Liberia

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

mean elevation:

243 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean; 1447 highest point: Mount Wuteve

• tropical rain forest deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• loss of biodiversity;
• hunting of endangered species for bushmeat;
• pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage;
• pollution of rivers from industrial run-off;
• burning and dumping of household waste

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

noun:

Liberian(s)

adjective:

Liberian

0-14 years:

43.72% (male 1,062,766 /female 1,040,211)

15-24 years:

19.9% (male 478,041 /female 478,999)

25-54 years:

30.1% (male 711,963 /female 735,878)

55-64 years:

3.43% (male 84,474 /female 80,410)

65 years and over:

2.85% (male 67,229 /female 69,797) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

83.2 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

77.6 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

5.5 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

18.1 (2015 est.)

at birth:

1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever (2016)

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis (2016)

animal contact diseases:

rabies (2016)

aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases:

Lassa fever (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Liberia

conventional short form:

Liberia

etymology:

name derives from the Latin word "liber" meaning "free"; so named because the nation was created as a homeland for liberated African-American slaves

name:

Monrovia

geographic coordinates:

6 18 N, 10 48 W

time difference:

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

history:

previous 1847 (at independence); latest drafted 19 October 1983, revised version adopted by referendum 3 July 1984, effective 6 January 1986 (2018)

amendments:

• proposed by agreement of at least two-thirds of both National Assembly houses or by petition of at least 10,000 citizens;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority approval of both houses and approval in a referendum by at least two-thirds majority of registered voters;
• amended 2011 (2018)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Liberia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

2 years

highest courts:

Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 4 associate justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction for all constitutional cases

judge selection and term of office:

chief justice and associate justices appointed by the president of Liberia with consent of the Senate; judges can serve until age 70

subordinate courts:

• judicial circuit courts;
• special courts, including criminal, civil, labor, traffic;
• magistrate and traditional or customary courts

chief of state:

• President George WEAH (since 22 January 2018);
• Vice President Jewel TAYLOR (since 22 January 2018);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President George WEAH (since 22 January 2018); Vice President Jewel Taylor (since 22 January 2018)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 10 October 2017 with a run-off on 26 December 2017);
• the runoff originally scheduled for 7 November 2017 was been halted pending a ruling on fraud allegations, which the Supreme Court dismissed

election results:

• George WEAH elected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - George WEAH (Coalition for Democratic Change) 38.4%, Joseph BOAKAI (UP) 28.8%, Charles BRUMSKINE (LP) 9.6%, Prince JOHNSON (MDR) 8.2%, Alexander B. CUMMINGS (ANC) 7.2%, other 7.8%;
• percentage of vote in second round - George WEAH 61.5%, Joseph BOAKAI 38.5%

• Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Marcus S. G. DAHN]
• All Liberian Party or ALP [Benoi UREY]
• Alternative National Congress or ANC [Orishil GOULD]
• Coalition for Democratic Change [George WEAH] (includes CDC, NPP, LPDP)Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]
• Liberia Destiny Party or LDP [Nathaniel BARNES]
• Liberia National Union or LINU [Nathaniel BLAMA]
• Liberia Transformation Party or LTP [Julius SUKU]
• Liberian People Democratic Party or LPDP [Alex J. TYLER]
• Liberian People's Party or LPP
• Liberty Party or LP [J. Fonati KOFFA]
• Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction or MDR [Prince Y. JOHNSON]
• Movement for Economic Empowerment [J. Mill JONES, Dr.]
• Movement for Progressive Change or MPC [Simeon FREEMAN]
• National Democratic Coalition or NDC [Dew MAYSON]
• National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [D. Nyandeh SIEH]
• National Patriotic Party or NPP [Jewel HOWARD TAYLOR]
• National Reformist Party or NRP [Maximillian T. W. DIABE]
• National Union for Democratic Progress or NUDP [Victor BARNEY]
• People's Unification Party or PUP [Isobe GBORKORKOLLIE]
• Unity Party or UP [Varney SHERMAN]
• United People's Party [MacDonald WENTO]
• Victory for Change Party [Marcus R. JONES]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lois Cheche BRUTUS (since 29 November 2017)

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 Christine A. ELDER (since 23 June 2016)

embassy:

U.S. Embassy, 502 Benson Street, Monrovia

mailing address:

P.O. Box 98, Monrovia

telephone:

[231] 77-677-7000

FAX:

[231] 77-677-7370

• 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white;
• a white five-pointed star appears on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner;
• the stripes symbolize the signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence;
• the blue square represents the African mainland, and the star represents the freedom granted to the ex-slaves;
• according to the constitution, the blue color signifies liberty, justice, and fidelity, the white color purity, cleanliness, and guilelessness, and the red color steadfastness, valor, and fervor

note: the design is based on the US flag

name:

All Hail, Liberia Hail!

lyrics/music:

Daniel Bashiel WARNER/Olmstead LUCA

note: lyrics adopted 1847, music adopted 1860; the anthem's author later became the third president of Liberia

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

agriculture:

70%

industry:

8%

services:

22% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

30.1% (2007)

highest 10%:

30.1% (2007)

general assessment:

• the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital, Monrovia;
• fixed-line service stagnant and extremely limited;
• telephone coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators;
• almost entirely wireless telecommunications market;
• mobile market penetration is low compared to others in the region;
• number of operators avoid paying dues and operate despite regulations (2017)

domestic:

fixed-line less than 1 per 100; mobile-cellular subscription base growing and teledensity approached 66 per 100 persons (2017)

international:

country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2015)

• 8 private and 1 government-owned TV station;
• satellite TV service available;
• 1 state-owned radio station;
• 19 independent radio stations broadcasting in Monrovia, with another 77 local stations operating in other areas;
• transmissions of 4 international broadcasters are available (2017)

total:

429 km (2008)

standard gauge:

345 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

narrow gauge:

84 km 1.067-m gauge (2008)

note: most sections of the railways inoperable due to damage sustained during the civil wars from 1980 to 2003, but many are being rebuilt

total:

10,600 km (2000)

paved:

657 km (2000)

unpaved:

9,943 km (2000)

total:

3,296 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 984, container ship 892, general cargo 120, oil tanker 750, other 550 (2017)

• as the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) continues to drawdown prior to the 1 March 2018 closure date, the peacekeeping force is being reduced to 434 soldiers and two police unitssome Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and GhanaLiberia shelters almost 15,000 Ivoirian refugees, as of May 2017;
• in 2017, Liberia's 3 refugee camps will be converted into "settlements" and remaining Ivoirian refugees will be integrated into local communities

refugees (country of origin):

9,149 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2018)

IDPs:

up to 23,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; post-election violence in March and April 2011; many dwell in slums in Monrovia) (2014)

• 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