Liberia

• tropical;
• hot, humid;
• dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights;
• wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

• tropical rain forest deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• loss of biodiversity;
• pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

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

0-14 years:

43.4% (male 742,508; female 730,677)

15-64 years:

52.9% (male 875,951; female 918,570)

65 years and over:

3.6% (male 61,867; female 61,062) (2004 est.)

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.01 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

Liberian(s)

adjective:

Liberian

conventional long form:

Republic of Liberia

conventional short form:

Liberia

chief of state:

• Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003);
• note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005;
• the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003);
• note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005;
• the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

• Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate;
• note - current cabinet positions are divided among groups participating in the Liberian peace process

elections:

president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA October 2005)

election results:

• Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president;
• percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%;
• note - Taylor stepped down in August 2003

;

• note:: a UN-brokered cease-fire among warring factions and the Liberian government resulted in the August 2003 resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR;
• a jointly agreed upon replacement, Chairman Gyude BRYANT, assumed office as head of the National Transitional Government on 14 October 2003

• Alliance of Political Parties (a coalition of LAP and LUP) [leader NA];
• All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY];
• Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT];
• Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE];
• Liberia Unification Party or LUP [leader NA];
• National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party;
• United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON];
• Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Aaron B. KOLLIE

chancery:

5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

telephone:

[1] (202) 723-0437

FAX:

[1] (202) 723-0436

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador John William BLANEY III

embassy:

111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[231] 226-370 through 226-380

FAX:

[231] 226-148

• 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white;
• there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner;
• the design was based on the US flag

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

• rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas;
• sheep, goats;
• timber

general assessment:

telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia

domestic:

NA

international:

country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

total:

490 km

standard gauge:

345 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

145 km 1.067-m gauge

note: none of the railways are in operation (2003)

total:

10,600 km

paved:

657 km

unpaved:

9,943 km (1999 est.)

• domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, and ethnic conflicts and refugees in border areas;
• the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivorian rebels

refugees (country of origin):

13,941 (Sierra Leone), 38,325 (Cote d'Ivoire)

IDPs:

500,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2004)

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