Liberia is the only Black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule and is Africas oldest republic. "[93] In 2014, the US ambassador to Liberia said that corruption there was harming people through "unnecessary costs to products and services that are already difficult for many Liberians to afford". Most of these Christian denominations were brought by African-American settlers moving from the United States into Liberia via the American Colonization Society, while some are indigenousespecially Pentecostal and evangelical Protestant ones. [citation needed], Liberia has a rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. This Island, as one of the global areas of human slave . [33] In 1914, Imperial Germany accounted for three quarters of the trade of Liberia. [91], 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. [118] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999. Liberia Population What Is The Population Of Liberia? [125] Palm oil companies like Sime Darby (Malaysia) and Golden Veroleum (USA) have been accused of destroying livelihoods and displacing local communities, enabled by government concessions. [15], 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. [7] Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia. The Liberian constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right. The internal security is characterized by a general lawlessness coupled with the danger that former combatants in the late civil war might reestablish militias to challenge the civil authorities. The 7 Best Small Towns In Nevada To Chill Out, 11 Coolest Small Towns in Washington for a Summer Vacation. King and Vice President Allen N. Yancy resigned. Shallow, coarse lithosols, in the hilly and rugged terrain, cover about one-eighth of the land. It is located in the Northern and Western Hemispheres. Total capacity in 2013 was 20 MW, a sharp decline from a peak of 191 MW in 1989 before the wars. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Highly fertile alluvial soils represent a small percentage of the land area and are utilized largely for agriculture. - 13488122 Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. [53] The most popular sport in Liberia is association football, with President George Weahthe only African to be named FIFA World Player of the Yearbeing the nation's most famous athlete. [72], 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. [76], Endangered species are hunted for human consumption as bushmeat in Liberia. The Liberian constitution exercises jus sanguinis, which means it usually restricts its citizenship to "Negroes or persons of Negro descent. "Gender Roles, Marriage and Family", Economic Community of West African States, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, highest population growth rate in the world, Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act, "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2022", "July 26, 1847 Liberian independence proclaimed", Liberia: History, Geography, Government, and Culture, "Praise for the woman who put Liberia back on its feet", "Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture", "A quantitative analysis of Liberian colonization from 1820 to 1843 with special reference to mortality", "Address on Colonization to a Deputation of Negroes", "These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia's Founding History", "How a former slave gave a quilt to Queen Victoria", "Frontline/World Liberia No More War Liberia's Historic Ties to America PBS", "Independent Lens Iron Ladies of Liberia Liberian History PBS", Elections Chief Hints Slashing Numbers of Mushrooming Parties for 2005 Polls, "Elections history in Africa's oldest democratic republic: Liberia", "Commission's Report: International Commission of Enquiry in Liberia", "Pan-Africanism Revisited: Vision and Reality of African Unity and Development", "Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship", "Liberia's civil war: Fiddling while Monrovia burns", "Profile: Leymah Gbowee Liberia's 'peace warrior', "Taylor resigns as president of Liberia, leaves the country", "Liberia: UNMIL extends deployment as more troops arrive", United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "LiberiaNigeria: "Time to bring Taylor issue to closure," says Sirleaf", "Taylor Sent Off to Face War Crimes Charges", "War-battered nation launches truth commission", "Tuesday, July 26, is National Independence Day; to be Observed as National Holiday", "Sirleaf seen winning Liberia run-off vote", "From Football King To Liberian President George Weah's Journey", "Top 10 youngest serving presidents in Africa, 2018", "George Weah sworn in as Liberia's president", "Building effective climate governance in Liberia Liberia", "Multinational Investment and the Development of an Export Industry: Rubber in Liberia", "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm", "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity Supplementary Material", "Poaching in Liberia's Forests Threatens Rare Animals", 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en, "Extinction is forever: A crisis that is Liberia's endangered wildlife", "The elimination of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense? Area: 111,370 square kilometers (43,000 square miles) Highest point on mainland: Mount Wutivi (1,380 meters/4,528 feet) Lowest point on land: Sea level. 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, Dei or Dewoin, Belleh, and Americo-Liberians or Congo people (so named because many immigrants including those freed from slave ships arrived from ports at the mouth of the Congo River). [57], The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the country's armed forces. [26][27] On August 24, Liberia adopted its 11-striped national flag. [202] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics. [25] Indigenous tribesmen did not enjoy birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904. Waterfalls, rapids, rocks, and sandbanks occur frequently in upstream sections of most rivers, inhibiting river traffic, and limiting navigation inland to short distances. [85], Liberia is divided into fifteen counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 90 districts and further subdivided into clans. [80] The West African pariah dog is also a host for Tbg. Quakers believed black people would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.[7][19] While slaveholders opposed freedom for enslaved people, some viewed "repatriation" of free people of color as a way to avoid slave rebellions. [84] Since 2006, the international community has paid for all garbage collection and disposal in Monrovia via the World Bank. Providence Island - UNESCO World Heritage Centre 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. Liberias terrain ranges from the low and sandy coastal plains to rolling hills and dissected plateau further inland. The Wologizi mountains are an isolated area of upland located in north-west of the country, to the south of the town of Voinjama. Longest distances: 274 kilometers (170 miles) from north-northeast to south-southwest; 548 . As observed on Liberia's physical map, the elevation of the land gradually increases with distance from the coast. People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast. [102], Liberia scored a 3.3 on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) on the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. Like many other countries in Africa, Liberia both faces existing environmental issues, as well as sustainable development challenges. Category:Islands of Liberia - Wikipedia Monrovia, capital, largest city, and chief Atlantic port of Liberia, located on Bushrod Island and Cape Mesurado. However, over the years the two groups joined and the terms "Americo -Liberian" and "Congo" were used interchangeably. Justification of Outstanding Universal Value. [77] Species hunted for food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and other monkeys. Representative of Liberia to the United Nations, 198185. Liberia is divided into 15 counties which are subdivided into 90 and further into clans. [43] On November 12, 1985, a failed counter-coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station. The lowest point of the country is the Atlantic Ocean at 0m. [189] Approximately 58.2%[190] 66%[191] of women are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation. "Congos." For much of Liberia's early history, the Congos were classed below the Americo -Liberians. Liberia is bounded by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, Cte dIvoire to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. [92], In the past, both of Liberia's neighbors, Guinea and Sierra Leone, have accused Liberia of backing rebels in their countries. [68], The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at 4,724 feet (1,440m) above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands. [28] The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence. [1] Among the president's other duties are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges, and other public officials. [217][218] In 2018, the Liberian Commerce and Industry Minister announced that the Liberian government is committed to adopting the metric system.[219]. It was among the few African countries to maintain its sovereignty during the Scramble for Africa. The", "Data: Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)", "Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system", "Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$)", "Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)", "Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO", The Ebola response in West Africa: Exposing the politics and culture of international aid, "Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie", "Liberia: It's the Little Things A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency", "Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority", "Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb A Book Review & Commentary", "George Weah: Ex-AC Milan, Chelsea & Man City striker elected Liberia president", "Liberia:Chaos Mars Grand Bassa and Nimba Clash", "Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia", "Gov't Pledges Commitment to Adopt Metric System", Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, List of countries by English-speaking population, List of countries where English is an official language, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liberia&oldid=1150057700, English-speaking countries and territories, States and territories established in 1847, Articles with dead external links from May 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in Liberian English, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from January 2023, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from January 2023, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2006, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2022, Articles lacking reliable references from November 2015, Articles containing potentially dated statements from November 2014, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. [173], In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County was established as the second public university in Liberia. The country enjoyed relative stability until a rebellion in 1989 escalated into a destructive civil war in the 1990s that did not fully cease until 2003. B Bushrod Island P Providence Island, Liberia Islands by country Islands of Africa by country Landforms of Liberia Hidden category: Commons category link is on Wikidata Outsiders' knowledge of the west of Africa began with a Portuguese sailor, Pedro de Sintra, who reached the Liberian coast in 1461. Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. [167] A multitude of diverse Protestant confessions such as Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) denominations form the bulk of the Christian population, followed by adherents of the Catholic Church and other non-Protestant Christians. The Republic of Liberia is a country located in western Africa off the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. [50] 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. The Farmington River is a source of hydroelectric power. [76] In September 2014, Liberia and Norway struck an agreement whereby Liberia ceased all logging in exchange for $150 million in development aid. [37] (The loser actually received around 60% of the eligible vote. )[37], Soon after, allegations of modern slavery in Liberia led the League of Nations to establish the Christy commission. The 1988 Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act designated the metric system as "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce," but in practice the system is in mixed usage, with the population generally preferring customary units and industries either fully metric or mixed. This institution was founded in 1998. [87], Parallel to the administrative divisions of the country are the local and municipal divisions. However, hunter-gatherers have survived in the more forested parts of West Africa until much later, attesting to the strength of ecological boundaries in this region. Liberia occupies an area of about 43,000 square miles and has a population of about 4,900,000 people. Additional rivers of note are the Lofa, St. Paul, St. John and Cestos River, all of which flow into theAtlantic. Map of Africa - Countries of Africa - Nations Online Project Corrections? [150] 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. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. [172], Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. [44] Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops retaliated by executing members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,[203] who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. The country is home to a lush rainforest containing a rich diversity of flora and fauna. The map can be downloaded, printed, and used for educational purposes or coloring. [12] Americo-Liberians encouraged religious organizations to set up missions and schools to educate the indigenous peoples. [81], The Hairy Slit-Faced Bat (Nycteris hispida) suffers from malaria here. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [23], The ACS, supported by prominent American politicians such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Clay, and James Monroe, believed "repatriation" was preferable to having emancipated slaves remain in the United States. The coastal plains are about 350 miles (560 km) long and extend up to 25 miles (40 km) inland. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. [165] Liberians also speak a variety of creolized dialects collectively known as Liberian English. [142] 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. Parallel to the coastal plains is a region of rolling hills some 20 miles (32 km) wide with an average maximum elevation of about 300 feet (90 metres); a few hills rise as high as 500 feet (150 metres). Both Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast annexed territories. Subsequent Portuguese explorers named Grand Cape Mount, Cape Mesurado (Montserrado), and Cape Palmas, all . However, Lincoln in 1862 described Liberia as only "in a certain sensea success", and proposed instead that free people of color be assisted to emigrate to Chiriqu, today part of Panama. PDF A Brief History of Liberia - International Center for Transitional Justice [149], Liberia has begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels. As in other African countries, China is an important part of the post-conflict reconstruction. Four physiographic regions run nearly parallel to the Atlantic coast of the country. [8] Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity,[9][10] the settlers carried their culture and tradition with them.

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