Liberia

Pray the Devil Back to Hell makes Oscar Shortlist

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the extraordinary story of a small band of Liberian women who came together in the midst of a bloody civil war, took...

LIBERIA: No relief as most Monrovians go without toilets

With just one in 25 Liberians having access to a toilet, most use the nearest bush or beach, unwittingly committing what the UN Children’s Fund...

Chuckie Taylor convicted of torture

Chuckie Taylor, son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor, was found guilty of torture and related crimes by a US court on Thursday 30 October....

LIBERIA: Mental health problems breed violence

Liberia’s only mental health specialist says the country is experiencing an increase in post-traumatic stress disorders because the country’s two...

LIBERIA: Would you fight again?

Female ex-combatants are twice as likely as men to take up weapons again to escape poverty, based on a recent US-funded survey of more than 1,000...

LIBERIA: FGM continues in rural secrecy

Thousands of young girls annually prepare for their initiation into a women’s secret association, Sande Society, which operates mostly in Liberia,...

Republic of Liberia

Geography

Capital: Monrovia
Major Towns: Monrovia, Greenville, Zwedru, Harbel, Tubmanburg
Location (geographical coordinates/latitude and longitude): Monrovia: 6°19'N, 10°48'W
Time Zone: GMT
Size (Land and Sea): 111,369 km², Water: 13%
Borders with Atlantic Ocean, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire.
Elevation extremes: Lowest point : Atlantic Ocean 0 m, highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m

Politics
Head of State: President: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Vice-President: Joseph Boakai
Form of Government: Republic
Independancy / Formation by African-Americans: ACS colonies consolidation: 1821-1842 , Independence: 26 July 1847
Currency: Liberian Dollar

Industry
Main Industries: Rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds.
Natural resources: Iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower.
Agriculture: Rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber

Population and People

Population: 3283000 (July 2005 est.)
Population density per sq mi: 86
Growth rate: Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.91%).
Birth rate: 45.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 149.7/1000
Religion: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%
Languages: English, Bassa, Gola, Grebo, Kru
Ethnic groups / Tribes: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of former slaves)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.6% (male 698,382/female 695,409); 15-64 years: 53.6% (male 848,951/female 865,380); 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 42,745/female 45,064) (2007 est.)
Life expectancy: 40.4
Literacy: Total population: 38.3%; male: 53.9%, female: 22.4% (1999 est.)

The name Liberia stands for "liberty" or "Land of the Free"
Liberia was colonized by freed African American slaves in 1822
A new ethnic group called the Americo-Liberians was created when the country was founded in 1847 (with US government support)
Mount Wuteve at 1440 meters is Libera’s highest point
In 2006 Liberia had the highest population growth rate in the world (4.91%)
The Kpelle are largest ethnic group
Approximately 40 percent exclusively practices traditional indigenous religious beliefs
Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting through the freed returning slaves who came back from the US with their there acquired skills
The University of Liberia opened in 1862 and is one of Africa's oldest institutes of higher learning
George Weah, a famous Liberian football player who was named FIFA World Player of the Year, European Footballer of the Year, and African Footballer of the Year in 1995
Momolu Duwalu Bukele was the inventor of the Vai syllabary used for writing the Vai language (around 1833), one of the few sub-Saharan African languages to develop its own writing system.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (the current president, 2007) is Africa's first elected female head of state
Liberia is Africa's oldest republic
Pristine wilderness of Sapo National Park
Mysterious and jungle-rich interior
Firestone Plantation - the world's largest rubber plantation - is operating in Liberia (Liberia is sometimes called the Firestone Republic)
Beautiful beaches, lagoons and waterfalls, like the Kpa-Tawe Waterfalls
Liberia has Western Africa’s largest untouched tract of rainforest
Forest elephants, pygmy hippos, chimpanzees, antelopes and other wildlife can be seen in Sapo National Park