లైబీరియా: కూర్పుల మధ్య తేడాలు

రిపబ్లిక్ ఆఫ్ లైబీరియా
రిపబ్లిక్ ఆఫ్ లైబీరియా;
	జండా Coat of arms
	నినాదం: "The love of liberty brought us here"
	గీతం: All Hail, Liberia, Hail!;
	Location of లైబీరియా (dark blue) – in Africa (light blue & dark grey); – in the African Union (light blue)
రాజధాని; and largest city	Monrovia; 6°19′N 10°48′W / 6.317°N 10.800°W
అధికార భాషలు	English
Spoken and national languages	Liberian English;
జాతులు (2008)	20.3% Kpelle; 13.4% Bassa; 10.0% Grebo; 8.0% Gio; 7.9% Mano; 6.0% Kru; 5.1% Lorma; 4.8% Kissi; 4.4% Gola; 20.1% others;
మతం	Christianity (85.6%), Islam (12.2%), Others (2.2%)
పిలుచువిధం	Liberian
ప్రభుత్వం	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
• Vice President	Joseph Boakai
• Speaker of the House	Alex J. Tyler
• Chief Justice	Francis Korkpor, Sr.
శాసనవ్యవస్థ	Legislature of Liberia
• ఎగువ సభ	Senate
• దిగువ సభ	House of Representatives
Formation and Independence
• Settlement by the American Colonization Society	January 7, 1822
• Liberian Declaration of Independence	July 26, 1847
• Annexation of Republic of Maryland	March 18, 1857
• Recognition by the United States	February 5, 1862
• Current constitution	January 6, 1986
విస్తీర్ణం
• మొత్తం	111,369 కి.మీ2 (43,000 చ. మై.) (103rd)
• నీరు (%)	13.514
జనాభా
• 2015 estimate	4,503,000 (125th)
• 2008 census	3,476,608 (130th)
• జనసాంద్రత	40.43/చ.కి. (104.7/చ.మై.) (180th)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$3.879 billion
• Per capita	$881
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$2.106 billion
• Per capita	$478
జినీ (2007)	38.2; medium
హెచ్‌డిఐ (2015)	0.427; low · 177th
ద్రవ్యం	Liberian dollara (LRD)
కాల విభాగం	UTC+0 (GMT)
వాహనాలు నడుపు వైపు	right
ఫోన్ కోడ్	+231
Internet TLD	.lr

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08:13, 26 జూలై 2017 నాటి కూర్పు

6°30′N 9°30′W / 6.500°N 9.500°W / 6.500; -9.500

Liberia /laɪˈbɪəriə/ ( listen), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and Ivory Coast to its east. It covers an area of 111,369 square కిలోmeters (43,000 చ. మై.) and has a population of 4,503,000 people.^[3] English is the official language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, representing the numerous tribes who make up more than 95% of the population. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia.

Forests on the coastline are composed mostly of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, while the more sparsely populated inland has forests opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands. The climate is equatorial, with significant rainfall during the May–October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia possesses about forty percent of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. It was an important producer of rubber in the early 20th century.

The Republic of Liberia began as a settlement of the American Colonization Society (ACS), who believed blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the United States.^[7] The country declared its independence on July 26, 1847. The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence.^[8] The U.S. did not recognize Liberia's independence until during the American Civil War on February 5, 1862. Between January 7, 1822 and the American Civil War, more than 15,000 freed and free-born blacks, who faced legislated limits in the U.S., and 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to the settlement.^[9] The black settlers carried their culture with them to Liberia. The Liberian constitution and flag were modeled after those of the U.S. On January 3, 1848, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a wealthy, free-born African American from Virginia who settled in Liberia, was elected as Liberia's first president after the people proclaimed independence.^[9]

Liberia is the only African republic to have self-proclaimed independence without gaining independence through revolt from any other power, and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. Liberia retained its independence during the Scramble for Africa. During World War II, Liberia supported the United States war efforts against Germany and in turn the U.S. invested in considerable infrastructure in Liberia to help its war effort, which also aided the country in modernizing and improving its major air transportation facilities. In addition, President William Tubman encouraged economic changes. Internationally, Liberia was a founding member of the League of Nations, United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity.

Political tensions from the rule of William R. Tolbert resulted in a military coup in 1980 that overthrew his leadership soon after his death, marking the beginning of years-long political instability. Five years of military rule by the People's Redemption Council and five years of civilian rule by the National Democratic Party of Liberia were followed by the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars. These resulted in the deaths and displacement of more than half a million people and devastated Liberia's economy. A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005, in which Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President. Recovery proceeds but about 85% of the population live below the international poverty line. Liberia's economic and political stability was threatened in the 2010s by an Ebola virus epidemic; it originated in Guinea in December 2013, entered Liberia in March 2014, and was declared officially ended on May 8, 2015.^[10]^[11]^[12]

History

A European map of West Africa and the Grain Coast, 1736. It has the archaic mapping designation of Negroland.

The Pepper Coast, also known as the Grain Coast, has been inhabited by indigenous peoples of Africa at least as far back as the 12th century. Mende-speaking people expanded westward from the Sudan, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were some of the earliest documented peoples in the area.^[13]

This influx of these groups was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic Mali Empire in 1375 and the Songhai Empire in 1591. Additionally, as inland regions underwent desertification, inhabitants moved to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai empires.^[13] Shortly after the Mane conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount County region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Mane to stop further influx of Vai.^[14]

People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. Arab traders entered the region from the north, and a long-established slave trade took captives to north and east Africa.

Early settlement

Between 1461 and the late 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area Costa da Pimenta ("Pepper Coast") but it later came to be known as the Grain Coast, due to the abundance of melegueta pepper grains. European traders would barter commodities and goods with local people.

In the United States, there was a movement to resettle free-born blacks and freed slaves who faced racial discrimination in the form of political disenfranchisement, and the denial of civil, religious and social privileges in the United States.^[15] Most whites and later a small cadre of black nationalists believed that blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.^[7] The American Colonization Society was founded in 1816 in Washington, DC for this purpose, by a group of prominent politicians and slaveholders. But its membership grew to include mostly people who supported abolition of slavery. Slaveholders wanted to get free people of color out of the South, where they were thought to threaten the stability of the slave societies. Some abolitionists collaborated on relocation of free blacks, as they were discouraged by racial discrimination against them in the North and believed they would never be accepted in the larger society.^[16] Most blacks, who were native-born by this time, wanted to work toward justice in the United States rather than emigrate.^[7] Leading activists in the North strongly opposed the ACS, but some free blacks were ready to try a different environment.

In 1822, the American Colonization Society began sending black volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed blacks. By 1867, the ACS (and state-related chapters) had assisted in the migration of more than 13,000 blacks to Liberia.^[17] These free African-Americans and their descendants married within their community and came to identify as Americo-Liberians. Many were of mixed race and educated in American culture; they did not identify with the indigenous natives of the tribes they encountered. They intermarried largely within the colonial community, developing an ethnic group that had a cultural tradition infused with American notions of political republicanism and Protestant Christianity.^[18]

Map of Liberia Colony in the 1830s, created by the ACS, and also showing Mississippi Colony and other state-sponsored colonies.

The ACS, the private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, and James Monroe, believed repatriation of free African Americans was preferable to widespread emancipation of slaves.^[16] Similar state-based organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa and the Republic of Maryland, which were later annexed by Liberia.

The Americo-Liberian settlers did not identify with the indigenous peoples they encountered, especially those in communities of the more isolated "bush." They knew nothing of their cultures, languages or animist religion. Encounters with tribal Africans in the bush often developed as violent confrontations. The colonial settlements were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their inland chiefdoms. Because of feeling set apart and superior by their culture and education to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians developed as a small elite that held on to political power. It excluded the indigenous tribesmen from birthright citizenship in their own lands until 1904, in a repetition of the United States' treatment of Native Americans.^[19] Because of ethnocentrism and the cultural gap, the Americo-Liberians envisioned creating a western-style state to which the tribesmen should assimilate. They promoted religious organizations to set up missions and schools to educate the indigenous peoples.

Government

On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution. Based on the political principles denoted in the United States Constitution, it established the independent Republic of Liberia.^[20]^[21] The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence.^[8]

The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians, who initially established political and economic dominance in the coastal areas that had been purchased by the ACS; they maintained relations with United States contacts in developing these areas and the resulting trade. Their passage of the 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes, ostensibly to "encourage the growth of civilized values" before such trade was allowed in the region.^[20]

By 1877, the Americo-Liberian True Whig Party was the most powerful political power in the country.^[22] It was made up primarily of people from the Americo-Liberian ethnic group, who maintained social, economic and political dominance well into the 20th century, repeating patterns of European colonists in other nations in Africa. Competition for office was usually contained within the party; a party nomination virtually ensured election.^[22]

Pressure from the United Kingdom, which controlled Sierra Leone to the west, and France with its interests in the north and east led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories. Both Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast annexed some territories.^[23] Liberia struggled to attract investment in order to develop infrastructure and a larger, industrial economy.

There was a decline in production of Liberian goods in the late 19th century, and the government struggled financially, resulting in indebtedness on a series of international loans.^[24] On July 16, 1892, Martha Ann Erskine Ricks met Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle and presented her a hand made quilt, Liberia's first diplomatic gift. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Ricks stated, "I had heard it often, from the time I was a child, how good the Queen had been to my people – to slaves – and how she wanted us to be free."^[8]

20th century

Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927.

American and other international interests emphasized resource extraction, with rubber production a major industry in the early 20th century.^[25]

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. During World War II, the United States made major infrastructure improvements to support its military efforts in Africa and Europe against the Nazis. It built the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport under the Lend-Lease program before its entry into the second world war.^[26]

After the war, President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment in the country. Liberia had the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s.^[26]

Liberia also began to take a more active role in international affairs. It was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and became a vocal critic of the South African apartheid regime.^[27] Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of Pan-Africanism, and helped to fund the Organisation of African Unity.^[28]

Samuel Doe with Caspar Weinberger during a visit to the United States, 1982

A technical in Monrovia during the Second Liberian Civil War.

On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert, Jr.. Doe and the other plotters later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members.^[29] The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country.^[29] A strategic Cold War ally of the West, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.^[29]

After Liberia adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections, which were internationally condemned as fraudulent.^[29] On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station.^[30] Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops retaliated by executing members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.^[30]

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. This triggered the First Liberian Civil War.^[31] By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed in that month by rebel forces.^[32]

The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another. The Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis.^[32] From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars broke out, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.^[19] A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997.^[32]

Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a pariah state due to its use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.^[33] The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor.^[34]

2000s

In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.^[34] Peace talks between the factions began in Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity the same month.^[33] By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia.^[35] Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,^[36] Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in Nigeria.^[37]

A peace deal was signed later that month.^[38] The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,^[39] and an interim government took power the following October.^[40]

The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history.^[41] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa.^[41] Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and transferred him to the SCSL for trial in The Hague.^[42]^[43]

In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.^[44]

Geography

Liberia map of Köppen climate classification.

Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and 9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.

The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.^[45]

Tropical rainforests cover the hills, while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.^[45] The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August.^[45] During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents.^[45]

Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the border with Sierra Leone receives the most precipitation in the nation.^[45]

Liberia's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River.^[45] Liberia's three largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia, the river St. John at Buchanan and the Cestos River, all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at 515 కిలోమీటర్లు (320 మై.).^[45]

The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 1,440 మీటర్లు (4,724 అ.) above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands.^[45] However, Mount Nimba near Yekepa, is higher at 1,752 మీటర్లు (5,748 అ.) above sea level but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and Ivory Coast and is their tallest mountain as well.^[46]

Counties and districts

మూస:Counties of Liberia Image Map

Liberia is divided into fifteen counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 90 districts and further subdivided into clans. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at 11,551 కి.మీ² (4,460 చ. మై.), while Montserrado is the smallest at 1,909 కి.మీ² (737 చ. మై.).^[47] Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.^[47]

The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of various chiefs at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints.^[48]

Map #	County	Capital	Population (2008 Census)^[47]	Area (km²)^[47]	Number of Districts	Date Created
1	Bomi	Tubmanburg	82,036	1,942 కి.మీ² (750 చ. మై.)	4	1984
2	Bong	Gbarnga	328,919	8,772 కి.మీ² (3,387 చ. మై.)	12	1964
3	Gbarpolu	Bopolu	83,758	9,689 కి.మీ² (3,741 చ. మై.)	6	2001
4	Grand Bassa	Buchanan	224,839	7,936 కి.మీ² (3,064 చ. మై.)	8	1839
5	Grand Cape Mount	Robertsport	129,055	5,162 కి.మీ² (1,993 చ. మై.)	5	1844
6	Grand Gedeh	Zwedru	126,146	10,484 కి.మీ² (4,048 చ. మై.)	3	1964
7	Grand Kru	Barclayville	57,106	3,895 కి.మీ² (1,504 చ. మై.)	18	1984
8	Lofa	Voinjama	270,114	9,982 కి.మీ² (3,854 చ. మై.)	6	1964
9	Margibi	Kakata	199,689	2,616 కి.మీ² (1,010 చ. మై.)	4	1985
10	Maryland	Harper	136,404	2,297 కి.మీ² (887 చ. మై.)	2	1857
11	Montserrado	Bensonville	1,144,806	1,909 కి.మీ² (737 చ. మై.)	4	1839
12	Nimba	Sanniquellie	468,088	11,551 కి.మీ² (4,460 చ. మై.)	6	1964
13	Rivercess	Rivercess	65,862	5,594 కి.మీ² (2,160 చ. మై.)	6	1985
14	River Gee	Fish Town	67,318	5,113 కి.మీ² (1,974 చ. మై.)	6	2000
15	Sinoe	Greenville	104,932	10,137 కి.మీ² (3,914 చ. మై.)	17	1843

Environmental issues

Pygmy hippos are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia.^[49] The World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.^[50]

Endangered species are hunted for human consumption as bushmeat in Liberia.^[49] Species hunted for food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and other monkeys.^[49] Bushmeat is often exported to neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, despite a ban on the cross-border sale of wild animals.^[49]

Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy.^[51] A 2004 public opinion survey found that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst residents of the capital Monrovia as a preferred source of protein.^[51] Of households where bushmeat was served, 80% of residents said they cooked it "once in a while," while 13% cooked it once a week and 7% cooked bushmeat daily.^[51] The survey was conducted during the last civil war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed to be far higher.^[51]

Liberia is a global biodiversity hotspot – a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.^[52] Liberia hosts the last remaining viable populations of certain species including western chimpanzees, forest elephants and leopards.^[52] Liberia contains a significant portion of West Africa's remaining rainforest, with about 43% of the Upper Guinean forest – an important forest that spans several West African nations.^[52]

Slash-and-burn agriculture is one of the human activities eroding Liberia's natural forests.^[53] A 2004 UN report estimated that 99 per cent of Liberians burnt charcoal and fuel wood for cooking and heating, resulting in deforestation.^[53]

Illegal logging has increased in Liberia since the end of the Second Civil War in 2003.^[52] In 2012 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf granted licenses to companies to cut down 58% of all the primary rainforest left in Liberia.^[52] After international protests, many of those logging permits were canceled.^[52] Liberia and Norway struck an agreement in September 2014 whereby Liberia ceases all logging in exchange for $150 million in development aid.^[52]

Pollution is a significant issue in Liberia's capital city Monrovia.^[54] Since 2006 the international community has paid for all garbage collection and disposal in Monrovia via the World Bank.^[55]

Politics

The government of Liberia, modeled on the government of the United States, is a unitary constitutional republic and representative democracy as established by the Constitution. The government has three co-equal branches of government: the executive, headed by the president; the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and several lower courts.

The president serves as head of government, head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.^[2] Among the other duties of the president are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges and other public officials. Together with the vice president, the president is elected to a six-year term by majority vote in a two-round system and can serve up to two terms in office.^[2]

The Legislature is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House, led by a speaker, has 73 members apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis of the national census, with each county receiving a minimum of two members.^[2] Each House member represents an electoral district within a county as drawn by the National Elections Commission and is elected by a plurality of the popular vote of their district into a six-year term. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators.^[2] Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by a plurality of the popular vote.^[2] The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in their absence.

Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia. Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate courts and justices of the peace.^[56] The judicial system is a blend of common law, based on Anglo-American law, and customary law.^[2] An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with trial by ordeal remaining common despite being officially outlawed.^[56]

Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party.^[22] Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups.^[41] Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity.^[41] The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature.^[41]

Corruption

Corruption is endemic at every level of the Liberian government.^[57] When President Sirleaf took office in 2006, she announced that corruption was "the major public enemy."^[58] In 2014 the US ambassador to Liberia stated that corruption there was harming people through "unnecessary costs to products and services that are already difficult for many Liberians to afford".^[59]

Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. This gave it a ranking 87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[60] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.^[61] When dealing with public-facing government functionaries 89% of Liberians say they have had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.^[62]

Military

The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, the military was retitled in 1956. For virtually all of its history, the AFL has received considerable material and training assistance from the United States. For most of the 1941–89 period, training was largely provided by U.S. advisers.

Foreign relations

President Sirleaf with John Kerry and British PM David Cameron in September 2015

After the turmoil following the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars, Liberia's internal stabilization in the 21st century brought a return to cordial relations with neighboring countries and much of the Western world.

In the past, both of Liberia's neighbors, Guinea and Sierra Leone, have accused Liberia of backing rebels inside their countries.^[58]

Law enforcement

The Liberian National Police are the national police force of the country. It has 844 officers in 33 stations in Montserrado County, which contains the capital Monrovia, as of October 2007.^[63] The National Police Training Academy is in Montserrado County in Paynesville City.^[64]

Economy and infrastructure

A proportional representation of Liberian exports. The shipping related categories reflect Liberia's status as an international flag of convenience – there are 3,500 vessels registered under Liberia's flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.^[65]^[66]

Liberia, trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010.

The Central Bank of Liberia is responsible for printing and maintaining the Liberian dollar, which is the primary form of currency in Liberia. Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of 15%.^[56] GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when it was comparable to Egypt's (at the time).^[67] In 2011, the country's nominal GDP was US$1.154 billion, while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$297, the third-lowest in the world.^[4] Historically, the Liberian economy has depended heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment and exports of natural resources such as iron ore, rubber and timber.^[45]

Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup.^[68] This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in history.^[68] Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007.^[69] The global financial crisis slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009,^[69] though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011, making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing in the world.^[70]^[71]

Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high dollarization of the economy.^[70] Liberia used the United States dollar as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian dollar.^[72]

Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises,^[73] reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009.^[69] Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP.^[68] As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007 to 2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.^[74]

While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.^[75] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999.^[76] This led to a United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.^[77]

In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone.^[78]^[79] These sanctions were lifted in 2006.^[80] Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008.^[70] Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.^[81]

Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006.^[71] Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, Liberia signed several multibillion-dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations, including BHP Billiton, ArcelorMittal, and Sime Darby.^[82] Especially palm oil companies like Sime Darby (Malaysia) and Golden Veroleum (USA) are being accused by critics of the destruction of livelihoods and the displacement of local communities, enabled through government concessions.^[83] The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia since 1926.^[84]

Shipping flag of convenience

Due to its status as a flag of convenience, Liberia has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama. It has 3500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.^[65]^[66]

Telecommunications

There are six major newspapers in Liberia, and 45% of the population has a mobile phone service. Much of Liberia's communications infrastructure was destroyed or plundered during the two civil wars (1989–1996 and 1999–2003).^[85] With low rates of adult literacy and high poverty rates, television and newspaper use is limited, leaving radio as the predominant means of communicating with the public.^[86]

Transportation

The streets of downtown Monrovia, March 2009.

Liberia's economic main links to the outside world come through Monrovia, via the port and airport in the capital.

Energy

Formal electricity services are provided solely by the state-owned Liberia Electricity Corporation, which operates a small grid almost exclusively in the Greater Monrovia District.^[87] The vast majority of electric energy services is provided by small privately owned generators. At $0.54 per kWh, the electricity tariff in Liberia is among the highest in the world. Total installed capacity in 2013 was 20 MW, a sharp decline from a peak of 191 MW in 1989 before the wars.^[87]

Completion of the repair and expansion of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant, with a maximum capacity of 80 MW, is scheduled to be completed by 2018.^[88] Construction of three new heavy fuel oil power plants is expected to boost electrical capacity by 38 MW.^[89] In 2013, Liberia began importing power from neighboring Ivory Coast and Guinea through the West African Power Pool.^[90]

Liberia has begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.^[91] The government divided its offshore waters into 17 blocks and began auctioning off exploration licenses for the blocks in 2004, with further auctions in 2007 and 2009.^[92]^[93]^[94] An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.^[95] Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol, Chevron, Anadarko and Woodside Petroleum.^[96]

Demographics

Liberia's population from 1961–2013.^[97] Liberia's population tripled in 40 years.^[97]

Liberia's population pyramid, 2005. 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.^[98]

As of the 2017 national census, Liberia was home to 4,694,608 people.^[99] Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia. The Greater Monrovia District has 970,824 residents.^[100] Nimba County is the next most populous county, with 462,026 residents.^[100] As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county capitals combined.^[47]

Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628.^[100] The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974.^[47] As of 2006^[update], Liberia has the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum).^[101] In 2010 some 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15.^[98]

Ethnic groups

The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95 percent of the population. The 16 officially recognized ethnic groups include the Kpelle, Bassa, Mano, Gio or Dan, Kru, Grebo, Krahn, Vai, Gola, Mandingo or Mandinka, Mende, Kissi, Gbandi, Loma, Fante, Dei or Dewoin, Belleh, and Americo-Liberians or Congo people.

The Kpelle comprise more than 20% of the population and are the largest ethnic group in Liberia, residing mostly in Bong County and adjacent areas in central Liberia.^[102] Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African American and West Indian, mostly Barbadian settlers, make up 2.5%. Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%.^[2]^[103] These latter two groups established political control in the 19th century which they kept well into the 20th century.

Numerous immigrants have come as merchants and become a major part of the business community, including Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals. There is a high percentage of interracial marriage between ethnic Liberians and the Lebanese, resulting in a significant mixed-race population especially in and around Monrovia. A small minority of Liberians who are White Africans of European descent reside in the country.^{[better source needed]}^[2] The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship to people of African descent.^[104]

Languages

English is the official language and serves as the lingua franca of Liberia.^[105] Thirty-one indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which is a first language to more than a small percentage of the population.^[106] Liberians also speak a variety of creolized dialects collectively known as Liberian English.^[105]

Largest cities

మూస:Largest cities of Liberia

Religion

Religion in Liberia^[107]
Religion			percent
Christianity			85.5%
Islam			12.2%
Unaffiliated			1.5%
Indigenous			0.5%
Other			0.1%

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices Christianity. A multitude of diverse Protestant confessions such as Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and AME Zion denominations form the bulk of Christians, followed by adherents of the Roman Catholic Church. Most of these denominations were brought by African American settlers moving from the United States into Liberia, while some are indigenous—especially Pentecostal and Evangelical Protestant ones.

Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely represented by the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Sunnis, Shias, Ahmadiyyas, Sufis, and non-denominational Muslims constitute the bulk of the Liberian Muslims.^[108]

Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by 0.5% of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to no religion. A small number of people are Bahá'í, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist. While Christian, many Liberians also participate in traditional, gender-based indigenous religious secret societies, such as Poro for men and Sande for women. The all-female Sande society practices female circumcision.^[107]

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right.^[107] While separation of church and state is mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a Christian state in practice.^[41] Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt their children out. Commerce is prohibited by law on Sundays and major Christian holidays. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.^[107]

Education

Students studying by candlelight in Bong County

In 2010, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 60.8% (64.8% for males and 56.8% for females).^[109] In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.^[110] In other areas children are required to pay a tuition fee to attend school. On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls).^[2] The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.^[111]

Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862. Today it has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.^[112]

Cuttington University was established by the Episcopal Church of the USA in 1889 in Suakoko, Bong County, as part of its missionary education work among indigenous peoples. It is the nation's oldest private university.

In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County was established as the second public university in Liberia.^[113] Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.^[114]^[115]^[116]

Health

Hospitals in Liberia include the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia and several others. Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to be 57.4 years in 2012.^[117] With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010.^[118] A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria. In 2007, the HIV infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49 ^[119] whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.^[120] Approximately 58.2%^[121] – 66%^[122] of women are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation.

Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages.^[123] In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of five were malnourished.^[124] In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.^[125]

Civil war ended in 2003 after destroying approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities.^[126] In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,^[127] accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.^[128] In 2008, Liberia had only one doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.^[120]

In 2014 an outbreak of Ebola virus in Guinea spread to Liberia.^[129] As of November 17, 2014, there were 2,812 confirmed deaths from the ongoing outbreak.^[130] In early August 2014 Guinea closed its borders to Liberia to help contain the spread of the virus, as more new cases were being reported in Liberia than in Guinea. On May 9, 2015 Liberia was declared Ebola free after six weeks with no new cases.^[131]

According to an Overseas Development Institute report, private health expenditure accounts for 64.1% of total spending on health.^[132]

Crime

Rape and sexual assault are frequent in the post-conflict era in Liberia. The country has one of the highest incidences of sexual violence against women in the world. Rape is the most frequently reported crime, accounting for more than one-third of sexual violence cases. Adolescent girls are the most frequently assaulted, and almost 40% of perpetrators are adult men known to victims.^[133]

Both male and female homosexuality is illegal in Liberia.^[134] On 20 July 2012, the Liberian senate voted unanimously to enact legislation to prohibit and criminalize same-sex marriages.^[135]

Culture

The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. The settlers wore top hat and tails and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners.^[136] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.^[137]

Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,^[138] who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.^[139]

A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors.^[140] Moore's novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.^[141]

Polygamy

One-third of married Liberian women between the ages of 15–49 are in polygamous marriages.^[142] Customary law allows men to have up to four wives.^[143]

Cuisine

A beachside barbeque at Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia

Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.^[144] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chillies are popular and eaten with fufu.^[145] Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.^[146]

Sport

The most popular sport in Liberia is association football, with George Weah — the only African to be named FIFA World Player of the Year — being the nation's most famous athlete.^[147] The Liberia national football team has reached the Africa Cup of Nations twice, in 1996 and 2002.

The second most popular sport in Liberia is basketball. The Liberian national basketball team has reached the AfroBasket twice, in 1983 and 2007.

In Liberia, the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex serves as a multi-purpose stadium. It hosts FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in addition to international concerts and national political events.^[148]

Measurement system

Liberia is one of only three countries that have not officially adopted the International System of Units (metric system), the others being the United States and Myanmar.^[149] The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of imperial units to the metric system.^[150] However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units.^[151]^[152]

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↑ "Liberia's Ugly Past: Re-writing Liberian History". Theperspective.org. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
↑ "Lebanese demand Liberia poll rights". BBC News. July 22, 2005.
↑ ^105.0 ^105.1 Moore, Jina (October 19, 2009). "Liberia: Ma Ellen talk plenty plenty Liberian English". Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ "Languages of Liberia". Ethnologue. 2009. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ ^107.0 ^107.1 ^107.2 ^107.3 "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia". United States Department of State. November 17, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2013
↑ "Education profile – Liberia". Institute for Statistics. UNESCO. 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
↑ "LIBERIA: Go to school or go to jail". IRN. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. September 21, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
↑ Trawally, Sidiki; Reeves, Derek (2009). "Making Quality Education Affordable And Assessable To All—Prez. Sirleaf's Vision With Passion". Lift Liberia. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
↑ Jallah, David A. B. "Notes, Presented by Professor and Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, David A. B. Jallah to the International Association of Law Schools Conference Learning From Each Other: Enriching the Law School Curriculum in an Interrelated World Held at Soochow University Kenneth Wang School of Law, Suzhou, China, October 17–19, 2007." International Association of Law Schools. Retrieved on September 1, 2008.
↑ "Ellen Describes Tubman University's Opening As PRS Success". The New Dawn. March 3, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
↑ "Remarks by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf At Official Launch and Fundraising Program Of the Grand Bassa Community College" (PDF). The Executive Mansion. October 21, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ Fahn, Peter A. (July 7, 2011). "Government Moves Ahead With Education Decentralization Plans". Government Moves Ahead with Education Decentralization Plans. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
↑ "July 26 Celebrations Kick Off in Lofa As President Sirleaf Arrives". The Executive Mansion. July 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
↑ "CIA World Factbook: Life Expectancy ranks". CIA. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
↑ "The State of the World's Midwifery 2011: Liberia" (PDF). United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
↑ "Data: Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15–49)". The World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
↑ ^120.0 ^120.1 "Liberia: Health profile" (PDF). World Health Organization. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
↑ "Female genital mutilation (FGM)". World Health Organization.
↑ UNICEF 2013, p. 27.
↑ "Liberia: Nurtitional "crisis" in Monrovia". Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
↑ "Data: Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5). The". World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
↑ "Data: Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)". The World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
↑ "Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system". Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
↑ "Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$)". World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
↑ "Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)". World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
↑ Toweh, Alphonso (March 30, 2014). "Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO". Reuters. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
↑ "How Liberia (Might Have) Beat Ebola". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
↑ "Wonderful News Liberia after plague". The Economist. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
↑ Marc DuBois and Caitlin Wake, with Scarlett Sturridge and Christina Bennett (2015) The Ebola response in West Africa: Exposing the politics and culture of international aid London: Overseas Development Institute
↑ Nicola Jones, Janice Cooper, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall and David Walker, June 2014; "The fallout of rape as a weapon of war", ODI; http://www.odi.org/publications/8464-rape-weapon-war-liberia
↑ "State Sponsored Homophobia 2016: A world survey of sexual orientation laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition" (PDF). International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. 17 May 2016.
↑ "Senate Passes 'No Same Sex Marriage' Bill ", Daily Observer, 21 July 2012
↑ Wiltz, Teresa (December 2, 2010). "Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie". The Root. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
↑ "Monrovia—Masonic Grand Lodge". Global Security. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
↑ "Martha Ricks". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
↑ "Liberia: It's the Little Things—A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency". allAfrica.com. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
↑ Kamara, Varney (July 20, 2010). "Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority"". The Analyst. allAfrica.com. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
↑ Doe, J. Kpanneh (October 31, 2000). "Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb – A Book Review & Commentary". The Perspective. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
↑ OECD Atlas of Gender and Development: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, 2010. p 236.
↑ Olukoju, Ayodeji. "Gender Roles, Marriage and Family", Culture and Customs of Liberia. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 97.
↑ "Celtnet Liberian Recipes and Cookery". Celtnet Recipes. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)
↑ "Liberia". Food in Every Country. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
↑ "The Baking Recipes of Liberia". Africa Aid. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
↑ "Iconic Weah a true great". FIFA.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013
↑ "Liberia:Chaos Mars Grand Bassa and Nimba Clash". All Africa. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
↑ "CIA The World Factbook". Appendix G: Weights and Measures. US Central Intelligence Agency. 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
↑ Wilcox, Michael D., Jr. Department of Agricultural Economics University of Tennessee (2008). "Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia" (PDF). Presentation and Policy Brief. University of Tennessee. Retrieved April 25, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Government of Liberia (2008). "County Development Agendas". Government of the Republic of Liberia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
↑ Shannon, Eugene H. (December 31, 2009). "Annual report" (PDF). Annual report. Liberian Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy. Retrieved May 1, 2010.

External links

Chief of State and Cabinet Members
Liberia entry at The World Factbook
Liberia from UCB Libraries GovPubs.
ఓపెన్ డైరెక్టరీ ప్రాజెక్టులో లైబీరియా
Liberia profile from the BBC News.
Liberia profile from the African Studies Centre Leiden Country portal.
"Liberia Maps", Perry-Castañeda Library, University of Texas at Austin.
Wikimedia Atlas of Liberia

మూస:Liberia topics

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[CIA-2] 2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 ^2.10 "Liberia". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.

[WorldBank-3] 3.0 ^3.1 "Liberia". The World Bank country page for Liberia. The World Bank. 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2014.

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[AFP-7] 7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 "Background on conflict in Liberia", Friends Committee on National Legislation, July 30, 2003 Archived ఫిబ్రవరి 14, 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[Ricks-8] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 "How a former slave gave a quilt to Queen Victoria". BBC. July 11, 2017

[TDIH-9] 9.0 ^9.1 "July 26, 1847 Liberian independence proclaimed", This Day In History, History website.

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[introprof-13] 13.0 ^13.1 Dunn-Marcos, Robin; Kollehlon, Konia T.; Ngovo, Bernard; Russ, Emily (April 2005). Ranar, Donald A. (ed.). "Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture" (PDF). Culture Profile (19). Center for Applied Linguistics: 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

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[ascendency-22] 22.0 ^22.1 ^22.2 Pike, John (1985). "The True Whig Ascendancy". Global Security. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[23] John Pike (1985). "Lost Territories". Global Security. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[24] John Pike (1985). "Lost Markets and Economic Decline". Global Security. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[25] Robert Jefferson Norrell (January 1, 2009). Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington. Harvard University Press. pp. 374–375. ISBN 978-0-674-03211-8.
Rosenberg, Emily S. (June 1, 2007). "The Invisible Protectorate: The United States, Liberia, and the Evolution of Neocolonialism, 1909–40" (PDF). Diplomatic History. 9 (3). Oxford Journals: 191–214. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.1985.tb00532.x. Retrieved April 26, 2015.

[opendoor-26] 26.0 ^26.1 Marinelli, Lawrence (1964). "Liberia's Open Door Policy". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 2 (1): 91–98. doi:10.1017/s0022278x00003694.

[27] "Africa: A Vote on Apartheid". Time. July 29, 1966. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

[28] Adogamh, Paul G. (July 2008). "Pan-Africanism Revisited: Vision and Reality of African Unity and Development" (PDF). African Review of Integration. 2 (2). Retrieved July 20, 2011.

[global-29] 29.0 ^29.1 ^29.2 ^29.3 Anjali Mitter Duva (2002). "Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship". PBS. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

[notes-30] 30.0 ^30.1 staff writers (November 25, 1985). "LIBERIA Comrades Turned Enemies". Time. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[31] Ellis, Stephen (2001). The Mask of Anarchy Updated Edition: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War. NYU Press. p. 75. ISBN 0-8147-2238-5.

[bbc-32] 32.0 ^32.1 ^32.2 "Liberia country profile". BBC News. May 4, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[warrant-33] 33.0 ^33.1 "Arrest warrant for Liberian leader". BBC News. June 4, 2003. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

[cbc-34] 34.0 ^34.1 "Indepth: Liberia, Land of the free". CBC News. July 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 8, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)

[35] "Liberia's civil war: Fiddling while Monrovia burns". The Economist. July 24, 2003. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[36] "Profile: Leymah Gbowee—Liberia's 'peace warrior'". BBC News. October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.

[37] Simmons, Ann M. (August 12, 2003). "Taylor resigns as president of Liberia, leaves the country". Baltimore Sune. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[38] "Liberian rebels sign peace deal". The Guardian. August 19, 2003. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[39] "Liberia: UNMIL extends deployment as more troops arrive". IRIN News. December 24, 2003. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[40] "Bryant takes power in Liberia". The Guardian. October 14, 2003. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[freedom-41] 41.0 ^41.1 ^41.2 ^41.3 ^41.4 ^41.5 "Freedom in the World 2011 – Liberia". Freedom House. UNHCR. July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[42] "LIBERIA-NIGERIA: "Time to bring Taylor issue to closure," says Sirleaf". IRIN News. March 17, 2006. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[43] "Taylor Sent Off to Face War Crimes Charges". AFP. UNMIL. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)

[44] "LIBERIA: War-battered nation launches truth commission". IRIN Africa. Retrieved May 16, 2008.

[eowg-45] 45.0 ^45.1 ^45.2 ^45.3 ^45.4 ^45.5 ^45.6 ^45.7 ^45.8 Bateman, Graham; Victoria Egan; Fiona Gold; Philip Gardner (2000). Encyclopedia of World Geography. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. p. 161. ISBN 1-56619-291-9.

[46] Financial Time's World Desk Reference (2004) Dorling Kindersley Publishing, p. 368.

[census2008-47] 47.0 ^47.1 ^47.2 ^47.3 ^47.4 ^47.5 "2008 National Population and Housing Census: Preliminary Results" (PDF). Government of the Republic of Liberia. 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2008.

[polls-48] "Liberia cannot afford local polls". BBC News. January 14, 2008.

[Anne_Look-49] 49.0 ^49.1 ^49.2 ^49.3 Anne Look, "Poaching in Liberia's Forests Threatens Rare Animals", Voice of America News, May 8, 2012.

[Redlist-50] {{{assessors}}} (2008). Hexaprotodon liberiensis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 17 December 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of endangered.

[Wynfred_Russell-51] 51.0 ^51.1 ^51.2 ^51.3 Wynfred Russell, "Extinction is forever: A crisis that is Liberia's endangered wildlife", Front Page Africa, January 15, 2014.

[mmg-52] 52.0 ^52.1 ^52.2 ^52.3 ^52.4 ^52.5 ^52.6 "Liberia signs 'transformational' deal to stem deforestation", Matt McGrath, BBC News, 23 September 2014.

[Restoring_the_Battered-53] 53.0 ^53.1 "Restoring the Battered and Broken Environment of Liberia One of the Keys to a New and Sustainable Future", United Nations Environment Program, February 13, 2014.

[obs-54] "Monrovia's 'Never-Ending' Pollution Issues In 2013", Edwin M. Fayia III, The Liberian Observer, December 30, 2014.

[55] "Digging Out Monrovia from the Waste of War", The World Bank – International Development Association, August 2009.

[state-56] 56.0 ^56.1 ^56.2 "Background Note: Liberia". Bureau of African Affairs. United States Department of State. March 8, 2011.

[2010_Human_Rights_Report:_Liberia-57] "2010 Human Rights Report: Liberia". US Department of State. Retrieved January 10, 2013.

[hrw-58] 58.0 ^58.1 "Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress", Human Rights Watch, August 22, 2013.

[59] ""Liberia: Corruption Is Liberia's Problem, US Ambassador to Liberia Alarms", Al-Varney Rogers, allAfrica, 21 February 2014". allAfrica.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014.

[60] "2010 Corruption Perceptions Index". Transparency International. October 26, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[61] "Corruption Perceptions Index 2007". Transparency International. 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[62] "Global Corruption Barometer 2010". Transparency International. December 9, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[cdaMontserrado-63] "Montserrado County Development Agenda" (PDF). Republic of Liberia. 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2008.

[64] "Nine officials commissioned". The Analyst. October 11, 2008.

[Schoenurl-65] 65.0 ^65.1 Schoenurl, John W. (August 11, 2003). "Liberian shipping draws scrutiny". msnbc.com.

[About_the_Liberian_Registry-66] 66.0 ^66.1 "About the Liberian Registry". Liberian Registry.

[67] "GDP per capita (current US$) |Data |Graph". Data.worldbank.org. Retrieved March 26, 2013.

[challenges-68] 68.0 ^68.1 ^68.2 "The Challenges of Post-War Reconstruction—the Liberian Experience". Government of Liberia. allAfrica.com. June 13, 2011.

[imf-69] 69.0 ^69.1 ^69.2 "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: Liberia". International Monetary Fund. June 20, 2011.

[consultation-70] 70.0 ^70.1 ^70.2 "IMF Country Report No. 10/37" (PDF). International Monetary Fund. 2010.

[agi-71] 71.0 ^71.1 "Liberian President: Government and People are Partners in Progress". Africa Governance Initiative. January 27, 2011.

[72] "Liberia Economic Recovery Assessment". USAID. July 2008.

[73] "Quarter Three Fiscal Outturn, Fiscal Year 2010/11" (PDF). Ministry of Finance. May 2011.

[74] "Second Quarter 2010/2011 Public Debt Management Report" (PDF). Debt Management Unit. Ministry of Finance. March 25, 2011.

[75] "Liberia's diamond links". BBC News. July 18, 2000.

[76] "CBC News Indepth: Liberia". CBC News. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on September 8, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)

[77] "Liberia restarts diamond industry". USA Today. May 1, 2007.

[78] "Bloody timber off the market". Greenpeace. May 7, 2003.

[79] Strieker, Gary (January 13, 2002). "U.N. mulls embargo on Liberian timber". CNN.

[80] Xu, Chenni (June 20, 2006). "UN Lifts Liberia Timber Sanctions". Voice of America.

[81] "Liberia gains WTO observer status". Star Radio Liberia. March 17, 2010.

[82] "Government Announces Agreement with Chevron to Explore Liberian Waters". allAfrica.com. August 27, 2010.

[83] "Palm oil industry accused of land grabs in Liberia". globalpost.com. December 27, 2012.

[84] "Firestone and Liberia – Company History". Firestone Natural Rubber Company.

[reform-85] "PPIAF Supports Telecommunications Reform and Liberalization in Liberia" (PDF). Public-Private Infrastructure Facility (PPIAF). July 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.

[86] "Introduction to Communication and Development in Liberia", AudienceScapes. Retrieved 8 February 2014.

[Options-87] 87.0 ^87.1 "Options for the Development of Liberia's Energy Sector" (PDF). International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. World Bank Group. 2011.

[88] MacDougall, Clair (July 18, 2012). "Liberia: Stepping Back Into The Light?". ThinkPressAfrica.

[89] "Liberia: Massive Electrification Boost". allAfrica.com. November 27, 2013.

[90] Teh, Joe (July 30, 2013). "Behind The Power Switch in Nimba, An optimism for Vibrant Economy". The News Pinnacle.

[91] "Liberia may have over 1 bln barrels in oil resources". Reuters Africa. November 3, 2009.

[92] "NOCAL 2004 Liberia Offshore Bid Round Announcement". Business Wire. February 2, 2004.

[bidding-93] Pearson, Natalie Obiko (December 10, 2007). "Liberia Opens Bidding for 10 Offshore Oil Blocks". RigZone.

[94] "Third Liberian Offshore Petroleum Licensing Round 2009". Deloitte Petroleum Services. Deloitte. August 27, 2009.

[95] Toweh, Alphonso (July 21, 2011). "Liberia marks out new oil blocks, auction seen soon". Reuters. Retrieved August 22, 2011.

[96] Konneh, Ansu (August 30, 2010). "Chevron, Liberia Sign Deepwater Offshore Exploration Agreement". Bloomberg News.

[Data_of_FAO,_year_2005-97] 97.0 ^97.1 Data of FAO, year 2005

[WPP_2010-98] 98.0 ^98.1 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived ఆగస్టు 16, 2015 at the Wayback Machine

[census2017final-99] Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (May 2009). "2008 National Population and Housing Census Final Results: Population by County" (PDF). 2017 Population and Housing Census. Republic of Liberia. Retrieved June 10, 2009.

[census2008final-100] 100.0 ^100.1 ^100.2 Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (May 2009). "2008 National Population and Housing Census Final Results: Population by County" (PDF). 2008 Population and Housing Census. Republic of Liberia. Retrieved June 10, 2009.

[101] United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision – Table A.8

[102] "Kpelle", UCLA, Anthropology.

[103] "Liberia's Ugly Past: Re-writing Liberian History". Theperspective.org. Retrieved January 3, 2010.

[104] "Lebanese demand Liberia poll rights". BBC News. July 22, 2005.

[pulitzer-105] 105.0 ^105.1 Moore, Jina (October 19, 2009). "Liberia: Ma Ellen talk plenty plenty Liberian English". Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[106] "Languages of Liberia". Ethnologue. 2009. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[irfr-107] 107.0 ^107.1 ^107.2 ^107.3 "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia". United States Department of State. November 17, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[108] Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2013

[109] "Education profile – Liberia". Institute for Statistics. UNESCO. 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

[110] "LIBERIA: Go to school or go to jail". IRN. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. September 21, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2009.

[111] Trawally, Sidiki; Reeves, Derek (2009). "Making Quality Education Affordable And Assessable To All—Prez. Sirleaf's Vision With Passion". Lift Liberia. Retrieved July 20, 2011.

[112] Jallah, David A. B. "Notes, Presented by Professor and Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, David A. B. Jallah to the International Association of Law Schools Conference Learning From Each Other: Enriching the Law School Curriculum in an Interrelated World Held at Soochow University Kenneth Wang School of Law, Suzhou, China, October 17–19, 2007." International Association of Law Schools. Retrieved on September 1, 2008.

[113] "Ellen Describes Tubman University's Opening As PRS Success". The New Dawn. March 3, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2010.

[114] "Remarks by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf At Official Launch and Fundraising Program Of the Grand Bassa Community College" (PDF). The Executive Mansion. October 21, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[115] Fahn, Peter A. (July 7, 2011). "Government Moves Ahead With Education Decentralization Plans". Government Moves Ahead with Education Decentralization Plans. Retrieved August 3, 2011.

[116] "July 26 Celebrations Kick Off in Lofa As President Sirleaf Arrives". The Executive Mansion. July 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2013.

[117] "CIA World Factbook: Life Expectancy ranks". CIA. Retrieved April 26, 2012.

[118] "The State of the World's Midwifery 2011: Liberia" (PDF). United Nations Population Fund. Retrieved August 2, 2011.

[119] "Data: Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15–49)". The World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.

[profile-120] 120.0 ^120.1 "Liberia: Health profile" (PDF). World Health Organization. Retrieved February 23, 2011.

[121] "Female genital mutilation (FGM)". World Health Organization.

[UNICEF2013p27-122] UNICEF 2013, p. 27.

[123] "Liberia: Nurtitional "crisis" in Monrovia". Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Retrieved February 24, 2011.

[124] "Data: Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5). The". World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.

[125] "Data: Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)". The World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.

[126] "Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system". Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Retrieved February 24, 2011.

[127] "Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$)". World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.

[128] "Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)". World Bank. Retrieved February 23, 2011.

[129] Toweh, Alphonso (March 30, 2014). "Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO". Reuters. Retrieved March 30, 2014.

[130] "How Liberia (Might Have) Beat Ebola". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 17, 2014.

[131] "Wonderful News Liberia after plague". The Economist. Retrieved May 11, 2015.

[132] Marc DuBois and Caitlin Wake, with Scarlett Sturridge and Christina Bennett (2015) The Ebola response in West Africa: Exposing the politics and culture of international aid London: Overseas Development Institute

[133] Nicola Jones, Janice Cooper, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall and David Walker, June 2014; "The fallout of rape as a weapon of war", ODI; http://www.odi.org/publications/8464-rape-weapon-war-liberia

[134] "State Sponsored Homophobia 2016: A world survey of sexual orientation laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition" (PDF). International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. 17 May 2016.

[135] "Senate Passes 'No Same Sex Marriage' Bill ", Daily Observer, 21 July 2012

[136] Wiltz, Teresa (December 2, 2010). "Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie". The Root. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[137] "Monrovia—Masonic Grand Lodge". Global Security. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[138] "Martha Ricks". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved December 12, 2008.

[139] "Liberia: It's the Little Things—A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency". allAfrica.com. Retrieved May 16, 2008.

[140] Kamara, Varney (July 20, 2010). "Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority"". The Analyst. allAfrica.com. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[141] Doe, J. Kpanneh (October 31, 2000). "Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb – A Book Review & Commentary". The Perspective. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[Atlasof-142] OECD Atlas of Gender and Development: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, 2010. p 236.

[143] Olukoju, Ayodeji. "Gender Roles, Marriage and Family", Culture and Customs of Liberia. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 97.

[144] "Celtnet Liberian Recipes and Cookery". Celtnet Recipes. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)

[145] "Liberia". Food in Every Country. Retrieved August 27, 2013.

[146] "The Baking Recipes of Liberia". Africa Aid. Retrieved July 23, 2011.

[FIFA-147] "Iconic Weah a true great". FIFA.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013

[148] "Liberia:Chaos Mars Grand Bassa and Nimba Clash". All Africa. 21 January 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2016.

[149] "CIA The World Factbook". Appendix G: Weights and Measures. US Central Intelligence Agency. 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.

[ut-150] Wilcox, Michael D., Jr. Department of Agricultural Economics University of Tennessee (2008). "Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia" (PDF). Presentation and Policy Brief. University of Tennessee. Retrieved April 25, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[151] Government of Liberia (2008). "County Development Agendas". Government of the Republic of Liberia. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.

[152] Shannon, Eugene H. (December 31, 2009). "Annual report" (PDF). Annual report. Liberian Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy. Retrieved May 1, 2010.

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v t e ఆఫ్రికా దేశాలు
స్వతంత్ర దేశాలు	అల్జీరియా · అంగోలా · బెనిన్ · బోత్సువానా · బర్కీనా ఫాసో · బురుండి · కామెరూన్ · కేప్ వర్దె · సెంట్రల్ ఆఫ్రికన్ రిపబ్లిక్ · చాద్ · కొమొరోస్ · కాంగో గణతంత్ర రిపబ్లిక్ · కాంగో రిపబ్లిక్ · ఐవరీ కోస్ట్ · జిబూటి · ఈజిప్ట్ · ఈక్వటోరియల్ గ్వినియా · ఎరిత్రియా · ఇథియోపియా · గబాన్ · గాంబియా · ఘనా · గినియా · గినియా-బిస్సావు · కెన్యా · లెసోతో · లైబీరియా · లిబ్యా · మడగాస్కర్ · మలావి · మాలి(ఆఫ్రికా) · మౌరిటానియ · మారిషస్ · మొరాకో · మొజాంబిక్ · నమీబియా · నైజర్ · నైజీరియా · రువాండా · సావొ టోమె, ప్రిన్సిపె · సెనెగల్ · సేచెల్లిస్ · సియెర్రా లియోనె · సొమాలియా · దక్షిణ ఆఫ్రికా · సూడాన్ · దక్షిణ సూడాన్ · టాంజానియా · టోగో · ట్యునీషియా · ఉగాండా · జాంబియా · జింబాబ్వే · స్వాజీల్యాండ్
వేరే దేశాల పాలనలో	కానరీ దీవులు · క్యుటా, మెలిల్లా · మదీరా దీవులు · మయొట్టె · రీయూనియన్ · సెయింట్ హెలినా

లైబీరియా: కూర్పుల మధ్య తేడాలు

08:13, 26 జూలై 2017 నాటి కూర్పు

విషయాలు

History

Early settlement

Government

20th century

2000s

Geography

Counties and districts

Environmental issues

Politics

Corruption

Military

Foreign relations

Law enforcement

Economy and infrastructure

Shipping flag of convenience

Telecommunications

Transportation

Energy

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Languages

Largest cities

Religion

Education

Health

Crime

Culture

Polygamy

Cuisine

Sport

Measurement system

See also

References

Further reading

External links

మార్గదర్శకపు మెనూ

@@ పంక్తి 1: / పంక్తి 1: @@
+{{Coord|6|30|N|9|30|W|display=title}}
-{{/template|conventional_long_name=Republic of Liberia|map_caption={{map caption|countryprefix=|location_color=dark blue|region=Africa|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the [[African Union]]|subregion_color=light blue}}|national_motto="The love of liberty brought us here"|national_anthem=''[[All Hail, Liberia, Hail!]]''<br ></table><center>[[File:Liberia National Anthem.ogg]]</center>|official_languages=[[English language|English]]|ethnic_groups={{unbulleted list   | 20.3% [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]]   | 13.4% [[Bassa people (Liberia)|Bassa]]   | 10.0% [[Grebo people|Grebo]]   |  8.0% [[Gio people|Gio]]   |  7.9% [[Mano people|Mano]]   |  6.0% [[Kru people|Kru]]   |  5.1% [[Loma people|Lorma]]   |  4.8% [[Kissi people|Kissi]]   |  4.4% [[Gola people|Gola]]   | 20.1% others  }}|capital=[[Monrovia]]|largest_city=Monrovia|government_type=[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Presidential system|presidential republic]]|leader_title1=[[President of Liberia|President]]|leader_name1={{nowrap|[[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]]}}|leader_title2=[[Vice President of Liberia|Vice President]]|leader_name2=[[Joseph Boakai]]|leader_title3=[[House of Representatives (Liberia)|Speaker of the House]]|leader_name3=[[Alex J. Tyler]]|leader_title4=[[Chief Justice of Liberia|Chief Justice]]|leader_name4=[[Francis Korkpor, Sr.]]|sovereignty_type=[[History of Liberia|Formation]] and [[Independence]]|established_event1=Settlement by the [[American Colonization Society|{{nowrap|American Colonization}} Society]]|established_date1=January 7, 1822|established_event2=[[Liberian Declaration of Independence]]<!--Note: Liberia was never colonized or claimed by the United States government. It was founded by the ACS (American Colonization Society), a private organization. Please do not change this field to include "from the United States" w/o first discussing it on the discussion page-->|established_date2=July 26, 1847|established_event3=Annexation of [[Republic of Maryland]]|established_date3=March 18, 1857|established_event4=Recognition by the United States|established_date4=February 5, 1862|established_event5=[[Constitution of Liberia|Current constitution]]|established_date5=January 6, 1986|percent_water=13.514|GDP_PPP=$3.879 billion<ref name=IMF_GDP>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=37&pr.y=13&sy=2016&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a= |title=Liberia |publisher=International Monetary Fund }}</ref>|GDP_nominal=$2.106 billion<ref name=IMF_GDP/>|Gini=38.2 <!--number only-->|HDI=0.427 <!--number only-->|currency=[[Liberian dollar]]<sup>a</sup>|time_zone=[[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]|cctld=[[.lr]]|calling_code=[[+231]]}}
+{{Infobox country
-[[వర్గం:ఆఫ్రికా]]
+|conventional_long_name = రిపబ్లిక్ ఆఫ్ లైబీరియా
+|common_name = లైబీరియా
+|image_flag = Flag of Liberia.svg
+|image_coat = Coat of arms of Liberia.svg
+|symbol_type = Coat of arms
+|image_map = Location Liberia AU Africa.svg
+|map_caption = {{map caption|countryprefix=|location_color=dark blue|region=Africa|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the [[African Union]]|subregion_color=light blue}}
+|image_map2 = Liberia - Location Map (2013) - LBR - UNOCHA.svg
+|national_motto = "The love of liberty brought us here"
+|national_anthem = ''[[All Hail, Liberia, Hail!]]''<br /><center>[[File:Liberia National Anthem.ogg]]</center>
+|official_languages = [[English language|English]]
+|languages_type = Spoken and national languages<ref>{{cite web |editor1-first=M. Paul |editor1-last=Lewis |editor2-first=Gary F. |editor2-last=Simons |editor3-first=Charles D. |editor3-last=Fennig |year=2015 |title=Liberia |website=[[Ethnologue]] |edition=18th |location=Dallas, Texas |publisher=SIL International |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/country/lr/languages}}</ref>
+|languages = {{hlist|[[Liberian English]]}}
+|ethnic_groups =
+ {{unbulleted list
+  | 20.3% [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]]
+  | 13.4% [[Bassa people (Liberia)|Bassa]]
+  | 10.0% [[Grebo people|Grebo]]
+  |  8.0% [[Gio people|Gio]]
+  |  7.9% [[Mano people|Mano]]
+  |  6.0% [[Kru people|Kru]]
+  |  5.1% [[Loma people|Lorma]]
+  |  4.8% [[Kissi people|Kissi]]
+  |  4.4% [[Gola people|Gola]]
+  | 20.1% others
+ }}
+|ethnic_groups_year = 2008<ref name=CIA/>
+|religion = [[Christianity]] (85.6%), [[Islam]] (12.2%), Others (2.2%)<ref name=CIA/>
+|demonym = Liberian
+|capital = [[Monrovia]]
+|coordinates = {{Coord|6|19|N|10|48|W|type:city}}
+|largest_city = Monrovia
+|government_type = [[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[Presidential system|presidential republic]]
+|leader_title1 = [[President of Liberia|President]]
+|leader_name1 = {{nowrap|[[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]]}}
+|leader_title2 = [[Vice President of Liberia|Vice President]]
+|leader_name2 = [[Joseph Boakai]]
+|leader_title3 = [[House of Representatives (Liberia)|Speaker of the House]]
+|leader_name3 = [[Alex J. Tyler]]
+|leader_title4 = [[Chief Justice of Liberia|Chief Justice]]
+|leader_name4 = [[Francis Korkpor, Sr.]]
+|legislature = [[Legislature of Liberia]]
+|upper_house = [[Senate (Liberia)|Senate]]
+|lower_house = [[House of Representatives (Liberia)|House of Representatives]]
+|area_rank = 103rd
+|area_magnitude = 1 E11
+|area_km2 = 111,369
+|area_sq_mi = 43,000 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
+|percent_water = 13.514
+|population_estimate = 4,503,000<ref name=WorldBank>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/liberia |title=Liberia |work=The World Bank country page for Liberia |publisher=The World Bank |year=2015 |accessdate=September 4, 2014}}</ref>
+|population_estimate_year = 2015
+|population_estimate_rank = 125th
+|population_census = 3,476,608
+|population_census_year = 2008
+|population_census_rank = 130th
+|population_density_km2 = 40.43
+|population_density_sq_mi = 92.0 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
+|population_density_rank = 180th
+|GDP_PPP_year = 2017
+|GDP_PPP = $3.879 billion<ref name=IMF_GDP>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=37&pr.y=13&sy=2016&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a= |title=Liberia |publisher=International Monetary Fund }}</ref>
+|GDP_PPP_rank =
+|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $881<ref name=IMF_GDP/>
+|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
+|GDP_nominal_year = 2017
+|GDP_nominal = $2.106 billion<ref name=IMF_GDP/>
+|GDP_nominal_rank =
+|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $478<ref name=IMF_GDP/>
+|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
+|sovereignty_type = [[History of Liberia|Formation]] and [[Independence]]
+|established_event1 = Settlement by the [[American Colonization Society|{{nowrap|American Colonization}} Society]]
+|established_date1 = January 7, 1822
+|established_event2 = [[Liberian Declaration of Independence]]<!--Note: Liberia was never colonized or claimed by the United States government. It was founded by the ACS (American Colonization Society), a private organization. Please do not change this field to include "from the United States" w/o first discussing it on the discussion page-->
+|established_date2 = July 26, 1847
+|established_event3 = Annexation of [[Republic of Maryland]]
+|established_date3 = March 18, 1857
+|established_event4 = Recognition by the United States
+|established_date4 = February 5, 1862
+|established_event5 = [[Constitution of Liberia|Current constitution]]
+|established_date5 = January 6, 1986
+|Gini_year = 2007
+|Gini_change =  <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
+|Gini = 38.2 <!--number only-->
+|Gini_ref = <ref name=gini-index>{{cite web|title=GINI index|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?page=1|publisher=World Bank|accessdate= August 14, 2015}}</ref>
+|Gini_rank =
+|HDI_year = 2015<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
+|HDI_change = steady<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
+|HDI = 0.427 <!--number only-->
+|HDI_ref =<ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2016_human_development_report.pdf|title=2016 Human Development Report|year=2016|accessdate=21 March 2017|publisher=United Nations Development Programme}}</ref>
+|HDI_rank = 177th
+|currency = [[Liberian dollar]]<sup>a</sup>
+|currency_code = LRD
+|country_code = lr
+|time_zone = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
+|utc_offset = +0
+|time_zone_DST =
+|utc_offset_DST =
+|drives_on = right
+|calling_code = [[+231]]
+|cctld = [[.lr]]
+}}
+'''Liberia''' {{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Liberia.ogg|l|aɪ|ˈ|b|ɪər|i|ə}}, officially the '''Republic of Liberia''', is a country on the [[West Africa]]n coast. It is bordered by [[Sierra Leone]] to its west, [[Guinea]] to its north and [[Ivory Coast]] to its east. It covers an area of {{convert|111369|km2|sqmi|abbr=out|sp=us}} and has a population of 4,503,000 people.<ref name="WorldBank"/> [[English language|English]] is the official language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, representing the numerous tribes who make up more than 95% of the population. The country's capital and largest [[List of cities in Liberia|city]] is [[Monrovia]].
+Forests on the coastline are composed mostly of salt-tolerant [[mangrove]] trees, while the more sparsely populated inland has forests opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands. The climate is [[Tropical rainforest climate|equatorial]], with significant rainfall during the May–October [[Wet season|rainy season]] and harsh [[harmattan]] winds the remainder of the year. Liberia possesses about forty percent of the remaining [[Upper Guinean forest|Upper Guinean rainforest]]. It was an important producer of rubber in the early 20th century.
+The Republic of Liberia began as a settlement of the [[American Colonization Society]] (ACS), who believed blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the [[United States]].<ref name=AFP/> The country declared its independence on July 26, 1847. The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence.<ref name="Ricks">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40500884 "How a former slave gave a quilt to Queen Victoria"]. BBC. July 11, 2017</ref> The U.S. did not recognize Liberia's independence until during the [[American Civil War]] on February 5, 1862. Between January 7, 1822 and the American Civil War, more than 15,000 freed and free-born blacks, who faced legislated limits in the U.S., and 3,198 [[Afro-Caribbeans]], relocated to the settlement.<ref name=TDIH/> The [[African American|black]] settlers carried their culture with them to Liberia. The Liberian constitution and flag were modeled after those of the U.S. On January 3, 1848, [[Joseph Jenkins Roberts]], a wealthy, free-born African American from [[Virginia]] who settled in Liberia, was elected as Liberia's first [[President of Liberia|president]] after the people proclaimed independence.<ref name=TDIH>[http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/liberian-independence-proclaimed "July 26, 1847 Liberian independence proclaimed"], This Day In History, History website.</ref>
+Liberia is the only African republic to have self-proclaimed independence without gaining independence through revolt from any other power, and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. Liberia retained its independence during the [[Scramble for Africa]]. During [[World War II]], Liberia supported the United States war efforts against Germany and in turn the U.S. invested in considerable infrastructure in Liberia to help its war effort, which also aided the country in modernizing and improving its major air transportation facilities. In addition, President [[William Tubman]] encouraged economic changes. Internationally, Liberia was a founding member of the [[League of Nations]], [[United Nations]] and the [[Organisation of African Unity]].
+Political tensions from the rule of [[William R. Tolbert]] resulted in a military [[Coup d'état|coup]] in 1980 that overthrew his leadership soon after his death, marking the beginning of years-long political instability. Five years of military rule by the [[People's Redemption Council]] and five years of civilian rule by the [[National Democratic Party of Liberia]] were followed by the [[First Liberian Civil War|First]] and [[Second Liberian Civil War]]s. These resulted in the deaths and displacement of more than half a million people and devastated [[Economy of Liberia|Liberia's economy]]. A [[Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement|peace agreement in 2003]] led to democratic elections [[Liberian general election, 2005|in 2005]], in which [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]] was elected President. Recovery proceeds but about 85% of the population live below the [[international poverty line]]. Liberia's economic and political stability was threatened in the 2010s by an [[Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa|Ebola virus epidemic]]; it originated in Guinea in December 2013, entered Liberia in March 2014, and was declared officially ended on May 8, 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21618909-there-scramble-control-runaway-epidemic-help-time-ebola|title=Help in the time of Ebola|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=September 20, 2014|website=[[The Economist]]|publisher=|accessdate=October 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21650584-wonderful-news-liberia-after-plague|title=Ebola in west Africa|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=May 9, 2015|website=[[The Economist]]|publisher=|accessdate=May 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name=14who16>{{cite web|url=http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/ebola-zero-liberia/en/|title=WHO – Latest Ebola outbreak over in Liberia; West Africa is at zero, but new flare-ups are likely to occur|work=World Health Organization|accessdate=14 January 2016}}</ref>
+==History==
+{{main article|History of Liberia}}
+[[File:Negroland and Guinea with the European Settlements, 1736.jpg|thumb|left|350px|A European map of West Africa and the [[Pepper Coast|Grain Coast]], 1736. It has the archaic mapping designation of [[Negroland]].]]
+The [[Pepper Coast]], also known as the Grain Coast, has been inhabited by indigenous peoples of Africa at least as far back as the 12th century. [[Mende people|Mende]]-speaking people expanded westward from the [[Sudan (region)|Sudan]], forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Dei, [[Bassa (Liberia)|Bassa]], [[Kru people|Kru]], [[Gola (ethnic group)|Gola]] and [[Kissi people|Kissi]] were some of the earliest documented peoples in the area.<ref name=introprof>{{cite journal
+|last1=Dunn-Marcos
+|first1=Robin
+|last2=Kollehlon
+|first2=Konia T.
+|last3=Ngovo
+|first3=Bernard
+|last4=Russ
+|first4=Emily
+|editor-last=Ranar
+|editor-first=Donald A.
+|date=April 2005
+|title=Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture
+|journal=Culture Profile
+|issue=19
+|publisher=Center for Applied Linguistics
+|format=PDF |accessdate=July 23, 2011 |url=http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf
+|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625062344/http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf
+|archivedate=June 25, 2008
+|pages=5–6}}
+</ref>
+This influx of these groups was compounded by the decline of the Western Sudanic [[Mali Empire]] in 1375 and the [[Songhai Empire]] in 1591. Additionally, as inland regions underwent [[desertification]], inhabitants moved to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton [[spinning (textiles)|spinning]], cloth [[weaving]], iron [[smelting]], [[rice]] and [[sorghum]] cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai empires.<ref name=introprof /> Shortly after the [[Mane, Malian Soldiers|Mane]] conquered the region, the [[Vai (ethnic group)|Vai people]] of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the [[Grand Cape Mount County]] region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Mane to stop further influx of Vai.<ref>{{cite book
+|author=Jesse N. Mongrue M. Ed
+|title=Liberia-America's Footprint in Africa: Making the Cultural, Social, and Political Connections
+|date=2011
+|page=24
+|publisher=iUniverse
+|isbn=1462021646
+}}</ref>
+People along the coast built [[canoe]]s and traded with other West Africans from [[Cap-Vert]] to the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]]. Arab traders entered the region from the north, and a long-established slave trade took captives to north and east Africa.
+===Early settlement===
+Between 1461 and the late 17th century, [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[British people|British]] traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. The Portuguese named the area ''Costa da Pimenta'' ("Pepper Coast") but it later came to be known as the [[Grain Coast]], due to the abundance of [[melegueta pepper]] grains. European traders would barter commodities and goods with local people.
+In the United States, there was a movement to resettle free-born [[African Americans|blacks]] and freed slaves who faced racial discrimination in the form of political disenfranchisement, and the denial of civil, religious and social privileges in the United States.<ref>Howard Brotz, ed., African American Social & Political Thought 1850 – 1920 (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1996), 38–39.</ref>  Most whites and later a small cadre of black nationalists believed that blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.<ref name=AFP>[http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 "Background on conflict in Liberia"], Friends Committee on National Legislation, July 30, 2003 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214051143/http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 |date=February 14, 2007 }}</ref> The [[American Colonization Society]] was founded in 1816 in Washington, DC for this purpose, by a group of prominent politicians and slaveholders. But its membership grew to include mostly people who supported abolition of slavery. Slaveholders wanted to get [[free people of color]] out of the South, where they were thought to threaten the stability of the slave societies. Some abolitionists collaborated on relocation of free blacks, as they were discouraged by [[Racism in the United States|racial discrimination]] against them in the North and believed they would never be accepted in the larger society.<ref name="Sale">Maggie Montesinos Sale (1997). ''The Slumbering Volcano: American Slave Ship Revolts and the Production of Rebellious Masculinity'', Duke University Press, 1997, p. 264. {{ISBN|0-8223-1992-6}}</ref> Most blacks, who were native-born by this time, wanted to work toward justice in the United States rather than emigrate.<ref name=AFP/> Leading activists in the North strongly opposed the ACS, but some free blacks were ready to try a different environment.
+In 1822, the American Colonization Society began sending black volunteers to the Pepper Coast to establish a colony for freed blacks. By 1867, the ACS (and state-related chapters) had assisted in the migration of more than 13,000 blacks to Liberia.<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html
+|title=The African-American Mosaic
+|accessdate=March 31, 2015
+}}</ref> These free African-Americans and their descendants married within their community and came to identify as [[Americo-Liberian]]s. Many were of mixed race and educated in American culture; they did not identify with the indigenous natives of the tribes they encountered. They intermarried largely within the colonial community, developing an ethnic group that had a cultural tradition infused with American notions of political republicanism and Protestant Christianity.<ref>
+{{cite web
+|last=Wegmann
+|first=Andrew N
+|date=May 5, 2010
+|title=Christian Community and the Development of an Americo-Liberian Identity, 1824–1878
+|url=http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-06092010-200522/
+|publisher=Louisiana State University
+}}</ref>
+[[File:Mitchell Map Liberia colony 1839.jpg|thumb|259x259px|Map of Liberia Colony in the 1830s, created by the ACS, and also showing Mississippi Colony and other state-sponsored colonies.]]
+The ACS, the private organization supported by prominent American politicians such as [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Henry Clay]], and [[James Monroe]], believed repatriation of free African Americans was preferable to widespread [[abolitionism in the United States|emancipation]] of slaves.<ref name="Sale"/> Similar state-based organizations established colonies in [[Mississippi-in-Africa]] and the [[Republic of Maryland]], which were later annexed by Liberia.
+The Americo-Liberian settlers did not identify with the indigenous peoples they encountered, especially those in communities of the more isolated "[[the bush|bush]]." They knew nothing of their cultures, languages or animist religion. Encounters with tribal Africans in the bush often developed as violent confrontations. The colonial settlements were raided by the [[Kru people|Kru]] and [[Grebo people|Grebo]] from their inland chiefdoms. Because of feeling set apart and superior by their culture and education to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians developed as a small elite that held on to political power. It excluded the indigenous tribesmen from birthright citizenship in their own lands until 1904, in a repetition of the United States' treatment of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref name="Liberia">
+{{cite web
+|url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6618.htm
+|title=Liberia
+|author= U.S. State Department
+}}</ref> Because of [[ethnocentrism]] and the cultural gap, the Americo-Liberians envisioned creating a western-style state to which the tribesmen should assimilate. They promoted religious organizations to set up missions and schools to educate the indigenous peoples.
+===Government===
+On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a [[Liberian Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and promulgated a [[Liberian Constitution of 1847|constitution]]. Based on the political principles denoted in the [[United States Constitution]], it established the independent Republic of Liberia.<ref name=volume>
+{{cite book
+|last1=Johnston
+|first1=Harry Hamilton
+|last2=Stapf
+|first2=Otto
+|title=Liberia, Volume I
+|publisher=Hutchinson & Co,
+|year=1906
+|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTYbAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover
+|isbn=1-143-31505-7
+}}</ref><ref>
+{{cite web
+|author=Adekeye Adebajo
+|date=2002
+|title=''Liberia's Civil War: Nigeria, ECOMOG, and Regional Security in West Africa''
+|publisher=International Peace Academy
+|page=21
+|ISBN=1588260526
+}}</ref> The [[United Kingdom]] was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence.<ref name="Ricks"/>
+The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the [[Americo-Liberian]]s, who initially established political and economic dominance in the coastal areas that had been purchased by the ACS; they maintained relations with United States contacts in developing these areas and the resulting trade. Their passage of the 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes, ostensibly to "encourage the growth of civilized values" before such trade was allowed in the region.<ref name=volume/> <!--How? -->
+By 1877, the Americo-Liberian [[True Whig Party]] was the most powerful political power in the country.<ref name=ascendency>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/liberia_1_truewhigascend.htm
+|last=Pike
+|first=John
+|title=The True Whig Ascendancy
+|date=1985 |work=Global Security
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref> It was made up primarily of people from the Americo-Liberian ethnic group, who maintained social, economic and political dominance well into the 20th century, repeating patterns of European colonists in other nations in Africa. Competition for office was usually contained within the party; a party nomination virtually ensured election.<ref name=ascendency/>
+Pressure from the United Kingdom, which controlled [[Sierra Leone]] to the west, and [[France]] with its interests in the north and east led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories. Both Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast annexed some territories.<ref>
+{{cite web
+|author=John Pike
+|date=1985
+|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/liberia_1_lostterr.htm
+|title=Lost Territories
+|work=Global Security
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref> Liberia struggled to attract investment in order to develop infrastructure and a larger, industrial economy.
+There was a decline in production of Liberian goods in the late 19th century, and the government struggled financially, resulting in indebtedness on a series of international loans.<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/liberia_1_lostmarkets.htm
+|author=John Pike
+|date=1985
+|title=Lost Markets and Economic Decline
+|work=Global Security
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref> On July 16, 1892, Martha Ann Erskine Ricks met [[Queen Victoria]] at Windsor Castle and presented her a hand made quilt, Liberia's first diplomatic gift. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Ricks stated, "I had heard it often, from the time I was a child, how good the Queen had been to my people – to slaves – and how she wanted us to be free."<ref name="Ricks"/>
+===20th century===
+[[File:LiberiaKing.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Charles D. B. King]], 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the [[Peace Palace]], The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927.]]
+American and other international interests emphasized resource extraction, with rubber production a major industry in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Jefferson Norrell|title=Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aRvXOr7atbMC&pg=PA374|date=January 1, 2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03211-8|pages=374–375}}<br />{{cite journal |last=Rosenberg |first=Emily S. |date=June 1, 2007 |title=The Invisible Protectorate: The United States, Liberia, and the Evolution of Neocolonialism, 1909–40 |url=http://dh.oxfordjournals.org/content/9/3/191.full.pdf |journal=Diplomatic History |publisher=Oxford Journals |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=191–214 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.1985.tb00532.x |access-date=April 26, 2015}}</ref>
+In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. During [[World War II]], the United States made major infrastructure improvements to support its military efforts in Africa and Europe against the Nazis. It built the [[Freeport of Monrovia]] and [[Roberts International Airport]] under the [[Lend-Lease]] program before its entry into the second world war.<ref name=opendoor>{{cite journal |last1=Marinelli |first1=Lawrence |year=1964 |title=Liberia's Open Door Policy |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=91–98 |doi=10.1017/s0022278x00003694}}</ref>
+After the war, President [[William Tubman]] encouraged foreign investment in the country. Liberia had the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s.<ref name=opendoor/>
+Liberia also began to take a more active role in international affairs. It was a founding member of the [[United Nations]] in 1945 and became a vocal critic of the [[South Africa]]n [[South Africa under apartheid|apartheid regime]].<ref>
+{{cite news
+|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899287,00.html
+|title=Africa: A Vote on Apartheid
+|work=Time
+|date=July 29, 1966
+|accessdate=July 20, 2011
+}}</ref> Liberia also served as a proponent both of African independence from the European colonial powers and of [[Pan-Africanism]], and helped to fund the [[Organisation of African Unity]].<ref>
+{{cite journal
+|last1=Adogamh
+|first1=Paul G.
+|date=July 2008
+|title=Pan-Africanism Revisited: Vision and Reality of African Unity and Development
+|journal=African Review of Integration
+|volume=2
+|issue=2
+|url=http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Newsletter/EA/Vol2%20No2/Adogamhe.pdf
+|accessdate=July 20, 2011
+}}</ref>
+[[File:Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger - Samuel K. Doe.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Samuel Doe]] with [[Caspar Weinberger]] during a visit to the United States, 1982]]
+[[File:Technical Liberia.jpg|thumb|250px|A technical in Monrovia during the [[Second Liberian Civil War]].]]
+On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant [[Samuel Doe]] of the [[Krahn]] ethnic group overthrew and killed President [[William R. Tolbert, Jr.]]. Doe and the other plotters later executed a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members.<ref name=global>
+{{cite web
+|author=Anjali Mitter Duva
+|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/ |title=Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship|publisher=PBS
+|year=2002
+|accessdate=July 20, 2011
+}}</ref> The coup leaders formed the [[People's Redemption Council]] (PRC) to govern the country.<ref name=global/> A strategic [[Cold War]] ally of the West, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.<ref name=global/>
+After Liberia adopted a [[Constitution of Liberia|new constitution]] in 1985, Doe was elected president in [[Liberian general election, 1985|subsequent elections]], which were internationally condemned as fraudulent.<ref name=global/>  On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by [[Thomas Quiwonkpa]], whose soldiers briefly occupied the national [[radio station]].<ref name=notes>
+{{cite news
+|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050633,00.html
+|author=staff writers|title=LIBERIA Comrades Turned Enemies
+|work=Time |
+date=November 25, 1985
+|accessdate=July 22, 2011
+}}</ref> Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops retaliated by executing members of the [[Gio people|Gio]] and [[Mano people|Mano]] ethnic groups in [[Nimba County]].<ref name=notes/>
+The [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia]], a rebel group led by [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]], launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Ivory Coast]]. This triggered the [[First Liberian Civil War]].<ref>
+{{cite book
+|last=Ellis
+|first=Stephen
+|title=The Mask of Anarchy Updated Edition: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War
+|publisher=NYU Press
+|year=2001
+|page=75
+|isbn=0-8147-2238-5
+}}</ref> By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed in that month by rebel forces.<ref name=bbc>
+{{cite news
+|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm
+|title=Liberia country profile
+|newspaper=BBC News
+|date=May 4, 2011
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref>
+The rebels soon split into various factions fighting one another. The [[Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group|Economic Community Monitoring Group]] under the [[Economic Community of West African States]] organized a military task force to intervene in the crisis.<ref name=bbc/> From 1989 to 1996 one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars broke out, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 Liberians and displacing a million others into refugee camps in neighboring countries.<ref name="Liberia"/> A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997.<ref name=bbc/>
+Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as a [[pariah state]] due to its use of [[blood diamonds]] and illegal [[timber]] exports to fund the [[Revolutionary United Front]] in the [[Sierra Leone Civil War]].<ref name=warrant>
+{{cite news
+|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2961390.stm
+|title=Arrest warrant for Liberian leader
+|work=BBC News
+|date=June 4, 2003
+|accessdate=July 20, 2011
+}}</ref> The [[Second Liberian Civil War]] began in 1999 when [[Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy]], a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor.<ref name=cbc>
+ {{cite news
+|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/
+|title=Indepth: Liberia, Land of the free
+|newspaper=CBC News
+|date=July 23, 2009
+|deadurl=yes
+|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908174543/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/
+|archivedate=September 8, 2013
+}}</ref>
+===2000s===
+In March 2003, a second rebel group, [[Movement for Democracy in Liberia]], began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast.<ref name=cbc/> Peace talks between the factions began in [[Accra]] in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the [[Special Court for Sierra Leone]] for crimes against humanity the same month.<ref name=warrant/> By July 2003, the rebels had launched an [[Siege of Monrovia|assault on Monrovia]].<ref>
+{{cite news
+|url=http://www.economist.com/node/1944472?story_id=E1_TJQQQSN
+|title=Liberia's civil war: Fiddling while Monrovia burns
+|newspaper=The Economist
+|date=July 24, 2003
+|accessdate=July 22, 2011
+}}</ref> Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic [[Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace]] movement,<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15215312
+|title=Profile: Leymah Gbowee—Liberia's 'peace warrior'
+|work=BBC News
+|date=October 7, 2011
+|accessdate=October 20, 2011
+}}</ref> Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in [[Nigeria]].<ref>
+{{cite news
+|first=Ann M.
+|last=Simmons
+|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-08-12/news/0308120316_1_charles-taylor-liberia-sierra-leone
+|title=Taylor resigns as president of Liberia, leaves the country
+|newspaper=Baltimore Sune
+|date=August 12, 2003
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref>
+A peace deal was signed later that month.<ref>
+{{cite news
+|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/19/westafrica
+|title=Liberian rebels sign peace deal
+|newspaper=The Guardian
+|date=August 19, 2003
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref> The [[United Nations Mission in Liberia]] began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://newsite.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=47807
+|title=Liberia: UNMIL extends deployment as more troops arrive
+|work=IRIN News
+|date=December 24, 2003
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref> and an interim government took power the following October.<ref>
+{{cite news
+|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/14/westafrica
+|title=Bryant takes power in Liberia
+|newspaper=The Guardian
+|date=October 14, 2003
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref>
+The subsequent [[Liberian general election, 2005|2005 elections]] were internationally regarded as the most free and fair in Liberian history.<ref name=freedom/> [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]], a [[Harvard University|Harvard]]-trained economist and former Minister of Finance, was elected as the first female president in Africa.<ref name=freedom/> Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and transferred him to the [[Special Court for Sierra Leone|SCSL]] for trial in [[The Hague]].<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58474
+|title=LIBERIA-NIGERIA: "Time to bring Taylor issue to closure," says Sirleaf
+|work=IRIN News
+|date=March 17, 2006
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
+|url=http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=1157&zdoc=1
+|title=Taylor Sent Off to Face War Crimes Charges
+|work=AFP
+|publisher=UNMIL
+|date=March 29, 2006
+|accessdate=July 23, 2011
+|deadurl=yes
+|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005100159/http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=1157&zdoc=1
+|archivedate=October 5, 2011
+}}</ref>
+In 2006, the government established a [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Liberia)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58220
+|accessdate=May 16, 2008
+|work=IRIN Africa
+|title=LIBERIA: War-battered nation launches truth commission
+}}</ref>
+==Geography==
+{{main article|Geography of Liberia}}
+[[File:Topographic map of Liberia-en.svg|thumb|400px|A map of Liberia]]
+[[File:Liberia map of Köppen climate classification.svg|thumb|Liberia map of Köppen climate classification.]]
+Liberia is situated in [[West Africa]], bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes [[4th parallel north|4°]] and [[9th parallel north|9°N]], and longitudes [[7th meridian west|7°]] and [[12th meridian west|12°W]].
+The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain [[mangrove]]s and [[swamp]]s, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.<ref name="eowg">{{cite book|last=Bateman|first=Graham|author2=Victoria Egan |author3=Fiona Gold |author4=Philip Gardner |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography|publisher=Barnes & Noble Books|location=New York|year=2000|page=161|isbn=1-56619-291-9}}</ref>
+Tropical [[rainforest]]s cover the hills, while elephant grass and [[semi-deciduous]] forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.<ref name="eowg"/> The equatorial climate is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August.<ref name="eowg"/> During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden [[harmattan]] winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents.<ref name="eowg"/>
+Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of [[Guinée Forestière]], in [[Guinea]]. [[Grand Cape Mount County|Cape Mount]] near the border with [[Sierra Leone]] receives the most precipitation in the nation.<ref name="eowg"/>
+Liberia's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the [[Cavalla River]].<ref name="eowg"/> Liberia's three largest rivers are [[Saint Paul River|St. Paul]] exiting near [[Monrovia]], the river [[Saint John River (Liberia)|St. John]] at [[Buchanan, Liberia|Buchanan]] and the [[Cestos River]], all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at {{convert|515|km|mi|sp=us}}.<ref name="eowg"/>
+The highest point wholly within Liberia is [[Mount Wuteve]] at {{convert|1440|m|ft|0|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the [[Guinea Highlands]].<ref name="eowg"/> However, [[Mount Nimba]] near [[Yekepa]], is higher at {{convert|1752|m|ft|0|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba shares a border with Guinea and [[Ivory Coast]] and is their tallest mountain as well.<ref>Financial Time's World Desk Reference (2004) Dorling Kindersley Publishing, p. 368.</ref>
+===Counties and districts===
+{{main article|Administrative divisions of Liberia}}
+{{Counties of Liberia Image Map}}
+[[File:Bomi lake.jpg|thumb|250px|A view of a lake in [[Bomi County]]]]
+Liberia is divided into fifteen [[Counties of Liberia|counties]], which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 90 [[districts]] and further subdivided into ''clans''. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at {{convert|11551|km2|abbr=on}}, while Montserrado is the smallest at {{convert|1909|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="census2008"/> Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.<ref name="census2008"/>
+The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of various [[Tribal chief|chiefs]] at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints.<ref name=polls>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7187906.stm |title=Liberia cannot afford local polls |newspaper=BBC News |date=January 14, 2008}}</ref>
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
+! Map #
+! County
+! Capital
+! Population<br>(2008 Census)<ref name="census2008">{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/census_2008provisionalresults.pdf|title=2008 National Population and Housing Census: Preliminary Results|year=2008|publisher=Government of the Republic of Liberia|accessdate=October 14, 2008}}</ref>
+! Area<br>(km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="census2008"/>
+! Number of<br>Districts
+! Date<br>Created
+|-
+|align="center"| 1
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Bomi County.svg}} [[Bomi County|Bomi]]
+|align="center"|[[Tubmanburg]]
+|align="center"|82,036
+|align="center"|{{convert|1942|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|4
+|align="center"|1984
+|-
+|align="center"| 2
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Bong County.svg}} [[Bong County|Bong]]
+|align="center"|[[Gbarnga]]
+|align="center"|328,919
+|align="center"|{{convert|8772|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|12
+|align="center"|1964
+|-
+|align="center"| 3
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Gbarpolu County.svg}} [[Gbarpolu County|Gbarpolu]]
+|align="center"|[[Bopolu]]
+|align="center"|83,758
+|align="center"|{{convert|9689|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|6
+|align="center"|2001
+|-
+|align="center"| 4
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Grand Bassa County.svg}} [[Grand Bassa County|Grand Bassa]]
+|align="center"|[[Buchanan, Liberia|Buchanan]]
+|align="center"|224,839
+|align="center"|{{convert|7936|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|8
+|align="center"|1839
+|-
+|align="center"| 5
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Grand Cape Mount County.svg}} [[Grand Cape Mount County|Grand Cape Mount]]
+|align="center"|[[Robertsport]]
+|align="center"|129,055
+|align="center"|{{convert|5162|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|5
+|align="center"|1844
+|-
+|align="center"| 6
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Grand Gedeh County.svg}} [[Grand Gedeh County|Grand Gedeh]]
+|align="center"|[[Zwedru]]
+|align="center"|126,146
+|align="center"|{{convert|10484|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|3
+|align="center"|1964
+|-
+|align="center"| 7
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Grand Kru County.svg}} [[Grand Kru County|Grand Kru]]
+|align="center"|[[Barclayville]]
+|align="center"|57,106
+|align="center"|{{convert|3895|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|18
+|align="center"|1984
+|-
+|align="center"| 8
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Lofa County.svg}} [[Lofa County|Lofa]]
+|align="center"|[[Voinjama]]
+|align="center"|270,114
+|align="center"|{{convert|9982|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|6
+|align="center"|1964
+|-
+|align="center"| 9
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Margibi County.svg}} [[Margibi County|Margibi]]
+|align="center"|[[Kakata]]
+|align="center"|199,689
+|align="center"|{{convert|2616|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|4
+|align="center"|1985
+|-
+|align="center"|10
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Maryland County.svg}} [[Maryland County|Maryland]]
+|align="center"|[[Harper, Liberia|Harper]]
+|align="center"|136,404
+|align="center"|{{convert|2297|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|2
+|align="center"|1857
+|-
+|align="center"|11
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Montserrado County.svg}} [[Montserrado County|Montserrado]]
+|align="center"|[[Bensonville]]
+|align="center"|1,144,806
+|align="center"|{{convert|1909|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|4
+|align="center"|1839
+|-
+|align="center"|12
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Nimba County.svg}} [[Nimba County|Nimba]]
+|align="center"|[[Sanniquellie]]
+|align="center"|468,088
+|align="center"|{{convert|11551|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|6
+|align="center"|1964
+|-
+|align="center"|13
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Rivercess County.svg}} [[Rivercess County|Rivercess]]
+|align="center"|[[River Cess|Rivercess]]
+|align="center"|65,862
+|align="center"|{{convert|5594|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|6
+|align="center"|1985
+|-
+|align="center"|14
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of River Gee County.svg}} [[River Gee County|River Gee]]
+|align="center"|[[Fish Town]]
+|align="center"|67,318
+|align="center"|{{convert|5113|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|6
+|align="center"|2000
+|-
+|align="center"|15
+|align="left"| {{flagicon image|Flag of Sinoe County.svg}} [[Sinoe County|Sinoe]]
+|align="center"|[[Greenville, Liberia|Greenville]]
+|align="center"|104,932
+|align="center"|{{convert|10137|km2|abbr=on}}
+|align="center"|17
+|align="center"|1843
+|}
+===Environmental issues===
+{{Further information|Environmental issues in Liberia}}
+[[File:Choeropsis.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Pygmy hippo]]s are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia.<ref name="Anne Look"/> The [[World Conservation Union]] estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.<ref name="Redlist">{{IUCN2008|assessor=Lewison, R.|assessor2=Oliver, W. (IUCN SSC Hippo Specialist Subgroup)|last-assessor-amp=yes|year=2008|id=10032|title=Hexaprotodon liberiensis|downloaded=17 December 2006}} Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of endangered.</ref>]]
+Endangered species are hunted for human consumption as [[bushmeat]] in Liberia.<ref name="Anne Look"/> Species hunted for food in Liberia include [[elephants]], [[pygmy hippopotamus]], [[chimpanzees]], [[leopards]], [[duikers]], and other monkeys.<ref name="Anne Look"/> Bushmeat is often exported to neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, despite a ban on the cross-border sale of wild animals.<ref name="Anne Look">Anne Look, [http://www.voanews.com/content/article/370590.html "Poaching in Liberia's Forests Threatens Rare Animals"], [[Voice of America]] News, May 8, 2012.</ref>
+Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy.<ref name="Wynfred Russell"/> A 2004 public opinion survey found that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst residents of the capital Monrovia as a preferred source of protein.<ref name="Wynfred Russell"/> Of households where bushmeat was served, 80% of residents said they cooked it "once in a while," while 13% cooked it once a week and 7% cooked bushmeat daily.<ref name="Wynfred Russell"/> The survey was conducted during the last civil war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed to be far higher.<ref name="Wynfred Russell">Wynfred Russell, [http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/op-ed/commentaries-features/380-extinction-is-forever-a-crisis-that-is-liberia-s-endangered-wildlife "Extinction is forever: A crisis that is Liberia's endangered wildlife"], [[Front Page Africa]], January 15, 2014.</ref>
+[[File:U.S.DOC(1965)_Liberia._Money_Trees.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Loggers and logging truck, early 1960s]]
+Liberia is a global [[biodiversity hotspot]] – a significant reservoir of [[biodiversity]] that is under threat from humans.<ref name="mmg"/> Liberia hosts the last remaining viable populations of certain species including western [[chimpanzees]], [[forest elephants]] and [[leopards]].<ref name="mmg">[http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29321143  "Liberia signs 'transformational' deal to stem deforestation", Matt McGrath, BBC News, 23 September 2014.]</ref> Liberia contains a significant portion of West Africa's remaining rainforest, with about 43% of the [[Upper Guinean forest]] – an important forest that spans several West African nations.<ref name="mmg"/>
+[[Slash-and-burn]] agriculture is one of the human activities eroding Liberia's natural forests.<ref name="Restoring the Battered">[http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=384&ArticleID=4411& "Restoring the Battered and Broken Environment of Liberia One of the Keys to a New and Sustainable Future"], [[United Nations Environment Program]], February 13, 2014.</ref> A 2004 UN report estimated that 99 per cent of Liberians burnt charcoal and fuel wood for cooking and heating, resulting in [[deforestation]].<ref name="Restoring the Battered"/>
+[[Illegal logging]] has increased in Liberia since the end of the [[Second Liberian Civil War|Second Civil War in 2003]].<ref name="mmg"/> In 2012 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf granted licenses to companies to cut down 58% of all the primary rainforest left in Liberia.<ref name="mmg"/> After international protests, many of those logging permits were canceled.<ref name="mmg"/> Liberia and [[Norway]] struck an agreement in September 2014 whereby Liberia ceases all logging in exchange for $150 million in development aid.<ref name="mmg"/>
+Pollution is a significant issue in Liberia's capital city [[Monrovia]].<ref name="obs">[http://www.liberianobserver.com/environment/monrovia’s-‘never-ending’-pollution-issues-2013 "Monrovia's 'Never-Ending' Pollution Issues In 2013", Edwin M. Fayia III, The [[Liberian Observer]], December 30, 2014.]</ref> Since 2006 the international community has paid for all garbage collection and disposal in Monrovia via the [[World Bank]].<ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/IDA/0,,contentMDK:22301640~menuPK:4754051~pagePK:51236175~piPK:437394~theSitePK:73154,00.html "Digging Out Monrovia from the Waste of War", The World Bank – International Development Association, August 2009.]</ref>
+==Politics==
+{{main article|Politics of Liberia}}
+[[File:Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf3.jpg|thumb|President [[Ellen Johnson Sirleaf]]]]
+The government of Liberia, modeled on the [[government of the United States]], is a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[constitutional republic]] and [[representative democracy]] as established by the [[Constitution of Liberia|Constitution]]. The government has three co-equal branches of government: the [[Executive (government)|executive]], headed by the [[President of Liberia|president]]; the [[Legislature|legislative]], consisting of the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Legislature of Liberia]]; and the [[Judiciary|judicial]], consisting of the [[Supreme Court of Liberia|Supreme Court]] and several [[lower court]]s.
+The president serves as [[head of government]], [[head of state]] and the [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Armed Forces of Liberia]].<ref name=CIA>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html |title=Liberia  |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> Among the other duties of the president are to sign or veto [[Bill (law)|legislative bills]], grant [[pardon]]s, and appoint [[Cabinet of Liberia|Cabinet]] members, judges and other public officials. Together with the [[Vice President of Liberia|vice president]], the president is elected to a six-year term by [[majority vote]] in a [[two-round system]] and can serve up to two terms in office.<ref name="CIA"/>
+The Legislature is composed of the [[Senate of Liberia|Senate]] and the [[House of Representatives of Liberia|House of Representatives]]. The House, led by a [[speaker (politics)|speaker]], has 73 members [[Apportionment (politics)|apportioned]] among the 15 counties on the basis of the national [[census]], with each county receiving a minimum of two members.<ref name="CIA"/> Each House member represents an [[electoral district]] within a county as drawn by the [[National Election Commission (Liberia)|National Elections Commission]] and is elected by a [[plurality voting system|plurality]] of the popular vote of their district into a six-year term. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators.<ref name="CIA"/> Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected [[at-large]] by a plurality of the popular vote.<ref name="CIA"/> The vice president serves as the [[President of the Senate]], with a [[President pro tempore]] serving in their absence.
+Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the [[Chief Justice of Liberia]]. Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into [[Circuit court|circuit]] and [[Limited jurisdiction|speciality courts]], [[magistrate]] courts and [[Justice of the Peace|justices of the peace]].<ref name=state>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6618.htm |title=Background Note: Liberia |work=Bureau of African Affairs |publisher=United States Department of State |date=March 8, 2011}}</ref> The judicial system is a blend of [[common law]], based on Anglo-American law, and customary law.<ref name="CIA"/> An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with [[trial by ordeal]] remaining common despite being officially outlawed.<ref name=state/>
+Between 1877 and 1980, the government was dominated by the [[True Whig Party]].<ref name=ascendency/> Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups.<ref name=freedom/> Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity.<ref name=freedom/> The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature.<ref name=freedom/>
+===Corruption===
+{{Further information|Corruption in Liberia}}
+Corruption is endemic at every level of the Liberian government.<ref name="2010 Human Rights Report: Liberia">{{cite web|title=2010 Human Rights Report: Liberia|url=https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154354.htm|work=US Department of State|accessdate=January 10, 2013}}</ref> When President Sirleaf took office in 2006, she announced that corruption was "the major public enemy."<ref name="hrw">[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/22/liberia-police-corruption-harms-rights-progress  "Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress"], Human Rights Watch, August 22, 2013.</ref> In 2014 the US ambassador to Liberia stated that corruption there was harming people through "unnecessary costs to products and services that are already difficult for many Liberians to afford".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201402211033.html|title= "Liberia: Corruption Is Liberia's Problem, US Ambassador to Liberia Alarms", Al-Varney Rogers, allAfrica, 21 February 2014.|work=allAfrica.com|accessdate=October 17, 2014}}</ref>
+Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 [[Corruption Perceptions Index]]. This gave it a ranking 87th of 178 countries worldwide and 11th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010 |title=2010 Corruption Perceptions Index |work=Transparency International |date=October 26, 2010 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref> This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2007 |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 |work=Transparency International |year=2007 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref> When dealing with public-facing government functionaries 89% of Liberians say they have had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.<ref>
+{{cite web
+|url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/gcb/2010/results
+|title=Global Corruption Barometer 2010
+|work=Transparency International
+|date=December 9, 2010
+|accessdate=July 22, 2011
+}}</ref>
+===Military===
+{{Main article|Armed Forces of Liberia}}
+The [[Armed Forces of Liberia]] (AFL) are the armed forces of the [[Republic of Liberia]]. Founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, the military was retitled in 1956. For virtually all of its history, the AFL has received considerable material and training assistance from the United States. For most of the 1941–89 period, training was largely provided by U.S. advisers.
+===Foreign relations===
+[[File:Secretary Kerry Listens as Liberian President Sirleaf Addresses the Post-2015 Development Panel Discussion in New York City (21582539498).jpg|thumb|President Sirleaf with [[John Kerry]] and British PM [[David Cameron]] in September 2015]]
+{{Further information|Foreign relations of Liberia}}
+After the turmoil following the [[First Liberian Civil War|First]] and [[Second Liberian Civil War]]s, Liberia's internal stabilization in the 21st century brought a return to cordial relations with neighboring countries and much of the Western world.
+In the past, both of Liberia's neighbors, [[Guinea]] and [[Sierra Leone]], have accused Liberia of backing rebels inside their countries.<ref name="hrw"/>
+===Law enforcement===
+{{Further information|Law enforcement in Liberia}}
+The Liberian National Police are the national [[police]] force of the country. It has 844 officers in 33 stations in [[Montserrado County]], which contains the capital [[Monrovia]], as of October 2007.<ref name=cdaMontserrado>{{cite news|url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/MontserradoCDA.pdf|title=Montserrado County Development Agenda|date=2008|publisher=Republic of Liberia|accessdate=October 14, 2008}}</ref> The National Police Training Academy is in Montserrado County in [[Paynesville, Liberia|Paynesville City]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Nine officials commissioned|date=October 11, 2008|work=The Analyst}}</ref>
+==Economy and infrastructure==
+{{main article|Economy of Liberia}}
+[[File:Liberia Export Treemap.jpg|thumb|350px|A proportional representation of Liberian exports. The shipping related categories reflect Liberia's status as an international [[flag of convenience]] – there are 3,500 vessels registered under Liberia's flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.<ref name="Schoenurl">{{cite web |first=John W.|last=Schoenurl|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3072983/t/liberian-shipping-draws-scrutiny/|title=Liberian shipping draws scrutiny|work=msnbc.com|date=August 11, 2003}}</ref><ref name="About the Liberian Registry">{{cite web |url=http://www.liscr.com/liscr/AboutUs/AboutLiberianRegistry/tabid/206/Default.aspx |title=About the Liberian Registry |publisher=Liberian Registry}}</ref>]]
+[[File:Liberia, Trends in the Human Development Index 1970-2010.png|thumb|350px|Liberia, trends in the [[Human Development Index]] 1970–2010.]]
+The [[Central Bank of Liberia]] is responsible for printing and maintaining the [[Liberian dollar]], which is the primary form of [[currency]] in Liberia.
+Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a [[formal employment]] rate of 15%.<ref name=state/> GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, when it was comparable to Egypt's (at the time).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries/LR-EG?display=graph |title=GDP per capita (current US$) &#124;Data &#124;Graph |publisher=Data.worldbank.org |accessdate=March 26, 2013}}</ref> In 2011, the country's [[nominal GDP]] was US$1.154 billion, while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$297, the third-lowest in the world.<ref name=IMF_GDP/> Historically, the Liberian economy has depended heavily on [[foreign aid]], [[foreign direct investment]] and exports of natural resources such as [[iron ore]], [[rubber]] and [[timber]].<ref name="eowg"/>
+Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement following the 1980 coup.<ref name=challenges>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201106140356.html|title=The Challenges of Post-War Reconstruction—the Liberian Experience|work=Government of Liberia|publisher=allAfrica.com|date=June 13, 2011}}</ref> This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in history.<ref name=challenges/> Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007.<ref name=imf>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=41&pr.y=12&sy=2000&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CPCPIPCH&grp=0&a=|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: Liberia|work=International Monetary Fund|date=June 20, 2011}}</ref> The [[global financial crisis]] slowed GDP growth to 4.6% in 2009,<ref name=imf/> though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011, making the economy one of the 20 fastest growing in the world.<ref name=consultation>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2010/cr10373.pdf|title=IMF Country Report No. 10/37|work=International Monetary Fund|year=2010}}</ref><ref name="agi">{{cite web|url=http://www.africagovernance.org/article/liberian-president-government-and-people-are-partners-progress|title=Liberian President: Government and People are Partners in Progress|last=|first=|date=January 27, 2011|publisher=|access-date=|work=Africa Governance Initiative}}</ref>
+Current impediments to growth include a small [[domestic market]], lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high [[dollarization]] of the economy.<ref name=consultation/> Liberia used the [[United States dollar]] as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the [[Liberian dollar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:rjgZxrEkytAJ:www.countrycompass.com/_docs/assessments/Liberia_Economic_Recovery_Assessment.pdf+Liberian+dollar+1982&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgB5jM-McEY_lEOfi7dtjUAbUY3FHNMS-1b7c1mewxokLnC7PucnxlcZgbC4H60-44s9Kyw4SlVD0s8pI0lznK8MH_FSOPkOAEW8OgbhuDeI2kiEZ81wf4E0kNLQHndpFSE3jFO&sig=AHIEtbRULHwk2ifRoYIE__U6MRXyGwsreQ|title=Liberia Economic Recovery Assessment|work=USAID|date=July 2008}}</ref>
+[[File:Young boy grinding sugar cane in Liberia.jpg|thumb|300px|A boy grinding [[sugar cane]].]]
+Following a decrease in [[inflation]] beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide [[2007–2008 world food price crisis|food]] and [[2000s energy crisis|energy crises]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mof.gov.lr/doc/Published%20Fiscal%20Outturns.pdf|title=Quarter Three Fiscal Outturn, Fiscal Year 2010/11|work=Ministry of Finance|date=May 2011}}</ref> reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009.<ref name=imf/> Liberia's [[external debt]] was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP.<ref name=challenges/> As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007 to 2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mof.gov.lr/doc/2nd%20Qrt%20Debt%20Management%20Report.pdf |title=Second Quarter 2010/2011 Public Debt Management Report|work=Debt Management Unit|publisher=Ministry of Finance|date=March 25, 2011}}</ref>
+While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/839206.stm|title=Liberia's diamond links|newspaper=BBC News|date=July 18, 2000}}</ref> The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian [[blood diamonds]], exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/ |title=CBC News Indepth: Liberia |newspaper=CBC News |date=March 29, 2006 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908174543/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/ |archivedate=September 8, 2013 }}</ref> This led to a [[United Nations]] ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the [[Kimberley Process Certification Scheme]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-05-01-liberia_N.htm|title=Liberia restarts diamond industry|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 1, 2007}}</ref>
+In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/bloody-timber-off-the-market/|title=Bloody timber off the market|work=Greenpeace|date=May 7, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Gary|last=Strieker|url=http://www.edition.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/01/13/liberian.timber/index.html|title=U.N. mulls embargo on Liberian timber|work=CNN|date=January 13, 2002}}</ref> These sanctions were lifted in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |first=Chenni|last=Xu|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2006-06-20-voa64.html|title=UN Lifts Liberia Timber Sanctions|work=Voice of America|date=June 20, 2006}}</ref> Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large [[current account|account deficit]], which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008.<ref name=consultation/> Liberia gained observer status with the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2010 and is in the process of acquiring full member status.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.starradio.org.lr/content/view/15063/59/|title=Liberia gains WTO observer status|work=Star Radio Liberia|date=March 17, 2010}}</ref>
+Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006.<ref name=agi/> Following the inauguration of the Sirleaf administration in 2006, Liberia signed several multibillion-dollar concession agreements in the [[iron ore]] and [[palm oil]] industries with numerous [[multinational corporations]], including [[BHP Billiton]], [[ArcelorMittal]], and [[Sime Darby]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201008271043.html|title=Government Announces Agreement with Chevron to Explore Liberian Waters|publisher=allAfrica.com|date=August 27, 2010}}</ref> Especially palm oil companies like Sime Darby (Malaysia) and Golden Veroleum (USA) are being accused by critics of the destruction of livelihoods and the displacement of local communities, enabled through government concessions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/palm-oil-companys-deal-liberia-sparks-controversy|title=Palm oil industry accused of land grabs in Liberia|publisher=globalpost.com|date=December 27, 2012}}</ref> The [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]] has operated the world's largest [[rubber plantation]] in Liberia since 1926.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firestonenaturalrubber.com/company_history.htm|title=Firestone and Liberia – Company History|work=Firestone Natural Rubber Company}}</ref>
+===Shipping flag of convenience===
+Due to its status as a [[flag of convenience]], Liberia has the second-largest [[Flag state|maritime registry]] in the world behind [[Panama]]. It has 3500 vessels registered under its flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.<ref name="Schoenurl"/><ref name="About the Liberian Registry"/>
+===Telecommunications===
+{{Main article|Communications in Liberia}}
+There are six major newspapers in Liberia, and 45% of the population has a mobile phone service.
+Much of Liberia's communications infrastructure was destroyed or plundered during the [[First Liberian Civil War|two civil wars]] (1989–1996 and 1999–2003).<ref name=reform>{{cite web | url=http://www.ppiaf.org/sites/ppiaf.org/files/publication/PPIAF-Impact-Stories-Reforming-Liberia-Telecom-Sector.pdf | title=PPIAF Supports Telecommunications Reform and Liberalization in Liberia |publisher=Public-Private Infrastructure Facility (PPIAF) |date=July 2011 |accessdate=September 3, 2011}}</ref> With low rates of adult literacy and high poverty rates, television and newspaper use is limited, leaving radio as the predominant means of communicating with the public.<ref>[http://www.audiencescapes.org/country-profiles-liberia-country-overview-quantitative-survey-qualitative-analysis-research "Introduction to Communication and Development in Liberia"], AudienceScapes. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>
+===Transportation===
+{{Main article|Transport in Liberia}}
+[[File:Downtown Monrovia 3348917715 67a2002529.jpg|thumb|300px|The streets of downtown [[Monrovia]], March 2009.]]
+Liberia's economic main links to the outside world come through Monrovia, via the port and airport in the capital.
+===Energy===
+{{Further information|Energy in Liberia}}
+Formal electricity services are provided solely by the state-owned Liberia Electricity Corporation, which operates a small grid almost exclusively in the [[Greater Monrovia District]].<ref name="Options">{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTAFRREGTOPENERGY/Resources/717305-1266613906108/Liberia_Energy_ESW_11-4-11web.pdf |title=Options for the Development of Liberia's Energy Sector|work=International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|publisher=World Bank Group|date=2011}}</ref> The vast majority of electric energy services is provided by small privately owned [[Engine-generator|generators]]. At $0.54 per kWh, the [[electricity tariff]] in Liberia is among the highest in the world. Total installed capacity in 2013 was 20 MW, a sharp decline from a peak of 191 MW in 1989 before the wars.<ref name="Options" />
+Completion of the repair and expansion of the [[Mount Coffee Hydropower Project|Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant]], with a maximum capacity of 80 MW, is scheduled to be completed by 2018.<ref>{{cite news | first = Clair | last = MacDougall | title=Liberia: Stepping Back Into The Light? | newspaper=ThinkPressAfrica|date=July 18, 2012}}</ref> Construction of three new [[heavy fuel oil]] power plants is expected to boost electrical capacity by 38 MW.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201311280681.html |title=Liberia: Massive Electrification Boost |newspaper=allAfrica.com|date=November 27, 2013}}</ref> In 2013, Liberia began importing power from neighboring Ivory Coast and Guinea through the [[West African Power Pool]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Joe |last=Teh | url=http://cmiliberia.org/blog/2013/07/30/behind-the-power-switch-in-nimba-an-optimism-for-vibtant-economy/ |title=Behind The Power Switch in Nimba, An optimism for Vibrant Economy |newspaper=The News Pinnacle|date=July 30, 2013}}</ref>
+Liberia has begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFWEA839820091103 |title=Liberia may have over 1 bln barrels in oil resources |newspaper=Reuters Africa|date=November 3, 2009}}</ref> The government divided its offshore waters into 17 [[Block (extraction of petroleum)|blocks]] and began auctioning off exploration licenses for the blocks in 2004, with further auctions in 2007 and 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040202005192/en/NOCAL-2004-Liberia-Offshore-Bid-Announcement|title=NOCAL 2004 Liberia Offshore Bid Round Announcement|work=Business Wire|date=February 2, 2004}}</ref><ref name=bidding>{{cite web |first=Natalie Obiko|last=Pearson|url=http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=53828 |title=Liberia Opens Bidding for 10 Offshore Oil Blocks |work=RigZone |date=December 10, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.psg.deloitte.com/NewsLicensingRounds_LR_0909.asp |title=Third Liberian Offshore Petroleum Licensing Round 2009|work=Deloitte Petroleum Services|publisher=Deloitte|date=August 27, 2009}}</ref> An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.<ref>{{cite web |first=Alphonso |last=Toweh |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE76K01J20110721?sp=true |title=Liberia marks out new oil blocks, auction seen soon |work=Reuters |date=July 21, 2011 |accessdate=August 22, 2011}}</ref> Among the companies to have won licenses are [[Repsol YPF|Repsol]], [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron]], [[Anadarko Petroleum Corporation|Anadarko]] and [[Woodside Petroleum]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Ansu |last=Konneh |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/chevron-liberia-sign-deepwater-offshore-exploration-agreement.html |title=Chevron, Liberia Sign Deepwater Offshore Exploration Agreement|work=Bloomberg News|date=August 30, 2010}}</ref>
+==Demographics==
+[[File:Liberia-demography.png|thumb|350px|Liberia's population from 1961–2013.<ref name="Data of FAO, year 2005">Data of [[FAO]], year 2005</ref> Liberia's population tripled in 40 years.<ref name="Data of FAO, year 2005"/>]]
+[[File:Pyramide Liberia.PNG|thumb|350px|Liberia's [[population pyramid]], 2005. 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.<ref name="WPP 2010">[http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816232627/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm |date=August 16, 2015 }}</ref>]]
+{{main article|Demographics of Liberia}}
+As of the 2017 national census, Liberia was home to 4,694,608 people.<ref name="census2017final">{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/Population_by_County.pdf |title=2008 National Population and Housing Census Final Results: Population by County |author=Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services |date=May 2009 |work=2017 Population and Housing Census |publisher=Republic of Liberia |accessdate=June 10, 2009}}</ref> Of those, 1,118,241 lived in [[Montserrado County]], the most populous county in the country and home to the capital of Monrovia. The [[Greater Monrovia District]] has 970,824 residents.<ref name="census2008final">{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/Population_by_County.pdf |title=2008 National Population and Housing Census Final Results: Population by County |author=Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services |date=May 2009 |work=2008 Population and Housing Census |publisher=Republic of Liberia |accessdate=June 10, 2009}}</ref> [[Nimba County]] is the next most populous county, with 462,026 residents.<ref name="census2008final"/> As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county capitals combined.<ref name="census2008"/>
+Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been held in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628.<ref name="census2008final"/> The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974.<ref name="census2008"/> {{As of|2006}}, Liberia has the [[List of countries by population growth rate|highest population growth rate in the world]] (4.50% per annum).<ref>[https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision] – Table A.8</ref> In 2010 some 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15.<ref name="WPP 2010"/>
+===Ethnic groups===
+The population includes 16 indigenous [[ethnic group]]s and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95 percent of the population. The 16 officially recognized ethnic groups include the [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]], [[Bassa (Liberia)|Bassa]], [[Mano people|Mano]], [[Gio people|Gio]] or Dan, [[Kru people|Kru]], [[Grebo people|Grebo]], [[Krahn]], [[Vai people|Vai]], [[Gola people|Gola]], Mandingo or [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]], [[Mende people|Mende]], [[Kissi people|Kissi]], [[Gbandi people|Gbandi]], [[Loma people|Loma]], [[Fante people|Fante]], Dei or Dewoin, Belleh, and [[Americo-Liberians]] or Congo people.
+The [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]] comprise more than 20% of the population and are the largest ethnic group in Liberia, residing mostly in [[Bong County]] and adjacent areas in central Liberia.<ref>[http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fiske/135b/kpelle.htm "Kpelle", UCLA, Anthropology.]</ref> Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of [[African American]] and [[West Indian]], mostly [[Barbadian people|Barbadian]] [[settler]]s, make up 2.5%. Congo people, descendants of repatriated [[Kongo people|Congo]] and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%.<ref name="CIA"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theperspective.org/rewriting_history.html |title=Liberia's Ugly Past: Re-writing Liberian History |publisher=Theperspective.org |accessdate=January 3, 2010}}</ref> These latter two groups established political control in the 19th century which they kept well into the 20th century.
+Numerous immigrants have come as merchants and become a major part of the business community, including [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Indian people|Indians]], and other West African nationals. There is a high percentage of interracial marriage between ethnic Liberians and the Lebanese, resulting in a significant [[mixed-race]] population especially in and around [[Monrovia]]. A small minority of Liberians who are [[White Africans of European descent]] reside in the country.{{Better source|reason= CIA Fact Book is no authority to populations in Liberia|date=November 2015}}<ref name="CIA"/> The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship to people of African descent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4703029.stm |work=BBC News |title=Lebanese demand Liberia poll rights |date=July 22, 2005}}</ref>
+===Languages===
+{{Further information|Languages of Liberia}}
+[[English language|English]] is the official language and serves as the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Liberia.<ref name=pulitzer>{{cite web |first=Jina |last=Moore |url=http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/untold-stories/liberia-ma-ellen-talk-plenty-plenty-liberian-english |title=Liberia: Ma Ellen talk plenty plenty Liberian English |work=Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting |date=October 19, 2009 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref> Thirty-one indigenous languages are spoken within Liberia, none of which is a [[first language]] to more than a small percentage of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Liberia|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018114601/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Liberia|archivedate=October 18, 2011|title=Languages of Liberia |work=Ethnologue |year=2009 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref> Liberians also speak a variety of creolized dialects collectively known as [[Liberian English]].<ref name=pulitzer/>
+===Largest cities===
+{{Largest cities of Liberia}}
+===Religion===
+{{main article|Religion in Liberia}}
+{{bar box |float=right |titlebar=#ddd
+|title=[[Religion in Liberia]]<ref name=irfr>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148698.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia |work=United States Department of State |date=November 17, 2010 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref>
+|left1=Religion
+|right1=percent
+|bars=
+{{bar percent|[[Christianity]]|Blue|85.5}}
+{{bar percent|[[Islam]]|Black|12.2}}
+{{bar percent|[[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]]|Lavender|1.5}}
+{{bar percent|[[African traditional religion|Indigenous]]|Yellow|0.5}}
+{{bar percent|''Other''|grey|0.1}}
+}}
+According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of the population practices [[Christianity]]. A multitude of diverse [[Protestant|Protestant confessions]] such as [[Lutheran]], [[Baptist]], [[Anglican|Episcopal]], [[Presbyterian]], [[Pentecostal]], [[United Methodist]], [[African Methodist Episcopal]] (AME) and AME Zion denominations form the bulk of Christians, followed by adherents of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Most of these denominations were brought by African American settlers moving from the [[United States]] into Liberia, while some are indigenous—especially [[Pentecostal]] and [[Evangelical Protestant]] ones.
+[[Muslim]]s comprise 12.2% of the population, largely represented by the [[Mandinka people|Mandingo]] and [[Vai people|Vai]] ethnic groups. [[Sunnis]], [[Shia]]s, [[Ahmadiyya]]s, [[Sufi]]s, and [[non-denominational Muslims]] constitute the bulk of the Liberian Muslims.<ref>Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2013</ref>
+[[African traditional religion|Traditional indigenous religions]] are practiced by 0.5% of the population, while 1.5% subscribe to no religion. A small number of people are [[Bahá'í]], [[Hindu]], [[Sikh]], or [[Buddhist]]. While Christian, many Liberians also participate in traditional, gender-based indigenous religious [[secret societies]], such as [[Poro]] for men and [[Sande society|Sande]] for women. The all-female Sande society practices [[female genital mutilation|female circumcision]].<ref name=irfr/>
+The Constitution provides for [[freedom of religion]], and the government generally respects this right.<ref name=irfr/> While [[separation of church and state]] is mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a [[Christian state]] in practice.<ref name=freedom>{{cite web | url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4e16b8f91a.html |title=Freedom in the World 2011 – Liberia |work=Freedom House |publisher=UNHCR |date=July 7, 2011 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref> Public schools offer [[biblical studies]], though parents may opt their children out. Commerce is prohibited by law on [[Sundays]] and major [[Christian holiday]]s. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for [[Friday prayers]].<ref name=irfr/>
+{{clear}}
+==Education==
+{{main article|Education in Liberia}}
+[[File:Liberian students.jpg|thumb|250px|Students studying by candlelight in [[Bong County]]]]
+In 2010, the [[literacy rate]] of Liberia was estimated at 60.8% (64.8% for males and 56.8% for females).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=4300&BR_Region=40540 |title=Education profile – Liberia |work=Institute for Statistics |publisher=UNESCO |year=2010 |accessdate=July 20, 2011}}</ref> In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74422|title=LIBERIA: Go to school or go to jail|date=September 21, 2007|work=IRN|publisher=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|accessdate=April 8, 2009}}</ref> In other areas children are required to pay a tuition fee to attend school. On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls).<ref name=CIA/> The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Sidiki |last1=Trawally |first2=Derek |last2=Reeves |url=http://www.liftliberia.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=100&related=Press%20Release |title=Making Quality Education Affordable And Assessable To All—Prez. Sirleaf's Vision With Passion |work=Lift Liberia |year=2009 |accessdate=July 20, 2011}}</ref>
+Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The [[University of Liberia]] is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862. Today it has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, [[Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law]].<ref>Jallah, David A. B. [http://www.ialsnet.org/meetings/enriching/JallahDavid.pdf "Notes, Presented by Professor and Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, David A. B. Jallah to the International Association of Law Schools Conference Learning From Each Other: Enriching the Law School Curriculum in an Interrelated World Held at Soochow University Kenneth Wang School of Law, Suzhou, China, October 17–19, 2007."] International Association of Law Schools. Retrieved on September 1, 2008.</ref>
+[[Cuttington University]] was established by the [[Episcopal Church of the USA]] in 1889 in Suakoko, [[Bong County]], as part of its missionary education work among indigenous peoples. It is the nation's oldest private university.
+In 2009, [[Tubman University]] in [[Harper, Liberia|Harper]], [[Maryland County]] was established as the second public university in Liberia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340:ellen-describes-tubman-universitys-opening-as-prs-success&catid=3:general&Itemid=68 |title=Ellen Describes Tubman University's Opening As PRS Success |newspaper=The New Dawn |date=March 3, 2010 |accessdate=July 22, 2010}}</ref> Since 2006, the government has also opened [[community college]]s in [[Buchanan, Liberia|Buchanan]], [[Sanniquellie]], and [[Voinjama]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/20101023President_Remarks_GBCC_Launch_Ground_Breaking.pdf |title=Remarks by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf At Official Launch and Fundraising Program Of the Grand Bassa Community College |publisher=The Executive Mansion |date=October 21, 2010 |accessdate=July 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Peter A. |last=Fahn |url=http://www.micat.gov.lr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156:government-moves-ahead-with-education-decentralization-plans&catid=47:new-liberia&Itemid=91 |title=Government Moves Ahead With Education Decentralization Plans |work=Government Moves Ahead with Education Decentralization Plans |date=July 7, 2011 |accessdate=August 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004060405/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1951 |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1951 |title=July 26 Celebrations Kick Off in Lofa As President Sirleaf Arrives |work=The Executive Mansion |date=July 25, 2011 |archivedate=October 4, 2011 |accessdate=August 29, 2013}}</ref>
+==Health==
+{{Further information|Health in Liberia}}
+[[List of hospitals in Liberia|Hospitals in Liberia]] include the [[John F. Kennedy Medical Center (Liberia)|John F. Kennedy Medical Center]] in [[Monrovia]] and several others. [[Life expectancy]] in Liberia is estimated to be 57.4 years in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html?countryName=Guyana&countryCode=gy&regionCode=soa&rank=159#gy |title=CIA World Factbook: Life Expectancy ranks |work=CIA |accessdate=April 26, 2012}}</ref> With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the [[maternal mortality]] rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/docs/country_info/profile/en_Liberia_SoWMy_Profile.pdf |title=The State of the World's Midwifery 2011: Liberia |work=United Nations Population Fund|accessdate=August 2, 2011}}</ref> A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including [[tuberculosis]], [[diarrheal diseases]] and [[malaria]]. In 2007, the [[HIV]] infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.AIDS.ZS/countries |title=Data: Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15–49)|publisher=The World Bank |accessdate=February 23, 2011}}</ref> whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.<ref name="profile">{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/gho/countries/lbr.pdf |title=Liberia: Health profile |publisher=World Health Organization |accessdate=February 23, 2011}}</ref> Approximately 58.2%<ref>{{cite news|title=Female genital mutilation (FGM)|url=http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/|agency=World Health Organization}}</ref> – 66%<ref name=UNICEF2013p27>[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf UNICEF 2013], p. 27.</ref> of women are estimated to have undergone [[female genital mutilation]].
+Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?InDepthID=72&ReportID=77811 |title=Liberia: Nurtitional "crisis" in Monrovia |publisher=Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |accessdate=February 24, 2011}}</ref> In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of five were malnourished.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MALN.ZS/countries |title=Data: Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5). The |publisher=World Bank |accessdate=February 23, 2011}}</ref> In 2008, only 17% of the population had access to adequate sanitation facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ACSN/countries |title=Data: Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access) |publisher=The World Bank |accessdate=February 23, 2011}}</ref>
+Civil war ended in 2003 after destroying approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=60788 |title=Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system |publisher=Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |accessdate=February 24, 2011}}</ref> In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PCAP/countries |title=Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$) |publisher=World Bank |accessdate=February 23, 2011}}</ref> accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS/countries |title=Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP) |publisher=World Bank |accessdate=February 23, 2011}}</ref> In 2008, Liberia had only one doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.<ref name="profile"/>
+In 2014 an [[2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak|outbreak of Ebola virus]] in Guinea [[Ebola virus epidemic in Liberia|spread to Liberia]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Alphonso |last=Toweh |date= March 30, 2014 |title= Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/30/us-liberia-ebola-idUSBREA2T0ON20140330 |publisher= Reuters |accessdate= March 30, 2014 }}</ref> As of November 17, 2014, there were 2,812 confirmed deaths from the ongoing outbreak.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/17/how-liberia-might-have-beat-ebola.html |title=How Liberia (Might Have) Beat Ebola |work=The Daily Beast|accessdate=November 17, 2014}}</ref> In early August 2014 [[Guinea]] closed its borders to Liberia to help contain the spread of the virus, as more new cases were being reported in Liberia than in Guinea. On May 9, 2015 Liberia was declared Ebola free after six weeks with no new cases.<ref>{{cite news|title = Wonderful News Liberia after plague|url = http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21650584-wonderful-news-liberia-after-plague|website = The Economist|accessdate =May 11, 2015}}</ref>
+According to an [[Overseas Development Institute]] report, private health expenditure accounts for 64.1% of total spending on health.<ref>Marc DuBois and Caitlin Wake, with Scarlett Sturridge and Christina Bennett (2015) [http://www.odi.org/publications/9956-ebola-response-west-africa-exposing-politics-culture-international-aid The Ebola response in West Africa: Exposing the politics and culture of international aid] London: Overseas Development Institute</ref>
+== Crime ==
+Rape and sexual assault are frequent in the post-conflict era in Liberia. The country has one of the highest incidences of sexual violence against women in the world. Rape is the most frequently reported crime, accounting for more than one-third of [[sexual violence]] cases. Adolescent girls are the most frequently assaulted, and almost 40% of perpetrators are adult men known to victims.<ref>Nicola Jones, Janice Cooper, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall and David Walker, June 2014; "The fallout of rape as a weapon of war", ODI; http://www.odi.org/publications/8464-rape-weapon-war-liberia</ref>
+Both male and female [[LGBT rights in Liberia|homosexuality]] is illegal in Liberia.<ref>{{cite web|title=State Sponsored Homophobia 2016: A world survey of sexual orientation laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition|url=http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf|work=[[International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association]]|date=17 May 2016}}</ref> On 20 July 2012, the Liberian senate voted unanimously to enact legislation to prohibit and criminalize [[same-sex marriage]]s.<ref>[http://www.liberianobserver.com/index.php/news/item/1976-senate-passes-%E2%80%98no-same-sex-marriage%E2%80%99-bill "Senate Passes 'No Same Sex Marriage' Bill ", ''Daily Observer'', 21 July 2012]</ref>
+==Culture==
+{{main article|Culture of Liberia}}
+[[File:Brooklyn Museum 1998.80.2 Helmet Mask for Sande Society.jpg|thumb|Bassa culture. ''Helmet Mask for [[Sande society|Sande Society]] (Ndoli Jowei)'', Liberia. 20th century. [[Brooklyn Museum]].]]
+The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the [[Antebellum era|antebellum]] [[American South]]. The settlers wore [[top hat and tails]] and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners.<ref>{{cite web |first=Teresa |last=Wiltz |url=http://www.theroot.com/views/liberia-war-weary-echoes-old-dixie |title=Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie |work=The Root |date=December 2, 2010 |accessdate=July 23, 2011}}</ref> Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the [[Masonic Order of Liberia]], which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/liberia/monrovia-mason.htm |title=Monrovia—Masonic Grand Lodge |work=Global Security |accessdate=July 23, 2011}}</ref>
+Liberia has a long, rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp63618&rNo=0&role=sit|title=Martha Ricks|publisher=National Portrait Gallery|accessdate=December 12, 2008}}</ref> who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian [[coffee tree]] to [[Queen Victoria]] in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200603240593.html?page=2 |accessdate=May 16, 2008 |title=Liberia: It's the Little Things—A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency |work=allAfrica.com}}</ref>
+A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. [[Edward Wilmot Blyden]], [[Bai T. Moore]], [[Roland T. Dempster]] and [[Wilton G. S. Sankawulo]] are among Liberia's more prominent authors.<ref>{{cite news |first=Varney |last=Kamara |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201007200709.html |title=Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority" |work=The Analyst |publisher=allAfrica.com |date=July 20, 2010 |accessdate=July 23, 2011}}</ref> Moore's novella ''[[Murder in the Cassava Patch]]'' is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.<ref>{{cite web |first=J. Kpanneh |last=Doe |url=http://www.theperspective.org/bookreview.html |title=Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb – A Book Review & Commentary |work=The Perspective |date=October 31, 2000 |accessdate=July 23, 2011}}</ref>
+===Polygamy===
+{{Further information|Polygamy in Liberia}}
+One-third of married Liberian women between the ages of 15–49 are in polygamous marriages.<ref name="Atlasof">OECD Atlas of Gender and Development: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, 2010. p 236.</ref> Customary law allows men to have up to four wives.<ref>Olukoju, Ayodeji. "Gender Roles, Marriage and Family", ''Culture and Customs of Liberia''. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 97.</ref>
+===Cuisine===
+{{main article|Liberian cuisine}}
+[[File:Beachside Barbeque (6831739276).jpg|thumb|A beachside barbeque at [[Sinkor]], [[Monrovia]], Liberia]]
+Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates [[rice]], the country's staple food. Other ingredients include [[cassava]], [[fish]], [[banana]]s, [[citrus fruit]], [[Plantain (cooking)|plantains]], [[coconut]], [[okra]] and [[sweet potatoes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/liberia.php |title=Celtnet Liberian Recipes and Cookery |work=Celtnet Recipes |accessdate=July 23, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903234346/http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/liberia.php |archivedate=September 3, 2011 |df= }}</ref> Heavy [[stew]]s spiced with [[habanero]] and [[scotch bonnet]] chillies are popular and eaten with [[fufu]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Liberia.html |title=Liberia |work=Food in Every Country |accessdate=August 27, 2013}}</ref> Liberia also has a tradition of [[baking]] imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gwydion.weebly.com/liberian-baking.html |title=The Baking Recipes of Liberia |work=Africa Aid |accessdate=July 23, 2011}}</ref>
+===Sport===
+The most popular sport in Liberia is [[association football]], with [[George Weah]] — the only African to be named [[FIFA World Player of the Year]] — being the nation's most famous athlete.<ref name="FIFA">[http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=2187/. "Iconic Weah a true great"]. FIFA.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013</ref> The [[Liberia national football team]] has reached the [[Africa Cup of Nations]] twice, in [[1996 African Cup of Nations|1996]] and [[2002 African Cup of Nations|2002]].
+The second most popular sport in Liberia is [[basketball]]. The [[Liberian national basketball team]] has reached the [[AfroBasket]] twice, in [[FIBA Africa Championship 1983|1983]] and [[FIBA Africa Championship 2007|2007]].
+In Liberia, the [[Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex]] serves as a multi-purpose [[stadium]]. It hosts [[FIFA World Cup]] qualifying matches in addition to international concerts and national political events.<ref>{{cite news|title=Liberia:Chaos Mars Grand Bassa and Nimba Clash |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201401211272.html|accessdate=9 October 2016|newspaper=All Africa|date=21 January 2012}}</ref>
+===Measurement system===
+Liberia is one of only three countries that have not officially adopted the [[International System of Units]] (metric system), the others being the [[United States]] and [[Myanmar]].<ref>{{cite web
+ | url         = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-g.html
+ | title       = CIA The World Factbook
+ | year        = 2010
+ | work        = Appendix G: Weights and Measures
+ | publisher   = US Central Intelligence Agency
+ | accessdate  = April 24, 2010
+}}</ref> The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of [[imperial units]] to the metric system.<ref name=ut>{{cite web
+ | url         = http://trend.ag.utk.edu/international/ReformingCocoaCoffeeMarketingLiberia.pdf
+ | title       = Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia
+ | author      = Wilcox, Michael D., Jr. Department of Agricultural Economics University of Tennessee
+ | year        = 2008
+ | work        = Presentation and Policy Brief
+ | publisher   = University of Tennessee
+ | accessdate  = April 25, 2010
+}}</ref> However, this change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using both imperial and metric units.<ref>{{cite web
+ | url         = http://www.emansion.gov.lr/content.php?sub=County%20Development%20Agendas&related=CDAs
+ | archiveurl         = https://web.archive.org/web/20100114003713/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/content.php?sub=County%20Development%20Agendas&related=CDAs
+ | archivedate         =January 14, 2010
+ | title       = County Development Agendas
+ | author      = Government of Liberia
+ | year        = 2008
+ | publisher   = Government of the Republic of Liberia
+ | accessdate  = 1 May 2010
+}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
+ | url         = http://www.molme.gov.lr/doc/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Annual%20Report%20Jan%201%20-%20Dec%2031%202009.pdf
+ | title       = Annual report
+ | author      = Shannon, Eugene H.
+ | date        = December 31, 2009
+ | work        = Annual report
+ | publisher   = Liberian Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy
+ | accessdate  = May 1, 2010
+}}</ref>
+==See also==
+* [[Outline of Liberia]]
+* [[Gender inequality in Liberia]]
+{{portal bar|Geography|Africa|<!-- West Africa -->|<!-- African Union -->|<!-- ECOWAS -->|Liberia}}
+==References==
+{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
+==Further reading==
+{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
+* Cooper, Helene, ''House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (Simon & Schuster, 2008, {{ISBN|0-7432-6624-2}})
+* {{cite book
+| title=Africa in World History, From Prehistory to the Present
+| date=October 2003
+| publisher=Prentice Hall
+| isbn = 978-0-13-092907-5
+| edition=Paperback
+|author1=Gilbert, Erik  |author2=Reynolds, Jonathan T
+}}
+* {{cite book
+| title=Too Late to Turn Back
+| date=March 5, 1991
+| publisher=Penguin
+| isbn = 0-14-009594-2
+| author=Greene, Barbara
+}}
+* {{cite book
+| title=[[Journey Without Maps]]
+| publisher=Vintage
+| year=1936
+| isbn = 978-0-09-928223-5
+| author=Greene, Graham
+}}
+* {{cite book
+| title=Long Story Bit By Bit: Liberia Retold
+| publisher=New York: Umbrage
+| year=2009
+| isbn = 978-1-884167-73-7
+| author=Hetherington, Tim
+}}
+* {{cite book
+| title=Mississippi in Africa: The Saga of the Slaves of Prospect Hill Plantation and Their Legacy in Liberia Today
+| publisher=Gotham Books
+| year=2004
+| isbn = 978-1-59240-044-7
+| author=Huffman, Alan
+}}
+* {{cite book
+| url = https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/33835
+| title=Liberia : From the Love of Liberty to Paradise Lost
+| publisher=African Studies Centre, Leiden
+| year= 2015
+| isbn = 978-90-54481447
+| author=[http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/Author.htm Kraaij, Fred | author2=van der]
+}}
+*Lang, Victoria, ''To Liberia: Destiny's Timing'' (Publish America, Baltimore, 2004, {{ISBN|1-4137-1829-9}}). A fast-paced gripping novel of the journey of a young Black couple fleeing America to settle in the African motherland of Liberia.
+*Maksik, Alexander, ''A Marker to Measure Drift'' (John Murray 2013; Paperback 2014; {{ISBN|978-1-84854-807-7}}). A beautifully written, powerful & moving novel about a young woman's experience of and escape from the Liberian civil war.
+* {{cite book
+| title=Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary: 3rd Edition
+| publisher=Merriam Webster Inc., Springfield
+| year=1997
+| isbn = 0-87779-546-0
+| edition=Paperback
+}}
+* [[Godfrey Mwakikagile|Mwakikagile, Godfrey]], ''Military Coups in West Africa Since The Sixties'', Chapter Eight: Liberia: 'The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,' pp.&nbsp;85–110, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Huntington, New York, 2001; Godfrey Mwakikagile, ''The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation'', Chapter One: The Collapse of A Modern African State: Death and Rebirth of Liberia, pp.&nbsp;1–18, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2001.
+* {{cite book
+| title=Liberia: Portrait of a Failed State
+| date=April 4, 2001
+| publisher=Reed Press
+| isbn = 1-59429-012-1
+| author=Pham, John-Peter
+}}
+* Sankawulo, Wilton, ''Great Tales of Liberia''. Dr. Sankawulo is the compiler of these tales from Liberia and about Liberian culture. Published by Editura Universitatii "Lucian Blaga"; din Sibiu, Romania, 2004. {{ISBN|973–651–838–8}}.
+* Sankawulo, Wilton, ''Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey''. Recommended by the Cultural Resource Center, Center for Applied Linguistics for its content concerning Liberian culture. {{ISBN|0-9763565-0-3}}
+* Shaw, Elma, ''Redemption Road: The Quest for Peace and Justice in Liberia'' (a novel), with a Foreword by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Cotton Tree Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-9800774-0-7}})
+* {{cite book
+| title=Liberia: The Heart of Darkness
+| date=July 6, 2006
+| publisher=Trafford Publishing
+| isbn = 1-55369-294-2
+| author=Williams, Gabriel I. H.
+}}
+{{refend}}
+==External links==
+{{Commons category}}
+{{Wikivoyage}}
+*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/LI.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
+*{{CIA World Factbook link|li|Liberia}}
+*[http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/liberia.htm Liberia] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''.
+*{{dmoz|Regional/Africa/Liberia}}
+*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13729504 Liberia profile] from the [[BBC News]].
+*[http://countryportal.ascleiden.nl/liberia Liberia profile] from the [[Afrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden|African Studies Centre Leiden]] [http://countryportal.ascleiden.nl Country portal].
+*[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/liberia.html "Liberia Maps"], Perry-Castañeda Library, University of Texas at Austin.
+*{{wikiatlas|Liberia}}
+{{Liberia topics}}
+{{Countries of Africa}}
+{{Navboxes
+|title = International membership
+|list  =
+{{African Union}}
+}}
+{{Navboxes
+|title = Languages
+|list  =
+{{English official language clickable map}}
+}}
+{{Authority control}}
+[[Category:Liberia| ]]<!--Please do not move this article from its correct and standard position at the head of its own category.-->
+[[Category:Economic Community of West African States]]
+[[Category:English-speaking countries and territories]]
+[[Category:Least developed countries]]
+[[Category:Member states of the African Union]]
+[[Category:Reparations for slavery]]
+[[Category:Republics]]
+[[Category:States and territories established in 1847]]
+[[Category:Member states of the United Nations]]
+[[Category:West African countries]]
+[[Category:1847 establishments in Liberia]]
+[[Category:Countries in Africa]]

రిపబ్లిక్ ఆఫ్ లైబీరియా
జండా Coat of arms
నినాదం: "The love of liberty brought us here"
గీతం: All Hail, Liberia, Hail!
Location of లైబీరియా (dark blue) – in Africa (light blue & dark grey) – in the African Union (light blue)

రాజధాని and largest city	Monrovia 6°19′N 10°48′W / 6.317°N 10.800°W / 6.317; -10.800
అధికార భాషలు	English
Spoken and national languages^[1]	Liberian English
జాతులు (2008^[2])	20.3% Kpelle 13.4% Bassa 10.0% Grebo 8.0% Gio 7.9% Mano 6.0% Kru 5.1% Lorma 4.8% Kissi 4.4% Gola 20.1% others
మతం	Christianity (85.6%), Islam (12.2%), Others (2.2%)^[2]
పిలుచువిధం	Liberian
ప్రభుత్వం	Unitary presidential republic

• President	Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
• Vice President	Joseph Boakai
• Speaker of the House	Alex J. Tyler
• Chief Justice	Francis Korkpor, Sr.

శాసనవ్యవస్థ	Legislature of Liberia
• ఎగువ సభ	Senate
• దిగువ సభ	House of Representatives
Formation and Independence

• Settlement by the American Colonization Society	January 7, 1822
• Liberian Declaration of Independence	July 26, 1847
• Annexation of Republic of Maryland	March 18, 1857
• Recognition by the United States	February 5, 1862
• Current constitution	January 6, 1986

విస్తీర్ణం
• మొత్తం	111,369 కి.మీ² (43,000 చ. మై.) (103rd)
• నీరు (%)	13.514
జనాభా
• 2015 estimate	4,503,000^[3] (125th)
• 2008 census	3,476,608 (130th)
• జనసాంద్రత	40.43/చ.కి. (104.7/చ.మై.) (180th)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$3.879 billion^[4]
• Per capita	$881^[4]
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$2.106 billion^[4]
• Per capita	$478^[4]
జినీ (2007)	38.2^[5] medium
హెచ్‌డిఐ (2015)	0.427^[6] low · 177th
ద్రవ్యం	Liberian dollar^a (LRD)
కాల విభాగం	UTC+0 (GMT)
వాహనాలు నడుపు వైపు	right
ఫోన్ కోడ్	+231
Internet TLD	.lr

లైబీరియా: కూర్పుల మధ్య తేడాలు

08:13, 26 జూలై 2017 నాటి కూర్పు

History

Early settlement

Government

20th century

2000s

Geography

Counties and districts

Environmental issues

Politics

Corruption

Military

Foreign relations

Law enforcement

Economy and infrastructure

Shipping flag of convenience

Telecommunications

Transportation

Energy

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Languages

Largest cities

Religion

Education

Health

Crime

Culture

Polygamy

Cuisine

Sport

Measurement system

See also

References

Further reading

External links

మార్గదర్శకపు మెనూ

వెతుకు