World Facts

conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
Capital: Monrovia
Type of Government: republic-
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
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 43.6% (male 765,662/female 751,134)
Agriculture: rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber
Airports: 53 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 2
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 111,370 sq km. slightly larger than Tennessee
Background: In August 2003, a comprehensive peace agreement ended 14 years of civil war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was exiled to Nigeria. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON-SIRLEAF to power. The legislative and presidential polls were broadly deemed free and fair despite fraud allegations from JOHNSON-SIRLEAF's rival George WEAH. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains a strong presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament program for former combatants in late 2004, but the security situation is still volatile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish.
Birth rate: 44.22 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $85.4 million
Coastline: 579 km-
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Communications:
Constitution: 6-Jan-86
Currency: Liberian dollar (LRD)-
Current account balance:
Death rate: 17.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $3.2 billion (2005 est.)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Aaron B. KOLLIE
Disputes - international: although Liberia's domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs was declared over in 2003, civil unrest persists, and in 2004, 133,000 Liberian refugees remained in Guinea, 72,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 67,000 in Sierra Leone, and 43,000 in Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone; since 2003, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has maintained about 18,000 peacekeepers in Liberia; the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivoirian rebels; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber-
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor:
Economic aid - recipient: $94 million (1999)
Economy - overview: Civil war and government mismanagement have destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia, while continued international sanctions on diamonds and timber exports will limit growth prospects for the foreseeable future. Many businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some have returned, but many will not. 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. The departure of the former president, Charles TAYLOR, to Nigeria in August 2003, the establishment of the all-inclusive Transitional Government, and the arrival of a UN mission have helped diffuse the political crisis, but have done little to encourage economic development. Wealthy international donors, who are ready to assist recontruction efforts, are withholding funding until Liberia's National Assembly signs onto a Governance and Economic Management Action Plan (GEMAP). The Plan was created in October 2005 by the International Contact Group for Liberia to help ensure transparent revenue collection and allocation - something that was lacking under the Transitional Government and that has limited Liberia's economic recovery. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial support and technical assistance from donor countries.
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Environment - current issues: tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
Environment - International Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
Ethnic groups: indigenous African tribes 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)
Exchange rates: Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003), 61.754 (2002), 48.583 (2001)
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
Exports: $910 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - partners: Denmark 28.1%, Germany 18%, Poland 13.6%, US 8.5%, Greece 7.6%, Thailand 4.8% (2004)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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
GDP (official exchange rate): NA
GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.593 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 76.9%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $700 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W
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-
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 5.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 7,200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 100,000 (2003 est.)-
Heliports:
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA
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
Imports: $4.839 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - partners: South Korea 38.8%, Japan 21.2%, Singapore 12.2%, Croatia 5.3%, Germany 4.2% (2004)
Independence: 26 July 1847
Industrial production growth rate: NA
Industries: rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds
Infant mortality rate: total: 128.87 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (2003 est.)
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Internet country code: .lr
Internet hosts: 14 (2004)
Internet users: 1,000 (2002)-
Investment (gross fixed):
Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court-
Labor force:
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 1,585 km
Land use: arable land: 3.95%
Languages: English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
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
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 38.89 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone-
Major infectious diseases:
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 659,795 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 360,373 (2005 est.)-
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Map references: Africa
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm
Median age: total: 18.06 years
Merchant marine: total: 1,465 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,555,752 GRT/79,125,329 DWT-
Military - note:
Military branches: Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.2% (2004)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Nationality: noun: Liberian(s)-
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: -
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)
Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Oil - consumption: 3,400 bbl/day (2003 est.)-
Oil - exports:
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)-
Oil - proved reserves: -
People - note: -
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN]; Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
Population: 3,482,211 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: 80%
Population growth rate: 2.64% (2005 est.)
Ports and terminals: Buchanan, Monrovia-
Public debt:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001)-
Railways: -
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Religions: indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%-
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Roadways: total: 10,600 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system: general assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia
Telephones - main lines in use: 7,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,000 (2001)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
Total fertility rate: 6.09 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 85% (2003 est.)-
Waterways: