Liberia

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

total:

0.11 cu km/yr (27%/18%/55%)

per capita:

34 cu m/yr (2000)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification, 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

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.94 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and yellow fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

aerosolized dust or soil contact disease:

Lassa fever

animal contact disease:

rabies (2009)

noun:

Liberian(s)

adjective:

Liberian

conventional long form:

Republic of Liberia

conventional short form:

Liberia

name:

Monrovia

geographic coordinates:

6 18 N, 10 48 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

• Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH];
• Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL [H. Varney SHERMAN];
• Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH];
• Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE];
• National Patriotic Party or NPP [Roland MASSAQUOI];
• Unity Party or UP [Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Milton Nathaniel BARNES

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 Linda THOMAS-GREENFIELD

embassy:

111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 98, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[231] 7-705-4826

FAX:

[231] 7-701-0370

• 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

agriculture:

70%

industry:

8%

services:

22% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

revenues:

NA

expenditures:

NA

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

general assessment:

• the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia;
• coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators

domestic:

fixed line service stagnant and extremely limited; mobile-cellular subscription base growing and teledensity exceeding 20 per 100 persons

international:

country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)

total:

429 km

country comparison to the world: 118

standard gauge:

345 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

84 km 1.067-m gauge

note: most sections of the railway are inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil wars from 1980 to 2003 (2008)

total:

10,600 km

country comparison to the world: 137

paved:

657 km

unpaved:

9,943 km (2000)

males age 16-49:

729,813

females age 16-49:

741,223 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

387,417

females age 16-49:

382,334 (2009 est.)

male:

34,059

female:

33,281 (2009 est.)

• although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January 2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana;
• Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire;
• despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations;
• UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber

refugees (country of origin):

12,600 (Cote d'Ivoire)

IDPs:

13,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2007)

• 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