Map of Liberia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | 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: Western Africa, bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 111,370 km²
Land: 96,320 km²

Land boundaries: total 1,585 km, Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 200 nm

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%

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)

Geography


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Population: 2,972,766 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 3.33% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Liberian(s)

Ethnic groups: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of repatriated slaves)

Languages: English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group about 20 local languages come from this group

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 3.33% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 43.48 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 12.34 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.16 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 113.3 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 57.73 years
Male: 55.27 years
Female: 60.25 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.36 children born/woman (1994 est.)

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: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Total population: 40%
Male: 50%
Female: 29%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form:

Government type: republic

Capital: Monrovia

Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe

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: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state and head of government:Chairman of the Council of State David KPOMAKPOR (since March 1994; election last held on 15 October 1985 (next scheduled to be held September 1994; results - Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%, Jackson DOE (LAP) 26.4%, other 22.7%; note - President Doe was killed by rebel forces on 9 September 1990

Legislative branch: the ultimate structure of the Liberian military force will depend on who is the victor in the ongoing civil war
Note: the former bicameral legislature no longer exists and there is no assurance that it will ever be reconstituted

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d' Affaires William P. TWADDELL
From the us chancery: 5,201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,011
From the us telephone: [231] 222,991 through 222,994
From the us consulates general: New York
From the us embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 100,098, Mamba Point, Monrovia, or APO AE 9,813
From the us FAX: [231] 223,710

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 since 1990 has destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Businessmen have 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 have fled to neighboring countries. The political impasse between the interim government and rebel leader Charles Taylor has prevented restoration of normal economic life, including the re-establishment of a strong central government with effective economic development programs.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1.5% (1988)

Real gdp per capita ppp

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, 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: NA% (1993-94; much industrial damage caused by factional warfare

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

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

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

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.)
Commodities: iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
Partners: US, EC, Netherlands

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

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $2.1 billion (September 1993 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

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


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 750 million kWh

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 275 kWh (1991)

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $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: 59
Usable: 41
With permanentsurface runways: 2
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 1
With runways 1220-2439 m: 4

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine: 1,595 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 56,923,236 GRT/97,692,316 DWT, barge carrier 3, bulk 423, cargo 126, chemical 122, combination bulk 30, combination ore/oil 64, container 112, liquefied gas 67, oil tanker 468, passenger 32, refrigerated cargo 61, roll-on/roll-off cargo 19, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier 59
Note: a flag of convenience registry; all ships are foreign owned; the top 4 owning flags are US 14%, Japan 13%, Norway 10%, and Hong Kong 8%

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: increasingly a transshipment point for heroin and cocaine