Background: Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847 the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN president from 1944-71 did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic social and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980 a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989 Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years.

Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N 9 30 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 111,370 km²
Land: 96,320 km²
Water: 15,050 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Tennessee

Land boundaries
Total: 1,585 km
Border countries: (3) Guinea 563 km; , Cote d'Ivoire 716 km; , Sierra Leone 306 km

Coastline: 579 km

Maritime claims
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
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m

Natural resources: iron ore timber diamonds gold hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 3.43%
Permanent crops: 1.98%
Other: 94.59% (2005)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 232 km³ (1987)

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

Geography
Note: facing the Atlantic Ocean the coastline is characterized by lagoons mangrove swamps and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture

Population: 3,334,587 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 3.661% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Liberian
Adjective: Liberian

Ethnic groups: indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle Bassa Gio Kru Grebo Mano Krahn Gola Gbandi Loma Kissi Vai Dei Bella Mandingo and Mende) Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves) Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)

Languages: English 20% (official) some 20 ethnic group languages of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence

Religions: Christian 40% Muslim 20% indigenous beliefs 40%

Age structure
0-14 years: 44% (male 734,375/female 731,287)
15-64 years: 53.3% (male 879,848/female 896,319)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 45,175/female 47,583) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 18 years
Male: 17.8 years
Female: 18.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.661% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 42.92 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 21.45 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 15.14 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

Environment
Current issues: tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1 male/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 143.89 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 159.5 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 127.81 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 41.13 years
Male: 39.85 years
Female: 42.46 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.87 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 5.9% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 100,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 7,200 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever
Animal contact disease: rabies (2008)

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 57.5%
Male: 73.3%
Female: 41.6% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 10 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 8 years (2000)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
Conventional short form: Liberia

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Monrovia
Geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 48 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 15 counties; Bomi Bong Gbarpolu Grand Bassa Grand Cape Mount Grand Gedeh Grand Kru Lofa Margibi Maryland Montserrado Nimba River Cess River Gee Sinoe

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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011)
Election results: Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF elected president; percent of vote, second round - Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF 59.6%, George WEAH 40.4%

Legislative branch
Elections: Senate - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011); House of Representatives - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDC 15, LP 9, COTOL 8, UP 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15
Note: junior senators - those who received the second most votes in each county in the 11 October 2005 election - will only serve a six-year first term because the Liberian constitution mandates staggered Senate elections to ensure continuity of government; all senators will be eligible for nine-year terms thereafter

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Roland MASSAQUOI]; Unity Party or UP [Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF]

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU ECOWAS FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ITU ITUC MIGA NAM OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Milton Nathaniel BARNES
In the us chancery: 5,201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,011
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437
In the us fax: [1] (202) 723-0436
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Linda THOMAS-GREENFIELD
From the us embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 98, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [231] 7-705-4,826
From the us fax: [231] 7-701-0370

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

Economy overview: Civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy especially the infrastructure in and around the capital Monrovia. Many businesses fled the country taking capital and expertise with them but with the conclusion of fighting and the installation of a democratically-elected government in 2006 some have returned. Richly endowed with water mineral resources forests and a climate favorable to agriculture Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing mainly foreign owned had been small in scope. President JOHNSON SIRLEAF a Harvard-trained banker and administrator has taken steps to reduce corruption build support from international donors and encourage private investment. Embargos on timber and diamond exports have been lifted opening new sources of revenue for the government. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial and technical assistance from donor countries and foreign investment in key sectors such as infrastructure and power generation.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $1.525 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 9.4% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $500 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 76.9%
Industry: 5.4%
Services: 17.7% (2002 est.)

Agriculture products: rubber coffee cocoa rice cassava (tapioca) palm oil sugarcane bananas; sheep goats; timber

Industries: rubber processing palm oil processing timber diamonds

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force
By occupation agriculture: 70%
By occupation industry: 8%
By occupation services: 22% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 85% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: NA
Expenditures: NA

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.2% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 15.05% (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $1.157 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Current account balance: -$224 million (2007)

Exports: $1.197 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Commodities: rubber timber iron diamonds cocoa coffee
Partners: Malaysia 27.5% Poland 18.5% Germany 11.5% US 10.5% Spain 8.2% Norway 5.5% (2007)

Imports: $7.143 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Commodities: fuels chemicals machinery transportation equipment manufactured goods; foodstuffs
Partners: South Korea 31.4% Singapore 22.1% Japan 14.9% China 10.1% (2007)

Debt external: $3.2 billion (2005 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $NA

Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (LRD) per US dollar - NA (2007) 59.43 (2006) 53.098 (2005) 54.906 (2004) 59.379 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 320 million kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 297.6 million kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 6,900 (2002)
Mobile cellular: 563,000 (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia; coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators
Domestic: fixed line service stagnant and extremely limited; mobile-cellular subscription base growing and teledensity approaching 20 per 100 persons
International: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

Internet
Country code: .lr
Hosts: 7 (2008)
Users: 1000 (2002)

Military expenditures: 1.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Military service age and obligation: 16 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Airports: 53 (2007)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 51
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 8
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 38 (2007)

Railways
Total: 490 km
Standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge
Note: sections of railway are inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil war (2008)

Roadways
Total: 10,600 km
Paved: 657 km
Unpaved: 9,943 km (2000)

Merchant marine
Total: 2,204
By type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 390, cargo 107, chemical tanker 241, combination ore/oil 7, container 750, liquefied gas 84, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 460, refrigerated cargo 103, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 36
Foreign owned: 2,109 (Argentina 3, Belgium 4, Brazil 3, Canada 7, China 11, Croatia 2, Cyprus 63, Denmark 12, Estonia 1, France 5, Germany 849, Gibraltar 5, Greece 358, Hong Kong 44, India 2, Indonesia 2, Isle of Man 5, Israel 23, Italy 41, Japan 116, South Korea 3, Latvia 21, Lebanon 2, Mexico 2, Monaco 8, Netherlands 6, Nigeria 2, Norway 40, Poland 13, Qatar 4, Romania 2, Russia 94, Saudi Arabia 27, Singapore 32, Slovenia 3, Sweden 10, Switzerland 13, Taiwan 91, Turkey 7, Ukraine 25, UAE 23, UK 20, US 98, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 4) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Buchanan Monrovia

Disputes international: although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers as of January 2007 Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea Cote d'Ivoire Sierra Leone and Ghana; Liberia in turn shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004 ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 12,600 (Cote d'Ivoire)
Idps: 13,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2007)

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption criminal activity arms-dealing and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center