Map of Liberia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Years of civil strife have destroyed much of Liberia's economic infrastructure, made civil administration nearly impossible, and brought economic activity virtually to a halt. The deterioration of economic conditions has been greatly exacerbated by the flight of most business people with their expertise and capital. Civil order ended in 1990 when President Samuel Kenyon DOE was killed by rebel forces.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 111,370 km²
Land: 96,320 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 200 nm
Disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast

Elevation

Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold

Land use: arable land: 1%; permanent crops: 3%; meadows and pastures 2%; forest and woodland 39%; other 55%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 2,462,276 (July 1992), growth rate 29.6% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Liberian(s; adjective - Liberian

Ethnic groups:

Languages:

Religions: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 44 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: 265 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to deforestation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 119 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 59 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 40% (male 50%, female 29%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Liberia

Government type: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 26 July 1847

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)

Constitution: 6 January 1986

Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18
House of Representatives:
President:
Senate: last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (26 total) NDPL 21, LAP 3, UP 1, UPP 1

Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation:
US:

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Civil war during 1990 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Expatriate businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. Political instability threatens prospects for economic reconstruction and repatriation of some 750,000 Liberian refugees who fled to neighboring countries. In 1991, the political impasse between the interim government and the rebel leader Charles Taylor prevented restoration of normal economic life.
GDP: exchange rate conversion - $988 million, per capita $400; real growth rate 1.5% (1988)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and forestry; principal products - rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava, palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in food, imports 25% of rice consumption

Industries: rubber processing, food processing, construction materials, furniture, palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 1.5% in manufacturing (1987; accounts for 22% of GDP

Labor force: 510,000, including 220,000 in the monetary economy; agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and commerce 4.5%, other 14.2%; non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and engineering jobs; 52% of population of working age
Organized labor: 2% of labor force

Unemployment rate: 43% urban (1988)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $242.1 million; expenditures $435.4 million, including capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.)
Commodoties: iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
Partners: US, EC, Netherlands

Imports: $394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.)
Commodoties: rice, mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, other foodstuffs
Partners: US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1 - 1.00 (fixed rate since 1940; unofficial parallel exchange rate of L$7 = US$1, January 1992


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Electricity
Production: 410,000 kW capacity; 750 million kWh produced, 275 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine:
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs