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Country Information > West Africa > Liberia Background [ Geography ] [ People ] [ Government ] [ Economy ] [ Communications ] [ Transportation ] [ Military ]
Background: Seven years of civil strife were brought to a close in 1996 when free and open presidential and legislative elections were held. President TAYLOR now holds strong executive power with no real political opposition. The years of fighting coupled with the flight of most businesses has disrupted formal economic activity. A still unsettled domestic security situation has slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country. Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W Area: Land boundaries: Coastline: 579 km Maritime claims: 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: Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower Land use: Irrigated land: 30 sq km (2003) Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) Environment - current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage Environment
- international agreements: Population: 3,164,156 (July 2000 est.); 3,288,198 (July 2002 est.); 3,334,587 (July 2008 est.) Age structure: Population growth rate: 1.94% (2000 est.); 1.91% (2002 est.); 3.661% (2008 est.) Birth rate: 47.22 births/1,000 population (2000 est.); 45.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.); 42.92 births/1,000 population (2008 est.) Death rate: 16.58 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.); 16.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.); 21.45 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) Net migration rate: -11.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.); -10.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population; 15.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.) Sex ratio: Infant mortality rate: 134.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.); 130.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.); 143.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) Life expectancy
at birth: Total fertility rate: 6.43 children born/woman (2000 est.); 6.29 children born/woman (2002 est.); 5.87 children born/woman (2008 est.) Nationality: Ethnic groups: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), 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) Religions: indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% Languages: English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence Literacy: Country name: Government type: republic National capital: Monrovia Administrative divisions: Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, 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 Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: Legislative
branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate
(26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year
terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected
by
popular vote to serve six-year terms) Judicial branch: Supreme Court Political parties and leaders: All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [David KORTIE]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [George BORWAH]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian National Union or LINU [Victor MOMOH]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Isaac D. DIKENAH]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Weah A. WEAH]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [James THOMAS]; True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN]; United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles Clarke] International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO 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. GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.85 billion (1999 est.); $3.6 billion (2001 est.); $1.498 billion (2007 est.) GDP - 0.5% (1999 est.); 5% (2001 est.); 8.5% (2007 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1999 est.); $1,100 (2001 est.); $500 (2007 est.) GDP - composition
by sector: Population below poverty line: 80% (2000 est.) Unemployment rate: 85% (2003 est.) Inflation rate - consumer prices: 50% (1994 est.); 3% (1998 est.); 8% (2001 est.); 15% (2003 est.) Labor force: Industries: rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds Industrial production growth rate: 0% Electricity - production: 1.05 billion kWh (1991); 490 million kWh (1998); 450 million kWh (2000); 319.3 million kWh (2005) Electricity - consumption: 498 million kWh (1998); 716.1 million kWh (2000); 296.9 million kWh (2005) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2005) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2005) Agriculture - products: rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber Exports: Imports: Debt - external: $3 billion (1999 est.); $2.1 billion (2000 est.); $3.2 billion (2005 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $236.2 million (2005) Currency: 1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 59.43 (2006), 53.098 (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003) Fiscal year: calendar year Telephones: less than 25,000 (1991 est.); 5,000 (1995); 6,700 (2000); 6,900 (2002) Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1995); 0 (1998); 160,000 (2005) Telephone
system: 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 Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 6, shortwave 4 (1999);AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001); AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2007) Radios: 790,000 (1997) Television broadcast stations: 4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2007) Televisions: 70,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA Railways: total: 490 km Highways: Ports and harbors: Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia Merchant marine: Airports: 45 (1999 est.); 47 (2001); 53 (2007) Airports - with paved runways: Airports - with unpaved runways: Military branches: Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force Military manpower
- availability: Military manpower - fit for
military service: Military expenditures - percent of
GDP: 2% (FY98); 1.3% (FY01); 1.3% (2006 est.)
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