Liberia

This Page was last updated on the 2nd. November, 2006.

Country	Liberia
Official Name	Republic of Liberia
Former Name	Grain Coast, Liberia (Portuguese explorers contacts and named the area ‘Grain Coast’ in 1461; British built trading posts [Dutch destroyed them a year later] on the Grain Coast in 1663; Liberia [‘Land of the Free’] founded when the first freed slaves [Americo-Liberians] arrived from the USA on February 6, 1820; settlers encountered opposition from local peoples and borders were encroached upon by colonial expansion; declaration of independence of the Republic of Liberia on 26 July 1847.)
Capital	Monrovia
Main Towns	Buchanan (est. pop. 300,000), Ganta (est. pop. 290,000), Gbarnga (est. pop. 150,000), Greenville, Harbel (est. pop. 136,000), Kakata (est. pop. 100,000), Monrovia (est. pop. 750,000), Robertsport, Totota
Subdivisions	15 counties: Bomi, Bong, Gparbolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe
Independence	26 July 1847 (from American Colonization Society, Liberian declaration of independence)
Constitution	6 January 1986
National Holiday	Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
UN Membership	2 November 1945
OAU Membership	25 May 1963 – now African Union (AU)
Commonwealth	n/a
Other Organisations	In alphabetical order according to abbreviation/acronym: Africa-Caribbean-Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU), African Development Bank (AfDB or AFDB), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Group of 77 at the United Nations (G-77), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Criminal Court (ICCt - signatory), International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM), International Development Association (IDA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF - voting rights suspended in March 2003), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Mano River Union (MRU), Non Aligned Movement (NAM), Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW - signatory), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Confederation of Labour (WCL), World Customs Organization (WCO, former Customs Cooperation Council [CCC]), World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
Population	World Bank Figures: 3,044,050 (1999), 3,130,000 (2000), 3,213,768 (2001), 3,295,049 (2002), 3,373,542 (2003) Other Sources: 3,073,245 (July 1995), 3,225,837 (July 2001 est.), 3,317,176 (July 2003 est.) 3,482,211 (July 2005 est.)
Area	43,000 sq. mls. (111,370 sq. kms.)
Density	23 per sq.km. (1995)
Highest Point	Mt. Wuteve 4,528 ft. (1,380 m.)
Lowest Point	Atlantic Ocean - sea level
Neighbours	Guinea (N), Ivory Coast (E), Sierra Leone (NW)
Life Expectancy	54 years (1995), total population: 51.41 years, male: 49.96 years, female: 52.91 years (2001 est.) total population: 48.15 years, male: 47.03 years, female: 49.3 years (2003 est.) total population: 47.69 years male: 46.75 years female: 48.65 years (2005 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate	total: 132.18 deaths/1,000 live births, female: 125.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.), male: 139.03 deaths/1,000 live births total: 128.87 deaths/1,000 live births male: 135.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 121.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS	adult prevalence rate: 9% (2001 est.) 5.9% (2003 est.) people living with HIV/AIDS: 125,000 (2001 est.) 100,000 (2003 est.) deaths: 5,000 (2001 est.) 7,200 (2003 est.) IRIN Plus News - HIV/AIDS Treatment Map: Liberia - Updated: Sept 2004 Population: 3.3 million HIV Prevalence Rate (%) 2003 End: 5.9 No. Of People living with HIV/AIDS: 100,000 No. Of People in need of ART: N/D No. Of People Currently On ART (Sep 04): N/D No. Of People on ART Public Sector: N/D No. Of People on ART in Non Govt Programmes: N/D No. Of People Exptd to be on ART (2005 End): N/D Front Line Drug Regimen: N/D HIV/AIDS Treatment Sites: N/D Global Fund 2 Year Approved Funding (Round 2: Approved 23-Jun-04): US$7,658,187.00 Total Funds Disbursed By The Global Fund: US$1,032,753.00 Total Funds Disbursed By The World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme (MAP): Nil Total Funds Disbursed By PEPFAR: Nil Source: USAID, WHO, Ministry of Health
Adult Literacy Rate	32% (1985), total population: 38.3%, male: 53.9%, female: 22.4% (1995 est.) total population: 57.5%, male: 73.3%, female: 41.6% (2003 est.)
Ethnic Groups	African Peoples 95% (including Kpelle 20%, Bassa 16%, Gio 8%, Kru 7%, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella); Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from US former slaves); Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean former slaves)
Languages	English 20% (official), 20 ethnic group languages of which only a few are written
Religions	Officially a Christian state: Christian 30%, Islam 20% (especially in the North) and Traditional beliefs 60%.
Type of Government	Republic
President	Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected in November 2005 and inaugurated in January 2006, replacing a transitional government that took office in October 2003.
Prime Minister	---
Political Parties	Alliance of Political Parties (a coalition of LAP and LUP); All Liberia Coalition Party (ALCOP); Liberian Action Party (LAP); Liberian People's Party (LPP); Liberia Unification Party (LUP); National Patriotic Party (NPP); United People's Party (UPP); Unity Party (UP).
Ruling Party	United Party
Currency	Liberian Dollar (L$, LRD)(100 cents) Liberian dollars per US dollar - 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003), 61.754 (2002), 48.583 (2001), 40.953 (2000)
GDP	GDP: US$442 million (2003) GDP: US$475 million (2004 est.) purchasing power parity - US$2.903 billion (2004 est.) per capita purchasing power parity - US$1,100 (2002 est.) per capita purchasing power parity - US$900 (2004 est.)
GNP	US$200 (1994)
Per Capita Income	GDP per head: US$196 (2002)
Population Below Poverty Line	80%
Land Use	arable land: 3.95% permanent crops: 2.28% other: 93.77% (2001) Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural Resources	iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
Oil and Natural Gas	The Government of Liberia has reported in recent years that it has discovered sizable deposits of crude oil along its Atlantic Coast. Oil production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) consumption: 3,100 bbl/day (2001 est.) exports: NA (2001) imports: NA (2001)
Military	Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 735,481 (2003 est.) males age 18-49: 659,795 (2005 est.) Military expenditures - dollar figure: $7.8 million, 1.3% of GDP (FY02) US$1.5 million, 0.2% of GDP (2004)
Economic Aid Received	US$94 million (1999) Aid per Capita (World Bank): US$31 (1999), US$22 (2000), US$12 (2001), US$16 (2002), US$32 (2003)
Debt	Severely indebted (HIPC) World Bank Figures: US$2,053,100,032 (2000), US$1,927,500,032 (2001), US$2,473,400,064 (2002), US$2,749,600,000 (2003) Other Sources: US$1.93bn (1993) US$3 bn (1999 est.) US$2.1 billion (2000 est.)
Major Imports	fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs petroleum products, rice, chemicals, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, machinery, clothing, beverages, and tobacco (2004)
Imports from	France 30.0%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 15.8%, Singapore 8.2% (2001) US$1.079 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) South Korea 38.1%, Japan 21.9%, Singapore 12.6%, Croatia 4.8% (2004) US$355 million (2004)
Major Exports	rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee rubber 90% (2004) Being the second-largest maritime licenser in the world--with more than 1,800 vessels registered under its flag, including 35% of the world's tanker fleet - Liberia earned more than US$15 million from its maritime program in 2004.
Exports to	Germany 51.8%, Italy 7.2%, US 5.4%, China 5.3% (2001) $1.079 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) Germany 36.9%, Poland 18.6%, US 11.4%, Greece 10.6% (2004) US$42 million (2004)

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The White Fathers, Sutton Coldfield, 2 Nov., 2006

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