established political control
in the 19th century which they kept well into
the 20th century.
Numerous immigrants have come as merchants
and become a major part of the business community,
including Lebanese, Indians, and other West
African nationals. There is a high percentage
of interracial marriage between ethnic Liberians
and the Lebanese, resulting in a significant
mixed-race population especially in and around
Monrovia. A small minority of Liberians who
are White Africans of European descent reside
in the country. The Liberian constitution
restricts citizenship to "Negroes or persons
of Negro descent."
=== 
Languages ===
English is the official language and serves
as the lingua franca of Liberia. Thirty-one
indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia,
none of which is a first language to more
than a small percentage of the population.
Liberians also speak a variety of creolized
dialects collectively known as Liberian English.
=== Largest cities ===
=== Religion ===
According to the 2008 National Census, 85.6%
of the population practices Christianity,
while Muslims represent a minority of 12.2%.
A multitude of diverse Protestant confessions
such as Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian,
Pentecostal, United Methodist, African Methodist
Episcopal (AME) and African Methodist Episcopal
Zion (AME Zion) denominations form the bulk
of the Christian population, followed by adherents
of the Roman Catholic Church and other non-Protestant
Christians. Most of these Christian denominations
were brought by African American settlers
moving from the United States into Liberia
via the American Colonization Society, while
some are indigenous—especially Pentecostal
and evangelical Protestant ones. Protestantism
was originally associated with Black American
settlers and their Americo-Liberian descendants,
while native peoples held to their own animist
forms of African traditional religion. Indigenous
people were subject to Christian missionary,
as well as Americo-Liberian efforts to close
the cultural gap by means of education. This
proved successful, leaving Christians a majority
in the country.
Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population,
largely represented by the Mandingo and Vai
ethnic groups. Sunnis, Shias, Ahmadiyyas,
Sufis, and non-denominational Muslims constitute
the bulk of the Liberian Muslims.Traditional
indigenous religions are practiced by 0.5%
of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to
no religion. A small number of people are
Bahá'í, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist. While
Christian, many Liberians also participate
in traditional, gender-based indigenous religious
secret societies, such as Poro for men and
Sande for women. The all-female Sande society
practices female circumcision.The Constitution
provides for freedom of religion, and the
government generally respects this right.
While separation of church and state is mandated
by the Constitution, Liberia is considered
a Christian state in practice. Public schools
offer biblical studies, though parents may
opt their children out. Commerce is prohibited
by law on Sundays and major Christian holidays.
The government does not require businesses
or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.
== Education ==
In 2010, the literacy rate of Liberia was
estimated at 60.8% (64.8% for males and 56.8%
for females). In some areas primary and secondary
education is free and compulsory from the
ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance
is lax. In other areas children are required
to pay a tuition fee to attend school. On
average, children attain 10 years of education
(11 for boys and 8 for girls). The country's
education sector is hampered by inadequate
schools and supplies, as well as a lack of
qualified teachers.Higher education is provided
by a number of public and private universities.
The University of Liberia is the country's
largest and oldest university. Located in
Monrovia, the university opened in 1862. Today
it has six colleges, including a medical school
and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur
Grimes School of Law.Cuttington University
was established by the Episcopal Church of
the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, as
part of its missionary education work among
indigenous peoples. It is the nation's oldest
private university.
In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland
County was established as the second public
university in Liberia. Since 2006, the government
has also opened community colleges in Buchanan,
Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.
== Health ==
Hospitals in Liberia include the John F. Kennedy
Medical Center in Monrovia and several others.
Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to
be 57.4 years in 2012. With a fertility rate
of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality
rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010.
A number of highly communicable diseases are
widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal
diseases and malaria. In 2007, the HIV infection
rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49
whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was
420 per 100,000 people in 2008. Approximately
58.2% – 66% of women are estimated to have
undergone female genital mutilation.
Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple
food, and is extremely vulnerable to food
shortages. In 2007, 20.4% of children under
the age of five were malnourished. In 2008,
only 17% of the population had access to adequate
sanitation facilities.Approximately 95% of
the country's healthcare facilities had been
destroyed by the time civil war ended in 2003.
In 2009, government expenditure on health
care per capita was US$22, accounting for
10.6% of total GDP. In 2008, Liberia had only
one doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.In
2014, an outbreak of Ebola virus in Guinea
spread to Liberia. As of November 17, 2014,
there were 2,812 confirmed deaths from the
ongoing outbreak. In early August 2014 Guinea
closed its borders to Liberia to help contain
the spread of the virus, as more new cases
were being reported in Liberia than in Guinea.
On May 9, 2015, Liberia was declared Ebola
free after six weeks with no new cases.According
to an Overseas Development Institute report,
private health expenditure accounts for 64.1%
of total spending on health.
== Crime ==
Rape and sexual assault are frequent in the
post-conflict era in Liberia. The country
has one of the highest incidences of sexual
violence against women in the world. Rape
is the most frequently reported crime, accounting
for more than one-third of sexual violence
cases. Adolescent girls are the most frequently
assaulted, and almost 40% of perpetrators
are adult men known to victims.Both male and
female homosexuality is illegal in Liberia.
On July 20, 2012, the Liberian senate voted
unanimously to enact legislation to prohibit
and criminalize same-sex marriages.
== Culture ==
The religious practices, social customs and
cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians
had their roots in the antebellum American
South. The settlers wore top hat and tails
and modeled their homes on those of Southern
slaveowners. Most Americo-Liberian men were
members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which
became heavily involved in the nation's politics.Liberia
has a rich history in textile arts and quilting,
as the settlers brought with them their sewing
and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National
Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were
awarded for various needle arts. One of the
most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha
Ann Ricks, who presented a quilt featuring
the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria
in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly
had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her
presidential office.A rich literary tradition
has existed in Liberia for over a century.
Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland
T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are
among Liberia's more prominent authors. Moore's
novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered
Liberia's most celebrated novel.
=== Polygamy ===
One-third of married Liberian women between
the ages of 15–49 are in polygamous marriages.
Customary law allows men to have up to four
wives.
=== Cuisine ===
Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice,
the country's staple food. Other ingredients
include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit,
plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.
Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch
bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with
fufu. Liberia also has a tradition of baking
imported from the United States that is unique
in West Africa.
=== Sport ===
The most popular sport in Liberia is association
football, with President George Weah — the
only African to be named FIFA World Player
of the Year — being the nation's most famous
athlete. The Liberia national football team
has reached the Africa Cup of Nations finals
twice, in 1996 and 2002.
The second most popular sport in Liberia is
basketball. The Liberian national basketball
team has reached the AfroBasket twice, in
1983 and 2007.
In Liberia, the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
serves as a multi-purpose stadium. It hosts
FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in addition
to international concerts and national political
events.
=== Measurement system ===
Liberia is one of only three countries that
have not officially adopted the International
System of Units (short SI, also called the
metric system), the others being the United
States and Myanmar.
In the United States, the Omnibus Foreign
Trade and Competitiveness Act amended the
Metric Conversion Act of 1975 and designated
the metric system as "the Preferred system
of weights and measures for United States
trade and commerce", but is mixed in consumer
usage, with the population generally preferring
customary units and industries either fully
metric or mixed.
Myanmar, has made an official decision to
metricate and, since 2013, has been transitioning
away from Imperial and Burmese units in the
past few years. Gasoline sales are now in
litres.The Liberian government has begun transitioning
away from use of United States Customary Units
to the metric system. However, this change
has been gradual, with government reports
concurrently using both United States Customary
and metric units. In 2018 the Liberian Commerce
and Industry Minister announced that the Liberian
government are committed to adopting the metric
system.
== See also ==
Outline of Liberia
Gender inequality in Liberia
