Liberia

ⁱ/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and Ivory Coast to its east. It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometres (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 4 million people.^[2] English is the official language; 15 indigenous languages are also spoken within Liberia. Its coastline is composed mostly of mangroves, while its more sparsely populated inland consists of forests opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands. The climate is hot and 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.

Liberia was founded by the United States while occupied by local Africans. Beginning in 1820, the area was settled by African Americans, most of whom were freed slaves. African captives freed from slave ships by the British and Americans were sent to Liberia instead of being repatriated to their various African countries of origin. The colonists established a new country with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization whose leaders thought former slaves would have greater opportunity in Africa and that the Black population in the United States would remain a permanent racial underclass.^[5]

In 1847, this new country became the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming its capital city Monroviaafter James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists and their descendants, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political, social, cultural and economic sectors of the country and ruled the nation for over 130 years as a dominant minority.

Liberia began to modernize in the 1940s following investment by the United States during World War II and economic liberalization under President William Tubman. Liberia was a founding member of the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity. In 1980 a military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian leadership after 150 years of power, marking the beginning of political and economic instability and two successive civil wars. These resulted in the deaths of between 250,000 and 520,000 people and devastated Liberia's economy. A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. Today, about 85% of the population live below the international poverty line. Liberia's economic and political stability has recently been threatened by a deadly Ebola virus epidemicwhich originated in Guinea in December 2013 and entered Liberia in March 2014.^[6]

History[edit]

Main article: History of Liberia

A European map of West Africa and the Pepper Coast, 1736. Included is the archaic mapping designation of Negroland.

The Pepper Coast has been inhabited at least as far back as the 12th century and perhaps earlier. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from the Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward towards the Atlantic ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest recorded arrivals.^[7]

This influx was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375 and later in 1591 with the Songhai Empire. Additionally, inland regions underwent desertification, and inhabitants were pressured to move 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.^[8] Shortly after the Manes conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Manes to stop further influx of Vai.^{[citation needed]}

People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. Between 1461 and 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 grains of melegueta pepper. European traders would barter various commodities and goods with local people. When the Kru began trading with Europeans, they initially traded in commodities, but later they actively participated in the African slave trade.^{[citation needed]}

In 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) began sending African American volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed African Americans. By 1867, the ACS had assisted in the movement of more than 13,000 Americans to Liberia.^{[citation needed]} These free African Americans came to identify themselves as Americo-Liberian, developing a cultural tradition infused with American notions of racial supremacy, and political republicanism.^[9]

The ACS, a private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, and James Monroe, believed repatriation was preferable to emancipation of slaves.^[10] Similar organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia. On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution, which, based on the political principles denoted in the United States Constitution, created the independent Republic of Liberia.^[11]^[12]

The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians. The 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes.^[11] In 1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party was the most powerful political power in the country.^[13] Competition for office was usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election.^[13]

Pressure from the United Kingdom and France led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories, which were annexed by adjoining countries.^[14] Economic development was hindered by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late 19th century and by indebtedness on a series of international loans.^[15] In Liberia's early years, the Americo-Liberian settlers periodically encountered stiff and sometimes violent opposition from indigenous Africans who were excluded from citizenship until 1904.^[16]

20th century[edit]

Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920-1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927.

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. Both the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport were built by U.S. personnel through the Lend-Lease program during World War II.^[17] President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment in the country, resulting in the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s.^[17]

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.^[18] Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism, helping to found the Organisation of African Unity.^[19]

Samuel Doe with Caspar Weinbergerduring a visit to the United States, 1982

A technical in Monrovia during the Second Liberian Civil War.

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.^[20] The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country.^[20] 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.^[20]

After Liberia adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent. Doe declared himself President; there never was an election.^[20] On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station.^[21] Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops executed members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.^[21]

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 Côte d'Ivoire, triggering the First Liberian Civil War.^[22] By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed that month by rebel forces.^[23]

The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another, and the Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis.^[23] From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars ensued, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.^[16] A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995 leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997.^[23]

Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to the use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.^[24] 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.^[25]

2000s[edit]

In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.^[25]

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 that same month.^[24] By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia.^[26] Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,^[27] Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in Nigeria,^[28] and a peace deal was signed later that month.^[29] The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,^[30] and an interim government took power the following October.^[31]

The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history.^[32] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa.^[32] Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and immediately handed him over to the SCSL for trial in The Hague.^[33]^[34] In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.^[35]

Geography[edit]

Main article: Geography of Liberia

A map of Liberia

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.^[36]

Tropical rainforests cover the hills, while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.^[36] The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August.^[36] During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents.^[36]

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.^[36]

Liberia's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River.^[36] 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 kilometres (320 mi).^[36]

The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 1,440 metres (4,724 ft) above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands.^[36]However, Mount Nimba near Yekepa, is higher at 1,752 metres (5,748 ft) above sea level but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and is their tallest mountain as well.^[37]

Counties and districts[edit]

Main article: Administrative divisions of Liberia

A clickable map of Liberia exhibiting its fifteen counties.

A view of a lake in Bomi County

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).^[38] Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.^[38]

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.^[39]

map#	County	Capital	Population (2008)^[38]	Area^[38]	Number of districts	Created
1	Bomi	Tubmanburg	82,036	1,942 km² (750 sq mi)	4	1984
2	Bong	Gbarnga	328,919	8,772 km² (3,387 sq mi)	12	1964
3	Gbarpolu	Bopulu	83,758	9,689 km² (3,741 sq mi)	6	2001
4	Grand Bassa	Buchanan	224,839	7,936 km² (3,064 sq mi)	8	1839
5	Grand Cape Mount	Robertsport	129,055	5,162 km² (1,993 sq mi)	5	1844
6	Grand Gedeh	Zwedru	126,146	10,484 km² (4,048 sq mi)	3	1964
7	Grand Kru	Barclayville	57,106	3,895 km² (1,504 sq mi)	18	1984
8	Lofa	Voinjama	270,114	9,982 km² (3,854 sq mi)	6	1964
9	Margibi	Kakata	199,689	2,616 km² (1,010 sq mi)	4	1985
10	Maryland	Harper	136,404	2,297 km² (887 sq mi)	2	1857
11	Montserrado	Bensonville	1,144,806	1,909 km² (737 sq mi)	4	1839
12	Nimba	Sanniquellie	468,088	11,551 km² (4,460 sq mi)	6	1964
13	Rivercess	Rivercess	65,862	5,594 km² (2,160 sq mi)	6	1985
14	River Gee	Fish Town	67,318	5,113 km² (1,974 sq mi)	6	2000
15	Sinoe	Greenville	104,932	10,137 km² (3,914 sq mi)	17	1843

Environmental issues[edit]

Further information: Environmental issues in Liberia

Pygmy hippos are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia.^[40] The World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.^[41]

Endangered species are hunted for human consumption as bushmeat in Liberia.^[40] Species hunted for food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and other monkeys.^[40] Bushmeat is often exported to neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, despite a ban on the cross-border sale of wild animals.^[40]

Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy.^[42] A 2004 public opinion survey found that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst residents of the capital Monrovia as a preferred source of protein.^[42] 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.^[42] The survey was conducted during the last civil war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed to be far higher.^[42]

Liberia is a global biodiversity hotspot - a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.^[43] Liberia hosts the last remaining viable populations of certain species including western chimpanzees, forest elephants and leopards.^[43] Liberia contains a significant portion of West Africa's remaining rainforest, with about 43% of the Upper Guinean forest - an important forest that spans several West African nations.^[43]

Slash-and-burn agriculture is one of the human activities eroding Liberia's natural forests.^[44] A 2004 UN report estimated that 99 per cent of Liberians burnt charcoal and fuel wood for cooking and heating, resulting in deforestation.^[44]

Illegal logging has increased in Liberia since the end of the Second Civil War in 2003.^[43] In 2012 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf granted licenses to companies to cut down 58% of all the primary rainforest left in Liberia.^[43] After international protests, many of those logging permits were canceled.^[43] Liberia and Norway struck an agreement in September 2014 whereby Liberia ceases all logging in exchange for $150 million in development aid.^[43]

Pollution is a significant issue in Liberia's capital city Monrovia.^[45] Since 2006 the international community has paid for all garbage collection and disposal in Monrovia via the World Bank.^[46]

Politics[edit]

Main article: Politics of Liberia

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

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.^[1] 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.^[1]

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.^[1] 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.^[1] Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by a plurality of the popular vote.^[1] 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.^[47] The judicial system is a blend of common law, based on Anglo-American law, and customary law.^[1] 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.^[47]

Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party.^[13] Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups.^[32] Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity.^[32] The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature.^[32]

Corruption[edit]

Further information: Corruption in Liberia

Corruption is endemic at every level of the Liberian government.^[48] When President Sirleaf took office in 2006, she announced that corruption was “the major public enemy.”^[49] 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".^[50]

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.^[51] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.^[52] When seeking attention of a selection of service providers, 89% of Liberians had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.^[53]

Military[edit]

Main article: Armed Forces of Liberia

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 materiel and training assistance from the United States. For most of the 1941–89 period, training was largely provided by U.S. advisers, though this assistance has not prevented the same generally low levels of effectiveness common to most of the armed forces in the developing world.

Foreign relations[edit]

Further information: Foreign relations of Liberia

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.

In the past, both of Liberia's neighbors Guinea and Sierra Leone have accused Liberia of backing rebels inside their countries.^[49]

Law enforcement[edit]

Further information: Law enforcement in Liberia

The Liberian National Police are the national police force of the country.

The Liberian National Police have 844 officers spread across 33 stations in Montserrado County, which contains the capital Monrovia, as of October 2007.^[54] Additionally, the National Police Training Academy is in Montserrado County in Paynesville City.^[55]

Economy and infrastructure[edit]

Main article: Economy of Liberia

A proportional representation of Liberian exports. The shipping related categories reflect Liberia's status as an international flag of convenience - there are 3,500 vessels registered under Liberia's flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.^[56]^[57]

Liberia, trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010.

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%.^[47] GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when it was comparable to Egypt's (at the time).^[58] 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.^[3] 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.^[36]

Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup.^[59]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.^[59] Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007.^[60] The global financial crisisslowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009,^[60] 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.^[61]^[62]

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.^[61] 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.^[63]

A boy grinding sugar cane.

Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises,^[64] reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009.^[60] Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP.^[59] 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.^[65]

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.^[66] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999.^[67] 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.^[68]

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.^[69]^[70] These sanctions were lifted in 2006.^[71] 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.^[61] Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.^[72]

Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006.^[62] Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, Liberia signed several multi-billion dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oilindustries with numerous multinational corporations, including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal, and Sime Darby.^[73] 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.^[74] The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia since 1926.^[75]

Shipping flag of convenience[edit]

Due to its status as a flag of convenience, Liberia has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama, with 3,500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.^[56]^[57]

Telecommunications[edit]

Main article: Communications in Liberia

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).^[76] 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.^[77]

Transportation[edit]

Main article: Transport in Liberia

The streets of downtown Monrovia, March 2009.

Liberia's economic main links to the outside world come through Monrovia, via the port and airport in the capital.

Energy[edit]

Further information: Energy in Liberia

Formal electricity services are solely provided by the state-owned Liberia Electricity Corporation, which operates a small grid almost exclusively in the Greater Monrovia District.^[78] 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.^[78]

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,^[79] while construction of three new heavy fuel oil power plants is expected to boost electrical capacity by 38 MW.^[80] In 2013, Liberia began importing power from neighboring Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea through the West African Power Pool.^[81]

Liberia has begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.^[82] 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.^[83]^[84]^[85] An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.^[86] Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and Woodside Petroleum.^[87]

Society[edit]

Liberia's population from 1961-2013.^[88] Liberia's population tripled in 40 years.^[88]

Liberia's population pyramid, 2005. 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.^[89]

Demographics[edit]

Main article: Demographics of Liberia

As of the 2008 national census, Liberia was home to 3,476,608 people.^[90] Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia, with the Greater Monrovia District home to 970,824 people.^[90] Nimba County is the next most populous county with 462,026 residents.^[90] As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county capitals combined.^[38]

Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628.^[90] The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974.^[38] As of 2006, Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum).^[91] 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.^[89]

Ethnic groups[edit]

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 are the largest ethnic group in Liberia, mostly residing in Bong County and adjacent areas in central Liberia.^[92] Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African American and West Indian, mostly Barbadian or Bajan settlers, make up 2.5%, and Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%.^[1]^[93]

There are also a large number of Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. There is a high percentage of interracial marriage between ethnic Liberians and the Lebanese. Thus creating a large mulatto population especially in and around Monrovia. A small minority of Liberians of European descent reside in the country.^[1] The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship to only people of black African descent.^[94]

Languages[edit]

Further information: Languages of Liberia

English is the official language and serves as the lingua franca of Liberia.^[95] Thirty-one indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which are a first language to more than a small percentage of the population.^[96] Liberians speak a variety of dialects collectively known as Liberian English.^[95]

Largest cities[edit]

v t e Largest cities or towns of Liberia GeoNames
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Monrovia	1	Monrovia	Montserrado	939,524	Kakata
	2	Gbarnga	Bong	45,835
	3	Kakata	Margibi	33,945
	4	Bensonville	Montserrado	33,188
	5	Harper	Maryland	32,661
	6	Voinjama	Lofa	26,594
	7	Buchanan	Grand Bassa	25,731
	8	Zwedru	Grand Gedeh	25,678
	9	New Yekepa	Nimba	24,695
	10	Greenville	Sinoe	16,434

Religion[edit]

Main article: Religion in Liberia

Religion in Liberia^[97]
Religion			percent
Christianity			85.5%
Islam			12.2%
Unaffiliated			1.5%
Indigenous			0.5%
Other			0.1%

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices Christianity. Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. 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. Concurrent participation in gender based indigenous religious secret societies such as Poro and Sande is common, with the all-female Sande society practicing female genital mutilation.^[97] Liberian Muslims are divided into Sunnis, Shias, Ahmadiyyas, Sufis, and non-denominational Muslims^[98]

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right.^[97] While separation of church and state is also mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a Christian state in practice.^[32] Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt out their children. 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.^[97]

Education[edit]

Main article: Education in Liberia

Students studying by candlelight in Bong County

In 2010, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 60.8% (64.8% for males and 56.8% for females).^[99] In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.^[100] 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).^[1] The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.^[101]

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 and today has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.^[102] In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County became the second public university in Liberia.^[103] Cuttington University, established by the Episcopal Church of the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, is the nation's oldest private university. Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.^[104]^[105]^[106]

Health[edit]

Further information: Health in Liberia

The Hospitals in Liberia includes the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia and several others. Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to be 57.4 years in 2012.^[107] With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010.^[108] 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 ^[109] whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.^[110] Approximately 58.2%^[111] - 66%^[112] 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.^[113] In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of 5 were malnourished.^[114] In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.^[115]

Civil war strife ended in 2003 after destroying approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities.^[116] In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,^[117] accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.^[118] In 2008, Liberia had only 1 doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.^[110]

In 2014 an outbreak of Ebola virus in Guinea spread to Liberia.^[119] As of November 17, 2014, there were 2,812 confirmed deaths from the ongoing outbreak.^[120] In early August 2014 Guinea closed its borders to Liberia to help contain the spread of the virus, as more new cases were now being reported in Liberia than in Guinea. On 16 August 2014, a quarantine center in Monrovia was attacked by protesters causing a number of patients being monitored for Ebola to flee, while blood-soaked bedding and other infected items were removed. The incident was seen by officials as a disaster as it had the potential to accelerate the spread of the disease.

Crime[edit]

Rape and sexual assault have persisted 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; targets are largely adolescent girls, and almost 40% of perpetrators are adult men known to victims.^[121]

Culture[edit]

Main article: Culture of Liberia

Bassa culture. Helmet Mask for Sande Society (Ndoli Jowei), Liberia. 20th century. Brooklyn Museum.

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.^[122] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.^[123]

Liberia has a long, 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,^[124] 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.^[125]

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.^[126] Moore's novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.^[127]

Polygamy[edit]

Further information: Polygamy in Liberia

One-third of married Liberian women between the ages of 15-49 are in polygamous marriages.^[128] Customary law allows men to have up to four wives.^[129]

Cuisine[edit]

Main article see Liberian cuisine

A beachside barbeque at Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia

Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.^[130] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu.^[131] Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.^[132]

Sports[edit]

The most popular sport in Liberia is association football, with George Weah (the only African to be named FIFA World Player of the Year) the nation's most famous athlete.^[133] The Liberia national football team has reached the Africa Cup of Nations twice, in 1996 and 2002.

In Liberia, the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex serves as a multi-purpose stadium and hosts sporting events.

Measurement system[edit]

Liberia is one of only three countries that has not officially adopted the International System of Units.^[134] The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of imperial units to the metric system.^[135] However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units.^[136]^[137] A 2008 report from the University of Tennessee stated that the changeover from imperial to metric measures was confusing to coffee and cocoa farmers.^[135]

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Friday, February 6, 2015

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