Liberia

{{main|History of Liberia}}

The presence of Oldowan artifacts in West Africa was confirmed by Michael Omolewa, attesting to the presence of ancient humans.{{cite book |last1=Michael |first1=Omolewa |date=1986 |title=Certificate history of Nigeria |url=https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0582585188 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414143441/https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |url-status=dead }}

Undated Acheulean (ESA) artifacts are well documented across West Africa. The emerging chronometric record of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) indicates that core and flake technologies have been present in West Africa since at least the Chibanian (~780–126 thousand years ago or ka) in northern, open Sahelian zones, and that they persisted until the Terminal Pleistocene/Holocene boundary (~12 ka) in both northern and southern zones of West Africa. This makes them the youngest examples of such MSA technology anywhere in Africa. The presence of MSA populations in forests remains an open question. Technological differences may correlate with various ecological zones. Later Stone Age (LSA) populations evidence significant technological diversification, including both microlithic and macrolithic traditions.{{cite journal |last1=Eleanor |first1=Scerri |date=1986 |title=T Certificate history of Nigeria |url=https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |url-status=dead |journal=AfricanBib |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.137 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414143441/https://www.africabib.org/s/rec.php?RID=406720584 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |access-date=July 26, 2020}}

The record shows that aceramic and ceramic LSA assemblages in West Africa overlap chronologically, and that changing densities of microlithic industries from the coast to the north are geographically structured. These features may represent social networks or some form of cultural diffusion allied to changing ecological conditions.

Microlithic industries with ceramics became common by the Mid-Holocene, coupled with an apparent intensification of wild food exploitation. Between ~4–3.5 ka, these societies gradually transformed into food producers, possibly through contact with northern pastoralists and agriculturalists, as the environment became more arid. 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.

File:Negroland and Guinea with the European Settlements, 1736.jpg, 1736. It has the archaic mapping designation of Negroland.]]

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. Mande-speaking people expanded from the north and east, forcing many smaller ethnic groups southward toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola, and Kissi were some of the earliest documented peoples in the area.{{cite journal |last1=Dunn-Marcos |first1=Robin |last2=Kollehlon |first2=Konia T. |last3=Ngovo |first3=Bernard |last4=Russ |first4=Emily |editor-last=Ranar |editor-first=Donald A. |date=April 2005 |title=Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture |journal=Culture Profile |issue=19 |publisher=Center for Applied Linguistics |access-date=July 23, 2011|url=http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625062344/http://www.cal.org/co/liberians/liberian_050406_1.pdf|archive-date=June 25, 2008|pages=5–6}}

This influx of these groups was compounded by the decline of the Mali Empire in 1375 and the Songhai Empire in 1591. As inland regions underwent desertification, inhabitants moved to the wetter coast. These new inhabitants brought skills such as cotton spinning, cloth weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and social and political institutions from the Mali and Songhai empires. Shortly after the Mane conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount County region. The ethnic Kru opposed the influx of Vai, forming an alliance with the Mane to stop further influx of Vai.{{cite book|author=Jesse N. Mongrue M. Ed|title=Liberia-America's Footprint in Africa: Making the Cultural, Social, and Political Connections|date=2011|page=24|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1462021642}}

People along the coast built canoes and traded with other West Africans from Cap-Vert to the Gold Coast.

{{main|Colony of Liberia}}

Between 1461 and the late 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch, and British traders had contacts and trading posts in the region. 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.{{Cite web |title=Grain Coast Definition & Meaning |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/grain-coast |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Dictionary.com |language=en |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101145334/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/grain-coast |url-status=live }} The traders would barter commodities and goods with local people.{{Cite journal |last=Syfert |first=Dwight N. |date=April 1977 |title=The Liberian Coasting Trade, 1822–1900 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/liberian-coasting-trade-18221900/889FDC6F143C53CE5BA593314D85A4A3 |journal=The Journal of African History |language=en |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=217–235 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700015504 |issn=1469-5138}}

In the United States, there was a movement to settle African Americans, both free-born and formerly enslaved, in Africa. This was because they faced racial discrimination in the form of political disenfranchisement and the denial of civil, religious, and social rights.Howard Brotz, ed., African American Social & Political Thought 1850–1920 (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1996), 38–39. Formed in 1816, the American Colonization Society (ACS) was made up mostly of Quakers and slaveholders. Quakers believed black people would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the U.S.[http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 "Background on conflict in Liberia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214051143/http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 |date=February 14, 2007 }}, Friends Committee on National Legislation, July 30, 2003Maggie Montesinos Sale (1997). The Slumbering Volcano: American Slave Ship Revolts and the Production of Rebellious Masculinity, Duke University Press, 1997, p. 264. {{ISBN|0822319926}} While slaveholders opposed freedom for enslaved people, some viewed "repatriation" of free people of color as a way to avoid slave rebellions.

In 1822, the American Colonization Society began sending free people of color to the Pepper Coast voluntarily to establish a colony. Mortality from tropical diseases was high—of the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia between 1820 and 1843, only 1,819 survived.{{cite journal|last1=Shick|first1=Tom W.|title=A quantitative analysis of Liberian colonization from 1820 to 1843 with special reference to mortality|journal=The Journal of African History|date=January 1971|volume=12|issue=1|pages=45–59|doi=10.1017/S0021853700000062|pmid=11632218|jstor=180566|s2cid=31153316 |url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/34895| issn = 0021-8537}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite book|last1=Shick|first1=Tom W.|title=Behold the Promised Land: A History of Afro-American Settler Society in Nineteenth-century Liberia|date=1980|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0801823091}} By 1867, the ACS (and state-related chapters) had assisted in the migration of more than 13,000 people of color from the United States and the Caribbean to Liberia.{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html|title=The African-American Mosaic|website=Library of Congress|date=July 23, 2010|access-date=March 31, 2015|archive-date=February 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226111511/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html|url-status=live}} These free African Americans and their descendants married within their community and came to identify as Americo-Liberians. Many were of mixed race and educated in American culture; they did not identify with the indigenous natives of the tribes they encountered. They developed an ethnic group that had a cultural tradition infused with American notions of political republicanism and Protestant Christianity.{{cite thesis |last = Wegmann |first = Andrew N. |date = May 5, 2010 |title = Christian Community and the Development of an Americo-Liberian Identity, 1824–1878 |type = MA thesis |publisher = Louisiana State University |url = https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/525/ |doi = 10.31390/gradschool_theses.525 |df = mdy-all |doi-access = free |access-date = November 11, 2022 |archive-date = November 11, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221111201936/https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/525/ |url-status = live }}

File:Mitchell Map Liberia colony 1839.jpg

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. Similar state-based organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa, Kentucky in Africa, and the Republic of Maryland, which Liberia later annexed. Lincoln in 1862 described Liberia as only "in a certain sense...a success", and proposed instead that free people of color be assisted to emigrate to Chiriquí, today part of Panama.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln5/1:812?rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;sort=occur;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=April+16%2C+1862=trgt|title=Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 5|chapter=Address on Colonization to a Deputation of Negroes|date=August 14, 1862|access-date=August 21, 2019|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614183123/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln5/1:812?rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;sort=occur;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;q1=April+16,+1862=trgt|url-status=live}}

The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered, especially those in communities of the more isolated "bush". The colonial settlements were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their inland chiefdoms. Encounters with tribal Africans in the bush often became violent. Believing themselves different from and culturally and educationally superior to the indigenous peoples, the Americo-Liberians developed as an elite minority that created and held on to political power. The Americo-Liberian settlers adopted clothing such as hoop skirts and tailcoats and generally viewed themselves as culturally and socially superior to indigenous Africans.{{cite journal|last1=MacDougall|first1=Clair|title=These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia's Founding History|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/liberia-created-former-slaves-fading-into-history-180959503/|journal=Smithsonian Magazine|date=July–August 2016|access-date=June 23, 2021|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420194225/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/liberia-created-former-slaves-fading-into-history-180959503/|url-status=live}} Indigenous tribesmen did not enjoy birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904. Americo-Liberians encouraged religious organizations to set up missions and schools to educate the indigenous peoples.

File:T. WILLIAMS (c1850) Residence of Joseph Roberts, President of the Republic of Liberia.jpg, first President of Liberia, between 1848 and 1852.]]

On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution. Based on the political principles of the United States Constitution, it established the independent Republic of Liberia.

{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Harry Hamilton |last2=Stapf |first2=Otto |title=Liberia, Volume I |publisher=Hutchinson & Co |year=1906 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTYbAAAAYAAJ|isbn=1143315057}}{{cite book|author=Adekeye Adebajo|date=2002|title=Liberia's Civil War: Nigeria, ECOMOG, and Regional Security in West Africa|publisher=International Peace Academy|page=21|isbn=1588260526}} On August 24, Liberia adopted its 11-striped national flag.{{cite book |title=Liberia: Open Door to Travel and Investment |date=1967 |publisher=Liberia. Department of Information and Cultural Affairs |page=19|quote=This symbol of Negro liberty was first unfurled on August 24, 1847}} The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40500884 "How a former slave gave a quilt to Queen Victoria"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180140/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40500884 |date=June 14, 2021 }}. BBC. July 11, 2017 The United States did not recognize Liberia until 1862, after the Southern states, which had strong political power in the American government, declared their secession and the formation of the Confederacy.{{cite web |title=The Revolutionary Summer of 1862 |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2017/winter/summer-of-1862 |website=National Archives |access-date=September 20, 2020 |language=en |date=April 20, 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180151/https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2017/winter/summer-of-1862 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Frontline/World – Liberia – No More War – Liberia's Historic Ties to America PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/liberia/history.html |website=www.pbs.org |access-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511022917/http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/liberia/history.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Independent Lens – Iron Ladies of Liberia – Liberian History PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/history.html |website=www.pbs.org |access-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414114425/https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/ironladies/history.html |url-status=dead }}

The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians, who at the beginning established political and economic dominance in the coastal areas that the ACS had purchased; they maintained relations with the United States and contacts in developing these areas and the resulting trade. Their passage of the 1865 Ports of Entry Act prohibited foreign commerce with the inland tribes, ostensibly to "encourage the growth of civilized values" before such trade was allowed in the region.

File:(1896) Departure of colored emigrants for Liberia - The Illustrated American, March 21, 1896.jpg

By 1877, the True Whig Party was the country's most powerful political entity.{{Cite web |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, The Near East and Africa, Volume V - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951v05/d722 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=history.state.gov |archive-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712124205/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951v05/d722 |url-status=live }} It was made up primarily of Americo-Liberians, who maintained social, economic and political dominance well into the 20th century, repeating patterns of European colonists in other nations in Africa. Competition for office was usually contained within the party; a party nomination virtually ensured election.{{Cite web |last1=Cuffee |first1=Paul |last2=Ashmun |first2=Jehudi |last3=Society |first3=American Colonization |date=2010-07-23 |title=Colonization - The African-American Mosaic Exhibition {{!}} Exhibitions (Library of Congress) |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=www.loc.gov |archive-date=February 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226111511/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam002.html |url-status=live }}

Pressure from the United Kingdom, which controlled Sierra Leone to the northwest, and France, with its interests in the north and east, led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories. Both Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast annexed territories.{{Citation |last=Cole |first=Gibril R. |title=The History of Sierra Leone |date=2021-03-25 |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-625 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |access-date=2023-07-12 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.625 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4}} Liberia struggled to attract investment to develop infrastructure and a larger, industrial economy.

There was a decline in the production of Liberian goods in the late 19th century, and the government struggled financially, resulting in indebtedness on a series of international loans.{{Cite web |title=Overview |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/liberia/overview |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=World Bank |language=en |archive-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712185824/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/liberia/overview |url-status=live }} On July 16, 1892, Martha Ann Erskine Ricks met Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle and presented her with a handmade quilt, Liberia's first diplomatic gift. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Ricks said, "I had heard it often, from the time I was a child, how good the Queen had been to my people—to slaves—and how she wanted us to be free."

File:LiberiaKing.jpg, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927.]]

American and other international interests emphasized resource extraction, with rubber production as a major industry in the early 20th century.{{cite book|author=Robert Jefferson Norrell|title=Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington|url=https://archive.org/details/upfromhistorylif0000norr|url-access=registration|date= 2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674032118|pages=[https://archive.org/details/upfromhistorylif0000norr/page/374 374]–375}}
{{cite journal |last=Rosenberg |first=Emily S. |date=June 1, 2007 |title=The Invisible Protectorate: The United States, Liberia, and the Evolution of Neocolonialism, 1909–40 |journal=Diplomatic History |publisher=Oxford Journals |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=191–214 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.1985.tb00532.x }} In 1914, Imperial Germany accounted for three-quarters of the trade of Liberia. This was a cause for concern among the British colonial authorities of Sierra Leone and the French colonial authorities of French Guinea and the Ivory Coast as tensions with Germany increased.{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer |title=World War I: Encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1851094202 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA689 |access-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028225958/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA689 |archive-date=October 28, 2018 |url-status=dead }}

{{further|Liberia in World War I|Liberia in World War II}}

Liberia remained neutral during World War I until August 4, 1917, when it declared war on Germany. Subsequently, it was one of 32 nations to take part in the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919, which ended the war and established the League of Nations; Liberia was among the few African and non-Western nations to participate in the conference and the founding of the league.{{cite web |last1=Heffinck |first1=Ariane |title=Liberia: A Nation in Recovery |url=https://una-gp.org/2014/02/17/liberia-a-nation-in-recovery/ |website=una-gp.org |publisher=United Nations Association of Philadelphia |access-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107000113/https://una-gp.org/2014/02/17/liberia-a-nation-in-recovery/ |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |url-status=dead }}

In 1927, the country's elections again showed the power of the True Whig Party, with electoral proceedings that have been called some of the most rigged ever;[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727120702/http://www.newdemocrat.org/other/1MayNEC.html Elections Chief Hints Slashing Numbers of Mushrooming Parties for 2005 Polls] New Democrat the winning candidate was declared to have received votes amounting to more than 15 times the number of eligible voters.{{Cite web |last=Akwei |first=Ismail |date=2017-10-08 |title=Elections history in Africa's oldest democratic republic: Liberia |url=https://www.africanews.com/2017/10/08/elections-history-in-africa-s-oldest-democratic-republic-liberia |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406105547/https://www.africanews.com/2017/10/08/elections-history-in-africa-s-oldest-democratic-republic-liberia/ |url-status=live }} (The loser actually received around 60% of the eligible vote.)

Soon after, allegations of modern slavery in Liberia led the League of Nations to establish the Christy Commission. Findings included government involvement in widespread "forced or compulsory labour". Minority ethnic groups especially were exploited in a system that enriched well-connected elites.{{Cite journal|last=Christy|first=Cuthbert|date=December 15, 1930|title=Commission's Report: International Commission of Enquiry in Liberia |url=http://biblio-archive.unog.ch/Dateien/CouncilMSD/C-658-M-272-1930-VI_EN.pdf|journal=League of Nations|pages=127|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412091820/https://biblio-archive.unog.ch/Dateien/CouncilMSD/C-658-M-272-1930-VI_EN.pdf|archive-date=April 12, 2019|url-status=dead}} As a result of the report, President Charles D. B. King and Vice President Allen N. Yancy resigned.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/1926FirestoneCA.htm|title=President Charles D.B. King|last=Van der Kraaij|first=Fred PM|access-date=February 5, 2018|website=Liberia Past and Present|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119001654/http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/1926FirestoneCA.htm|archive-date=January 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}

In the mid-20th century, Liberia gradually began to modernize with American assistance. During World War II, the United States made major infrastructure improvements to support its military efforts in Africa and Europe against Germany. It built the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport under the Lend-Lease program before its entry into the Second World War.{{cite journal |last1=Marinelli |first1=Lawrence |year=1964 |title=Liberia's Open Door Policy |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=91–98 |doi=10.1017/s0022278x00003694|s2cid=153385644 }}

After the war, President William Tubman encouraged foreign investment, with Liberia achieving the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s. In international affairs, it was a founding member of the United Nations, a vocal critic of South African apartheid,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899287,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028154941/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899287,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 28, 2010|title=Africa: A Vote on Apartheid|magazine=Time|date=July 29, 1966|access-date=July 20, 2011}} a proponent of African independence from European colonial powers, and a supporter of Pan-Africanism. Liberia also helped to fund the Organisation of African Unity.

{{cite journal|last1 = Adogamh|first1 = Paul G.|date = July 2008|title = Pan-Africanism Revisited: Vision and Reality of African Unity and Development|journal = African Review of Integration|volume = 2|issue = 2|url = http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Newsletter/EA/Vol2%20No2/Adogamhe.pdf|access-date = July 20, 2011|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110925055350/http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Newsletter/EA/Vol2%20No2/Adogamhe.pdf|archive-date = September 25, 2011|df = mdy-all}}File:Technical Liberia.jpg in Monrovia during the Second Liberian Civil War.]]

On April 12, 1980, a military coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group overthrew and killed President William R. Tolbert Jr. Doe and the other plotters later executed most of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members on a Monrovia beach.{{cite web|author=Anjali Mitter Duva|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/|title=Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship|publisher=PBS|year=2002|access-date=July 20, 2011|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405040412/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/essays/uspolicy/|url-status=live}} The coup leaders formed the People's Redemption Council (PRC) to govern the country. A strategic Cold War ally of the West, Doe received significant financial backing from the United States while critics condemned the PRC for corruption and political repression.

After Liberia adopted a new constitution in 1985, Doe was elected president in subsequent elections that were internationally condemned as fraudulent. On November 12, 1985, a failed coup was launched by Thomas Quiwonkpa, whose soldiers briefly occupied the national radio station.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050633,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915040235/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050633,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 15, 2010|author=|title=Liberia Comrades Turned Enemies|magazine=Time|date=November 25, 1985 |access-date=July 22, 2011}} Government repression intensified in response, as Doe's troops responded by executing members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in Nimba County.

The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, launched an insurrection in December 1989 against Doe's government with the backing of neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. This triggered the First Liberian Civil War.

{{cite book |last=Ellis|first=Stephen |title=The Mask of Anarchy Updated Edition: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War |publisher=NYU Press |year=2001 |page=75 |isbn=0814722385}} By September 1990, Doe's forces controlled only a small area just outside the capital, and Doe was captured and executed in that month by rebel forces.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm |title=Liberia country profile |newspaper=BBC News |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=October 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019032026/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm |url-status=live }}

The rebels soon split into conflicting factions. The Economic Community Monitoring Group under the Economic Community of West African States organized an armed intervention.{{Cite news |date=2018-01-22 |title=Liberia profile – Timeline |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13732188 |access-date=2022-08-30 |archive-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830203707/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13732188 |url-status=live }} Between 1989 and 1997, around 60,000 to 80,000 Liberians died, and, by 1996, around 700,000 others had been displaced into refugee camps in neighboring countries.World Peace Foundation, [https://sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/liberia-first-civil-war/ Mass Atrocity Endings: Liberia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211222239/https://sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/liberia-first-civil-war/ |date=February 11, 2021 }}, Medford, Massachusetts: Tufts University, August 7, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2020 A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997.

Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became a pariah state due to its use of blood diamonds and illegal timber exports to fund the Revolutionary United Front in the Sierra Leone Civil War.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2961390.stm |title=Arrest warrant for Liberian leader |work=BBC News |date=June 4, 2003 |access-date=July 20, 2011 |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928082753/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2961390.stm |url-status=live }} The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, a rebel group based in the northwest of the country, launched an armed insurrection against Taylor.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/|title=Indepth: Liberia, Land of the free|newspaper=CBC News|date=July 23, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908174543/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/|archive-date=September 8, 2013}}

In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast. Peace talks between the factions began in Accra in June of that year, and Taylor was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) for crimes against humanity the same month. By July 2003, the rebels had launched an assault on Monrovia.{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/1944472?story_id=E1_TJQQQSN |title=Liberia's civil war: Fiddling while Monrovia burns |newspaper=The Economist |date=July 24, 2003 |access-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115445/http://www.economist.com/node/1944472?story_id=E1_TJQQQSN |url-status=live }}

Under heavy pressure from the international community and the domestic Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace movement,{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15215312 |title=Profile: Leymah Gbowee{{snd}}Liberia's 'peace warrior' |work=BBC News |date=October 7, 2011 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530220828/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15215312 |url-status=live }}

Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in Nigeria.{{cite news |first=Ann M. |last=Simmons |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2003/08/12/taylor-resigns-as-president-of-liberia-leaves-the-country/ |title=Taylor resigns as president of Liberia, leaves the country |newspaper=Baltimore Sune |date=August 12, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111130718/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-08-12/news/0308120316_1_charles-taylor-liberia-sierra-leone |url-status=live }}

A peace deal was signed later that month.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/19/westafrica |title=Liberian rebels sign peace deal |newspaper=The Guardian |date=August 19, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131034059/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/aug/19/westafrica |url-status=live }}

The United Nations Mission in Liberia began arriving in September 2003 to provide security and monitor the peace accord,{{cite web |url=http://newsite.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=47807 |title=Liberia: UNMIL extends deployment as more troops arrive |work=IRIN News |date=December 24, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117190239/http://newsite.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=47807 |url-status=dead }}

and an interim government took power the following October.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/14/westafrica |title=Bryant takes power in Liberia |newspaper=The Guardian |date=October 14, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131034209/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/14/westafrica |url-status=live }}

The subsequent 2005 elections were internationally regarded as the freest and fairest in Liberian history. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a US-educated economist, former Minister of Finance and future Nobel Peace Prize winner, was elected as the first female president in Africa. Upon her inauguration, Sirleaf requested the extradition of Taylor from Nigeria and transferred him to the SCSL for trial in The Hague.{{cite web |date=March 17, 2006 |title=Liberia–Nigeria: "Time to bring Taylor issue to closure," says Sirleaf |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2006/03/17/%E2%80%9Ctime-bring-taylor-issue-closure%E2%80%9D-says-sirleaf |access-date=January 23, 2023 |work=The New Humanitarian |archive-date=May 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504151733/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58474 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=1157&zdoc=1 |title=Taylor Sent Off to Face War Crimes Charges |work=AFP |publisher=UNMIL |date=March 29, 2006 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005100159/http://unmil.org/1article.asp?id=1157&zdoc=1 |archive-date=October 5, 2011 }}

In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war.{{cite web |date=February 21, 2006 |title=War-battered nation launches truth commission |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/58220/liberia-war-battered-nation-launches-truth-commission |access-date=January 23, 2023 |work=The New Humanitarian |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222114809/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=58220 |url-status=live }} In 2011, July 26 was proclaimed by President Sirleaf as National Independence Day.{{cite press release |url=https://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=397&related=7&pg=sp |title=Tuesday, July 26, is National Independence Day; to be Observed as National Holiday |publisher=Government of the Republic of Liberia Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-date=August 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802050652/https://mofa.gov.lr/public2/2press.php?news_id=397&related=7&pg=sp |url-status=dead }} In October 2011, peace activist Leymah Gbowee received the Nobel Peace Prize in her work of leading a women's peace movement that brought to an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.{{cite web |title=Our Founder |url=https://www.gboweepeaceusa.org/our-founder |website=Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa-USA |access-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116232107/https://www.gboweepeaceusa.org/our-founder |url-status=live }} In November 2011, President Sirleaf was re-elected for a second six-year term.{{cite news |title=Sirleaf seen winning Liberia run-off vote |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-election-preview-idUSTRE7A62BD20111107 |work=Reuters |date=7 November 2011 |language=en |access-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-date=November 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116232638/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-election-preview-idUSTRE7A62BD20111107 |url-status=live }}

Following the 2017 Liberian general election, former professional football striker George Weah, considered one of the greatest African players of all time,{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2018/01/23/from-football-king-to-liberian-president-george-weahs-journey_a_23340918/ |title=From Football King To Liberian President – George Weah's Journey |work=Huffington Post |author1=Nkosinathi Shazi |date=January 23, 2018 |access-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116174121/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2018/01/23/from-football-king-to-liberian-president-george-weahs-journey_a_23340918/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |title=Top 10 Greatest African Strikers |url=http://www.joburgpost.co.za/2017/06/06/top-10-greatest-african-strikers/ |access-date=August 27, 2018 |work=Johannesburg Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220025546/http://www.joburgpost.co.za/2017/06/06/top-10-greatest-african-strikers/ |archive-date=February 20, 2019 |url-status=dead }} was sworn in as president on January 22, 2018, becoming the fourth youngest serving president in Africa.{{cite news|title=Top 10 youngest serving presidents in Africa, 2018|url=https://listwand.com/2018/01/top-10-youngest-presidents-in-africa-updated/|agency=Listwand|date=October 3, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-date=October 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003125007/https://listwand.com/2018/01/top-10-youngest-presidents-in-africa-updated/|url-status=dead}} The inauguration marked Liberia's first fully democratic transition in 74 years.{{cite news|title=George Weah sworn in as Liberia's president|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-42773165|agency=BBC|date=March 22, 2018|access-date=October 26, 2019|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614181951/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-42773165|url-status=live}} Weah cited fighting corruption, reforming the economy, combating illiteracy, and improving living conditions as the main targets of his presidency. Opposition leader Joseph Boakai defeated Weah in the tightly contested 2023 presidential election.{{cite news |title=Liberia's George Weah concedes presidential election defeat to Joseph Boakai |url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20231118-liberia-s-george-weah-concedes-presidential-election-ahead-of-final-result |work=France 24 |date=18 November 2023 |language=en |access-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-date=December 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202164031/https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20231118-liberia-s-george-weah-concedes-presidential-election-ahead-of-final-result |url-status=live }} On 22 January 2024, Boakai was sworn in as Liberia's new president.{{cite news |title=Boakai sworn in as new Liberia president after victory over Weah |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/22/boakai-sworn-in-as-new-liberia-president-after-victory-over-weah |work=Al Jazeera |language=en |access-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206122521/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/22/boakai-sworn-in-as-new-liberia-president-after-victory-over-weah |url-status=live }}

{{clear left}}

{{main|Geography of Liberia}}

File:Topographic map of Liberia-en.svg

Liberia is situated in West Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the country's southwest. It lies between latitudes 4° and 9°N, and longitudes 7° and 12°W.

The landscape is characterized by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains that contain mangroves and swamps, which rise to a rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.{{cite book|last=Bateman|first=Graham|author2=Victoria Egan |author3=Fiona Gold |author4=Philip Gardner |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography|publisher=Barnes & Noble Books|location=New York|year=2000|page=161|isbn=1566192919}}

Tropical rainforests cover the hills, while elephant grass and semi-deciduous forests make up the dominant vegetation in the northern sections.

Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern toward the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guinée Forestière, in Guinea. Cape Mount near the border with Sierra Leone receives the most precipitation in the nation.

Liberia's main northwestern boundary is traversed by the Mano River while its southeast limits are bounded by the Cavalla River. Liberia's three largest rivers are St. Paul exiting near Monrovia, the river St. John at Buchanan, and the Cestos River, all of which flow into the Atlantic. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at {{convert|320|mi|km}}.

The highest point wholly within Liberia is Mount Wuteve at {{convert|4724|ft|m}} above sea level in the northwestern Liberia range of the West Africa Mountains and the Guinea Highlands. Mount Nimba, near Yekepa, is higher at {{convert|1752|m|ft}} above sea level, but is not wholly within Liberia as Nimba is located at the point where Liberia borders both Guinea and Ivory Coast. Nimba is thus the tallest mountain in those countries, as well.{{Cite web |title=Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923080631/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/155/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Climate change in Liberia}}

File:Koppen-Geiger Map LBR present.svg

The equatorial climate, in the south of the country, is hot year-round with heavy rainfall from May to October with a short interlude in mid-July to August. During the winter months of November to March, dry dust-laden harmattan winds blow inland, causing many problems for residents. Climate change in Liberia causes many problems as Liberia is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Like many other countries in Africa, Liberia both faces existing environmental issues, as well as sustainable development challenges.{{Cite web|title=Building effective climate governance in Liberia – Liberia|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/liberia/building-effective-climate-governance-liberia|website=ReliefWeb|date=March 8, 2018|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803074644/https://reliefweb.int/report/liberia/building-effective-climate-governance-liberia|url-status=live}} Because of its location in Africa, it is vulnerable to extreme weather, the coastal effects of sea level rise, and changing water systems and water availability.{{Cite web|title=Climate Risk Profile: Liberia|url=https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate-change-risk-profile-liberia|website=Climatelinks|date=February 28, 2017|language=en|access-date=2020-05-21|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803145708/https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate-change-risk-profile-liberia|url-status=live}} Climate change is expected to severely impact the economy of Liberia, especially agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Liberia has been an active participant in international and local policy changes related to climate change.{{Cite book|last=Blackmore|first=R.D.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1084383140|title=Lorna Doone|publisher=Ryerson Press|isbn=0665265034|oclc=1084383140}}

{{Main|Wildlife of Liberia}}

{{Further|Environmental issues in Liberia}}

File:Liberia tropical forest.jpg

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. The climate is equatorial, with significant rainfall during the May–October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia possesses about forty percent of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. It was an important producer of rubber in the early 20th century.{{Cite journal |last=Ghoshal |first=Animesh |title=Multinational Investment and the Development of an Export Industry: Rubber in Liberia |date=1982 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24328535 |journal=Transafrican Journal of History |volume=11 |pages=92–111 |jstor=24328535 |issn=0251-0391 |access-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726144431/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24328535 |url-status=live }} Four terrestrial ecoregions lie within Liberia's borders: Guinean montane forests, Western Guinean lowland forests, Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, and Guinean mangroves.{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}

File:U.S.DOC(1965) Liberia. Money Trees.jpg

Liberia is a global biodiversity hotspot—a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29321143|title=Liberia in 'trees for cash' deal|first=Matt|last=McGrath|work=BBC News|date=September 23, 2014|access-date=July 29, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614181643/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29321143|url-status=live}}

File:Choeropsis.jpgs are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia. The World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.{{cite iucn |author=Ransom, C. |author2=Robinson, P.T. |author3=Collen, B. |date=2015 |title=Choeropsis liberiensis |volume=2015 |page=e.T10032A18567171 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en |access-date=November 11, 2021}} Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of endangered.]]

Endangered species are hunted for human consumption as bushmeat in Liberia. Species hunted for food in Liberia include elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzees, leopards, duikers, and other monkeys. Bushmeat is often exported to neighboring Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, despite a ban on the cross-border sale of wild animals.Anne Look, [https://www.voanews.com/a/370590.html "Poaching in Liberia's Forests Threatens Rare Animals"], Voice of America News, May 8, 2012.

Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy. A 2004 public opinion survey found that bushmeat ranked second behind fish amongst residents of the capital Monrovia as a preferred source of protein. Of households where bushmeat was served, 80% of residents said they cooked it "once in a while," while 13% cooked it once a week and 7% cooked bushmeat daily. The survey was conducted during the last civil war, and bushmeat consumption is now believed to be far higher.Wynfred Russell, [http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/op-ed/commentaries-features/380-extinction-is-forever-a-crisis-that-is-liberia-s-endangered-wildlife "Extinction is forever: A crisis that is Liberia's endangered wildlife"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191753/http://www.frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/op-ed/commentaries-features/380-extinction-is-forever-a-crisis-that-is-liberia-s-endangered-wildlife |date=March 3, 2016 }}, Front Page Africa, January 15, 2014.

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is endemic in some animal hosts here including both domestic and wild. This causes the disease nagana. In pigs here and in Ivory Coast, that includes Tbg group 1. Tbg and its vector Glossina palpalis gambiense are a constant presence in the rainforests here. Much research into Tbg was performed in the 1970s by Mehlitz and by Gibson, both working in Bong Mine with samples from around the country. The West African pariah dog is also a host for Tbg.{{cite journal | year=2019 | volume=6 | publisher=Elsevier | first1=D. | journal=Parasite Epidemiology and Control | issn=2405-6731 | last1=Mehlitz | last2=Molyneux | first2=D. H. | title=The elimination of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense? Challenges of reservoir hosts and transmission cycles: Expect the unexpected | doi=10.1016/j.parepi.2019.e00113 | page=e00113| pmid=31528738 | pmc=6742776 }}

The Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is a constant presence here.{{cite web | year=2021 | location=Rome | publisher=UN FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) | url=https://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/common/ecg/1914/en/DL516e.pdf | author=Desert Locust Information Service | title=Desert Locust Bulletin – General situation during September 2021 – Forecast until mid-November 2021 | access-date=September 13, 2022 | archive-date=October 15, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015065215/https://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/common/ecg/1914/en/DL516e.pdf | url-status=live }}

The Hairy Slit-Faced Bat (Nycteris hispida) suffers from malaria here.{{cite journal | publisher=Society for Epidemiologic Research & Johns Hopkins (Oxford University Press) | journal=American Journal of Epidemiology | last=Manwell | first=Reginald D. | volume=43 | issue=1 | date=January 1946 | issn=1476-6256 | doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a119047 | pages=1–12 | title=Bat Malaria| pmid=21011556 }}

Slash-and-burn agriculture is one of the human activities eroding Liberia's natural forests.[http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=384&ArticleID=4411& "Restoring the Battered and Broken Environment of Liberia One of the Keys to a New and Sustainable Future"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20141108111326/http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=384&ArticleID=4411& |date=November 8, 2014 }}, United Nations Environment Program, February 13, 2014. A 2004 UN report estimated that 99% of Liberians burned charcoal and fuel wood for cooking and heating, resulting in deforestation.

Illegal logging has increased in Liberia since the end of the Second Civil War in 2003. In 2012, President Sirleaf granted licenses to companies to cut down 58% of all the primary rainforest left in Liberia. After international protests, many of those logging permits were canceled. In September 2014, Liberia and Norway struck an agreement whereby Liberia ceased all logging in exchange for $150 million in development aid.

Pollution is a significant issue in Monrovia.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberianobserver.com/environment/monrovia’s-‘never-ending’-pollution-issues-2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226052254/http://www.liberianobserver.com/environment/monrovia%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98never-ending%E2%80%99-pollution-issues-2013|url-status=dead|title=Monrovia's 'Never-Ending' Pollution Issues In 2013, Edwin M. Fayia III, The Liberian Observer, December 30, 2014|archive-date=December 26, 2016|access-date=September 1, 2019}} Since 2006, the international community has paid for all garbage collection and disposal in Monrovia via the World Bank.{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/IDA/0,,contentMDK:22301640~menuPK:4754051~pagePK:51236175~piPK:437394~theSitePK:73154,00.html|title=IDA – Liberia: Digging Out Monrovia from the Waste of War|website=web.worldbank.org|access-date=November 8, 2014|archive-date=October 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031061051/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/IDA/0,,contentMDK:22301640~menuPK:4754051~pagePK:51236175~piPK:437394~theSitePK:73154,00.html|url-status=dead}}

{{main|Administrative divisions of Liberia}}

{{Counties of Liberia Image Map}}

File:Bomi lake.jpg]]

Liberia is divided into fifteen counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 90 districts and further subdivided into clans. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at {{convert|11551|km2|abbr=on}}, while Montserrado is the smallest at {{convert|737.069|sqmi|abbr=on}}. Montserrado is also the most populous county with 1,144,806 residents as of the 2008 census.

The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents appointed by the president. The Constitution calls for the election of various chiefs at the county and local level, but these elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7187906.stm |title=Liberia cannot afford local polls |newspaper=BBC News |date=January 14, 2008 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=July 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701105140/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7187906.stm |url-status=live }}

Parallel to the administrative divisions of the country are the local and municipal divisions. Liberia currently does not have any constitutional framework or uniform statutes which deal with the creation or revocation of local governments.{{cite web |last1=Kieh, Jr. |first1=George Klay |title=The Model City Statute for the Liberian City |url=http://governancecommissionlr.org/pg_img/THE_STATUTE_FOR_THE_MODEL_LIBERIAN_CITY[1].pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412091817/http://governancecommissionlr.org/pg_img/THE_STATUTE_FOR_THE_MODEL_LIBERIAN_CITY%5b1%5d.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |website=Governance Commission of Liberia |publisher=Governance Commission of the Republic of Liberia |access-date=July 20, 2018 }} All existing local governments—cities, townships, and a borough—were created by specific acts of the Liberian government, and thus the structure and duties/responsibilities of each local government vary greatly from one to the other.{{cite web |title=Simplified Version of LGM 2018 |url=https://naymote.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Simplified-Version-of-LGA-2018-.pdf |access-date=11 June 2024}}

{{main|Politics of Liberia}}

File:Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf3.jpg]]

The government of Liberia, modeled on the government of the United States, is a unitary constitutional republic and representative democracy as established by the Constitution. The government has three co-equal branches of government: the executive, headed by the president; the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Legislature of Liberia; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and several lower courts.

The president serves as head of government, head of state, and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Among the president's other duties are to sign or veto legislative bills, grant pardons, and appoint Cabinet members, judges, and other public officials. Together with the vice president, the president is elected to a six-year term by majority vote in a two-round system and can serve up to two terms in office.

The Legislature is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House, led by a speaker, has 73 members apportioned among the 15 counties on the basis of the national census, with each county receiving a minimum of two members. Each House member represents an electoral district within a county as drawn by the National Elections Commission and is elected by a plurality of the popular vote of their district into a six-year term. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators. Senators serve nine-year terms and are elected at-large by a plurality of the popular vote. The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in their absence.{{cite web | url=http://www.onliberia.org/con_1984_3.htm#chvi | title=Constitution of Liberia | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904154117/http://www.onliberia.org/con_1984_3.htm#chvi | access-date=July 26, 2021| archive-date=September 4, 2017 }}

Liberia's highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, made up of five members and headed by the Chief Justice of Liberia. Members are nominated to the court by the president and are confirmed by the Senate, serving until the age of 70. The judiciary is further divided into circuit and speciality courts, magistrate courts, and justices of the peace.{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6618.htm |title=Background Note: Liberia |work=Bureau of African Affairs |publisher=United States Department of State |date=March 8, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2019 |archive-date=January 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122194454/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/6618.htm |url-status=live }} The judicial system is a blend of common law, based on Anglo-American law, and customary law. An informal system of traditional courts still exists within the rural areas of the country, with trial by ordeal remaining common despite being officially outlawed.

From 1877 to 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party.{{Cite news |last1=Dash |first1=Leon |last2=Services |first2=Washington Post Foreign |date=1980-02-28 |title=Liberian Elite Facing Rare Political Test |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/02/28/liberian-elite-facing-rare-political-test/0df96b47-f0ef-45de-a235-5b789ce06d15/ |access-date=2023-06-22 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213174304/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/02/28/liberian-elite-facing-rare-political-test/0df96b47-f0ef-45de-a235-5b789ce06d15/ |url-status=live }} Today, over 20 political parties are registered in the country, based largely around personalities and ethnic groups. Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity. The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature. According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Liberia is ranked 65th electoral democracy worldwide and 9th electoral democracy in Africa.{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=December 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183458/https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Armed Forces of Liberia}}

The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) have 2,010 active personnel as of 2023, with most of them organized into the 23rd Infantry Brigade, consisting of two infantry battalions, one engineer company, and one military police company. There is also a small National Coast Guard with 60 personnel and several patrol ships.{{Cite book |author=IISS |author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=2023 |title=The Military Balance 2023 |publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies |pages=460–461 }} The AFL used to have an Air Wing, but all of its aircraft and facilities have been out of operation since the civil wars. It is in the process of reactivating its Air Wing with help from the Nigerian Air Force.{{Cite web |author=Worzi, Alvin |date=26 November 2022 |title=Nigeria helping to revive Liberia's moribund air force wing |work=Nigeriabroad.com |url=https://nigeriabroad.com/nigeria-helping-to-revive-liberia-s-moribund-air-force-wing |access-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217031016/https://nigeriabroad.com/nigeria-helping-to-revive-liberia-s-moribund-air-force-wing |url-status=dead }} Liberia has deployed peacekeepers to other countries since 2013 as part of UN or ECOWAS missions, with the largest being an infantry unit in Mali, and smaller numbers of personnel in Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, and South Sudan. About 800 of the AFL's 2,000 personnel have been deployed to Mali in several rotations before the UN mission there ended in December 2023.{{Cite web |author=Layton, Andrew |title=U.S. officials celebrate Armed Forces of Liberia accomplishments at MINUSMA conclusion ceremony |work=Defense Visual Information Distribution Service |date=21 December 2023 |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/460572/us-officials-celebrate-armed-forces-liberia-accomplishments-minusma-conclusion-ceremony |access-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217031016/https://www.dvidshub.net/news/460572/us-officials-celebrate-armed-forces-liberia-accomplishments-minusma-conclusion-ceremony |url-status=live }} In 2022 the country had a military budget of US$18.7 million.

The old military was disbanded after the civil wars and entirely rebuilt, starting in 2005, with assistance and funding from the United States. The military assistance program, which became known as Operation Onward Liberty in 2010, provided training with the goal of making the AFL into an apolitical and professional military. The operation ended in 2016, though the Michigan National Guard still continues to work with the AFL as part of the U.S. National Guard's State Partnership Program.{{cite web |author=MacDougall, Clair |title=Too small to succeed? Liberia's new army comes of age |work=Al Jazeera |date=4 March 2014 |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/4/too-small-to-succeedliberiasnewarmycomesofage.html |access-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226043259/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/4/too-small-to-succeedliberiasnewarmycomesofage.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |author=Rankin, Denice |date=26 October 2015 |title=Michigan National Guard continues mentor mission to Liberian armed forces |work=U.S. National Guard |url=https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Overseas-Operations/Article/625843/michigan-national-guard-continues-mentor-mission-to-liberian-armed-forces/ |access-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-date=February 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217031021/https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Overseas-Operations/Article/625843/michigan-national-guard-continues-mentor-mission-to-liberian-armed-forces/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |work=U.S. Embassy in Liberia |title=Ambassador McCarthy, Adjutant General Rogers Lead Press Roundtable |date=8 February 2022 |url=https://lr.usembassy.gov/ambassador-mccarthy-adjutant-general-rogers-lead-press-roundtable/ }}

File:Secretary Kerry Listens as Liberian President Sirleaf Addresses the Post-2015 Development Panel Discussion in New York City (21582539498).jpg, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, and United States Secretary of State John Kerry in September 2015]]

{{Further|Foreign relations of Liberia}}

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. As in other African countries, China is an important part of the post-conflict reconstruction.{{Cite book |title=China and Africa |last=Moumouni |first=Guillaume |year=2018 |isbn=978-3319528939 |editor-last=Alden |editor-first=C. |pages=225–251 |chapter=China and Liberia: Engagement in a Post-Conflict Country (2003–2013) |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-52893-9_12 |editor-last2=Alao |editor-first2=A. |editor-last3=Chun |editor-first3=Z. |editor-last4=Barber |editor-first4=L.}}

In the past, both of Liberia's neighbors, Guinea and Sierra Leone, have accused Liberia of backing rebels in their countries.

{{further|Crime in Liberia}}

The Liberian National Police is the country's national police force. As of October 2007 it has 844 officers in 33 stations in Montserrado County, which contains Monrovia.{{cite news|url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/MontserradoCDA.pdf|title=Montserrado County Development Agenda|date=2008|publisher=Republic of Liberia|access-date=October 14, 2008|archive-date=November 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102070138/https://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/MontserradoCDA.pdf|url-status=dead}} The National Police Training Academy is in Paynesville City.{{cite news|title=Nine officials commissioned|date=October 11, 2008|work=The Analyst}} A history of corruption among police officers diminishes public trust and operational effectiveness. 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.{{cite book |last1=Crane |first1=Keith |last2=Gompert |first2=David C |last3=Oliker |first3=Olga |last4=Riley |first4=Kevin Jack |last5=Lawson |first5=Brooke Stearns |date=2007 |title=Making Liberia safe: transformation of the national security sector |location=Santa Monica, California |publisher=Rand |pages=9–11 |isbn=978-0833040084 |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG529.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014212925/https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG529.html |archive-date=October 14, 2018 |access-date=October 2, 2024}}

Rape and sexual assault are frequent in the post-conflict era in Liberia. Liberia has one of the highest incidences of sexual violence against women in the world. Rape is the most frequently reported crime, accounting for more than one-third of sexual violence cases. Adolescent girls are the most frequently assaulted, and almost 40% of perpetrators are adult men known to victims.{{cite web |first1=Nicola |last1=Jones |first2=Janice |last2=Cooper |first3=Elizabeth |last3=Presler-Marshall |first4=David |last4=Walker |date=June 2014 |title=The fallout of rape as a weapon of war |work=ODI |url=http://www.odi.org/publications/8464-rape-weapon-war-liberia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928083046/http://www.odi.org/publications/8464-rape-weapon-war-liberia |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |access-date=October 2, 2024}}

Both male and female homosexuality are illegal in Liberia.{{cite web|title=State Sponsored Homophobia 2016: A world survey of sexual orientation laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition|url=http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf|work=International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association|date=May 17, 2016|access-date=June 11, 2017|archive-date=September 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902183618/http://ilga.org/downloads/02_ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2016_ENG_WEB_150516.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |first=Daniel |last=Avery |title=71 Countries Where Homosexuality is Illegal |url=https://www.newsweek.com/73-countries-where-its-illegal-be-gay-1385974 |work=Newsweek |date=April 4, 2019 |access-date=August 17, 2019 |archive-date=December 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211204842/https://www.newsweek.com/73-countries-where-its-illegal-be-gay-1385974 |url-status=live }} On July 20, 2012, the Liberian senate voted unanimously to enact legislation to prohibit and criminalize same-sex marriages.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberianobserver.com/index.php/news/item/1976-senate-passes-%E2%80%98no-same-sex-marriage%E2%80%99-bill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805070510/http://www.liberianobserver.com/index.php/news/item/1976-senate-passes-%E2%80%98no-same-sex-marriage%E2%80%99-bill|url-status=dead|title=Senate Passes 'No Same Sex Marriage' Bill |work=Daily Observer |last=Carter |first=J. Burgess |date=21 July 2012|archive-date=August 5, 2012|access-date=September 1, 2019}}

{{Further|Corruption in Liberia}}

Corruption is endemic at every level of the Liberian government.{{cite web|title=2010 Human Rights Report: Liberia|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154354.htm|work=US Department of State|access-date=January 10, 2013|archive-date=June 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628133946/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154354.htm|url-status=live}} When President Sirleaf took office in 2006, she announced that corruption was "the major public enemy."[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/22/liberia-police-corruption-harms-rights-progress "Liberia: Police Corruption Harms Rights, Progress"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308105127/https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/22/liberia-police-corruption-harms-rights-progress |date=March 8, 2021 }}, Human Rights Watch, August 22, 2013. 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".{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201402211033.html|title="Liberia: Corruption Is Liberia's Problem, US Ambassador to Liberia Alarms", Al-Varney Rogers, allAfrica, 21 February 2014.|work=allAfrica.com|access-date=October 17, 2014|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923073223/http://allafrica.com/stories/201402211033.html|url-status=live}}

As of 2010, Liberia was one of the most politically corrupt nations in the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020153842/http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 20, 2010 |title=2010 Corruption Perceptions Index |work=Transparency International |date=October 26, 2010 |access-date=July 22, 2011 }} This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries.{{cite web |url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2007 |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2007 |work=Transparency International |year=2007 |access-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-date=April 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080428203145/http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2007 |url-status=dead }} When dealing with public-facing government functionaries, 89% of Liberians say they have had to pay a bribe, the highest national percentage in the world according to the organization's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer.{{cite web|url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/gcb/2010/results|title=Global Corruption Barometer 2010|work=Transparency International|date=December 9, 2010|access-date=July 22, 2011|archive-date=April 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418031133/http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/gcb/2010/results|url-status=live}}

{{clear left}}

{{main|Economy of Liberia}}

File:Liberia Product Exports (2019).svg—there are 3,500 vessels registered under Liberia's flag, accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.{{cite web |first=John W.|last=Schoenurl|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3072983|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020124056/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3072983|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 20, 2020|title=Liberian shipping draws scrutiny|work=NBC News|date=August 11, 2003}}{{cite web |url=http://www.liscr.com/liscr/AboutUs/AboutLiberianRegistry/tabid/206/Default.aspx |title=About the Liberian Registry |publisher=Liberian Registry |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110180209/http://www.liscr.com/liscr/AboutUs/AboutLiberianRegistry/tabid/206/Default.aspx |archive-date=November 10, 2014 }}]]

File:GDP per capita development of Liberia.png

The Central Bank of Liberia is responsible for printing and maintaining the Liberian dollar, Liberia's primary currency (the United States dollar is also legal tender in Liberia).{{Cite web |title=Currency |url=https://cbl.org.lr/general/currency |website=Central Bank of Liberia |access-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115023814/https://cbl.org.lr/general/currency |url-status=live }} Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of 15%. GDP per capita peaked in 1980 at US$496, (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=496|start_year=1980}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) when it was comparable to Egypt's (at the time).{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries/LR-EG?display=graph |title=GDP per capita (current US$) |Data |Graph |publisher=Data.worldbank.org |access-date=March 26, 2013 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094021/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries/LR-EG?display=graph |url-status=live }} In 2011, the country's nominal GDP was US$1.154 billion, while nominal GDP per capita stood at US$297, the third-lowest in the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=98&pr.y=20&sy=2014&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=Liberia |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=October 23, 2017 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180150/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=98&pr.y=20&sy=2014&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDPD,NGDPDPC,PPPGDP,PPPPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=live }} Historically the Liberian economy has depended heavily on foreign aid, foreign direct investment and exports of natural resources such as iron ore, rubber, and timber.

Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement after the 1980 coup.{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201106140356.html|title=The Challenges of Post-War Reconstruction{{snd}}the Liberian Experience|work=Government of Liberia|publisher=allAfrica.com|date=June 13, 2011|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019094038/http://allafrica.com/stories/201106140356.html|url-status=live}} This decline was accelerated by the outbreak of civil war in 1989; GDP was reduced by an estimated 90% between 1989 and 1995, one of the fastest declines in modern history. Upon the end of the war in 2003, GDP growth began to accelerate, reaching 9.4% in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=41&pr.y=12&sy=2000&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CPCPIPCH&grp=0&a=|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: Liberia|work=International Monetary Fund|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=February 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211213732/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=41&pr.y=12&sy=2000&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=668&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CPCPIPCH&grp=0&a=|url-status=live}} In 2009, during the Great Recession GDP growth slowed to 4.6%, though a strengthening agricultural sector led by rubber and timber exports increased growth to 5.1% in 2010 and an expected 7.3% in 2011, making the economy one of the 20 fastest-growing in the world.{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2010/cr10373.pdf|title=IMF Country Report No. 10/37|work=International Monetary Fund|year=2010|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180151/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2010/cr10373.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.africagovernance.org/article/liberian-president-government-and-people-are-partners-progress|title=Liberian President: Government and People are Partners in Progress|date=January 27, 2011|work=Africa Governance Initiative|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220103119/http://www.africagovernance.org/article/liberian-president-government-and-people-are-partners-progress|archive-date=December 20, 2016}}

Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries, and the high dollarization of the economy. Liberia used the United States dollar as its currency from 1943 until 1982 and continues to use the U.S. dollar alongside the Liberian dollar.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:rjgZxrEkytAJ:www.countrycompass.com/_docs/assessments/Liberia_Economic_Recovery_Assessment.pdf+Liberian+dollar+1982&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgB5jM-McEY_lEOfi7dtjUAbUY3FHNMS-1b7c1mewxokLnC7PucnxlcZgbC4H60-44s9Kyw4SlVD0s8pI0lznK8MH_FSOPkOAEW8OgbhuDeI2kiEZ81wf4E0kNLQHndpFSE3jFO|title=Liberia Economic Recovery Assessment|work=USAID|date=July 2008|access-date=October 28, 2018|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412091814/https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:rjgZxrEkytAJ:www.countrycompass.com/_docs/assessments/Liberia_Economic_Recovery_Assessment.pdf+Liberian+dollar+1982&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgB5jM-McEY_lEOfi7dtjUAbUY3FHNMS-1b7c1mewxokLnC7PucnxlcZgbC4H60-44s9Kyw4SlVD0s8pI0lznK8MH_FSOPkOAEW8OgbhuDeI2kiEZ81wf4E0kNLQHndpFSE3jFO|url-status=live}}

Following a decrease in inflation beginning in 2003, inflation spiked in 2008 as a result of worldwide food and energy crises,{{cite web|url=http://mof.gov.lr/doc/Published%20Fiscal%20Outturns.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325223907/http://mof.gov.lr/doc/Published%20Fiscal%20Outturns.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 25, 2012|title=Quarter Three Fiscal Outturn, Fiscal Year 2010/11|work=Ministry of Finance|date=May 2011}} reaching 17.5% before declining to 7.4% in 2009. Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP. As a result of bilateral, multilateral and commercial debt relief from 2007 to 2010, the country's external debt fell to $222.9 million by 2011.{{cite web|url=http://mof.gov.lr/doc/2nd%20Qrt%20Debt%20Management%20Report.pdf|title=Second Quarter 2010/2011 Public Debt Management Report|work=Debt Management Unit|publisher=Ministry of Finance|date=March 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910014431/http://mof.gov.lr/doc/2nd%20Qrt%20Debt%20Management%20Report.pdf|archive-date=September 10, 2013}}

While official commodity exports declined during the 1990s as many investors fled the civil war, Liberia's wartime economy featured the exploitation of the region's diamond wealth.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/839206.stm|title=Liberia's diamond links|newspaper=BBC News|date=July 18, 2000|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=September 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928044310/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/839206.stm|url-status=live}} The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=300000000|start_year=1999}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in diamonds in 1999.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/ |title=CBC News Indepth: Liberia |newspaper=CBC News |date=March 29, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908174543/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/liberia/ |archive-date=September 8, 2013 }} This led to a United Nations ban on Liberian diamond exports in 2001, which was lifted in 2007 following Liberia's accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-05-01-liberia_N.htm|title=Liberia restarts diamond industry|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 1, 2007|access-date=September 3, 2017|archive-date=March 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309052935/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-05-01-liberia_N.htm|url-status=live}}

In 2003, additional UN sanctions were placed on Liberian timber exports, which had risen from US$5 million in 1997 to over US$100 million in 2002 and were believed to be funding rebels in Sierra Leone.{{cite web|url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/bloody-timber-off-the-market/|title=Bloody timber off the market|work=Greenpeace|date=May 7, 2003|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=July 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716103213/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/bloody-timber-off-the-market/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Gary|last=Strieker|url=http://www.edition.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/01/13/liberian.timber/index.html|title=U.N. mulls embargo on Liberian timber|work=CNN|date=January 13, 2002|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614180148/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/01/13/liberian.timber/index.html|url-status=live}} These sanctions were lifted in 2006.{{cite web|first=Chenni|last=Xu|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2006-06-20-voa64/325269.html|title=UN Lifts Liberia Timber Sanctions|work=Voice of America|date=June 20, 2006|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130090304/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2006-06-20-voa64.html|archive-date=January 30, 2012|url-status=live}} Due in large part to foreign aid and investment inflow following the end of the war, Liberia maintains a large account deficit, which peaked at nearly 60% in 2008. Liberia gained observer status with the World Trade Organization in 2010 and became an official member in 2016.{{cite web|title=Members and Observers|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm|access-date=October 15, 2020|website=wto.org|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629193816/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm|url-status=live}}

Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=16000000000|start_year=2006}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in investment since 2006. Following Sirleaf's inauguration in 2006, Liberia signed several multi-billion-dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations, including ArcelorMittal, BHP and Sime Darby.{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201008271043.html|title=Government Announces Agreement with Chevron to Explore Liberian Waters|publisher=allAfrica.com|date=August 27, 2010|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=October 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020040345/http://allafrica.com/stories/201008271043.html|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/palm-oil-companys-deal-liberia-sparks-controversy|title=Palm oil industry accused of land grabs in Liberia|work=GlobalPost |publisher=globalpost.com|date=December 27, 2012|access-date=January 8, 2013|archive-date=July 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702085839/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/palm-oil-companys-deal-liberia-sparks-controversy|url-status=live}} Since 1926 Firestone has operated the world's largest rubber plantation in Harbel, Margibi County. As of 2015, it had more than 8,000 mostly Liberian employees, making it the country's largest private employer.{{citation |first=Fred |last=van der Kraaij |title=Liberia: From the love of liberty to paradise lost |page=144 |publisher=Leiden, African Studies Centre |date=2015 |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/33835 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803074535/https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/33835 |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |isbn=978-90-54481447}}{{cite web|url=http://www.firestonenaturalrubber.com/company_history.htm|title=Firestone and Liberia – Company History|work=Firestone Natural Rubber Company|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612171553/http://www.firestonenaturalrubber.com/company_history.htm|archive-date=June 12, 2011}}

In September 2024 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that its executive board approved a financial arrangement of approximately $210 million for Liberia. The approval includes an immediate disbursement of around $8 million. This arrangement is aimed at supporting Liberia's economic recovery and addressing fiscal challenges.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/imf-says-its-board-approved-210-million-arrangement-liberia-2024-09-25/ |title=IMF says its board approved $210 million arrangement for Liberia |work=Reuters |date=September 25, 2024 |access-date=October 2, 2024}}

Due to its status as a flag of convenience, Liberia has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama. It has 3,500 vessels registered under its flag, accounting for 11% of ships worldwide.

{{Excerpt|Agriculture in Liberia}}

{{Excerpt|Mining industry of Liberia}}

{{Main|Communications in Liberia}}

There are six major newspapers in Liberia, and 65% of the population has a mobile phone service.

Much of Liberia's communications infrastructure was destroyed or plundered during the two civil wars (1989–1996 and 1999–2003).{{cite web | url=http://www.ppiaf.org/sites/ppiaf.org/files/publication/PPIAF-Impact-Stories-Reforming-Liberia-Telecom-Sector.pdf | title=PPIAF Supports Telecommunications Reform and Liberalization in Liberia | publisher=Public-Private Infrastructure Facility (PPIAF) | date=July 2011 | access-date=September 3, 2011 | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051911/http://www.ppiaf.org/sites/ppiaf.org/files/publication/PPIAF-Impact-Stories-Reforming-Liberia-Telecom-Sector.pdf | url-status=dead }} 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.[http://www.audiencescapes.org/country-profiles-liberia-country-overview-quantitative-survey-qualitative-analysis-research "Introduction to Communication and Development in Liberia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307051722/http://www.audiencescapes.org/country-profiles-liberia-country-overview-quantitative-survey-qualitative-analysis-research |date=March 7, 2014 }}, AudienceScapes. Retrieved February 8, 2014.

File:Downtown Monrovia 3348917715 67a2002529.jpg, March 2009]]{{Excerpt|Transportation in Liberia}}

{{Further|Energy in Liberia}}

Public electricity services are provided solely by the state-owned Liberia Electricity Corporation, which operates a small grid almost exclusively in the Greater Monrovia District.{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTAFRREGTOPENERGY/Resources/717305-1266613906108/Liberia_Energy_ESW_11-4-11web.pdf|title=Options for the Development of Liberia's Energy Sector|work=International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|publisher=World Bank Group|date=2011|access-date=June 9, 2014|archive-date=January 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108191259/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTAFRREGTOPENERGY/Resources/717305-1266613906108/Liberia_Energy_ESW_11-4-11web.pdf|url-status=live}} The vast majority of electric energy services is provided by small, privately owned generators. At $0.54 per kWh, the cost of electricity in Liberia is among the highest in the world. Total capacity in 2013 was 20 MW, a sharp decline from a peak of 191 MW in 1989 before the wars.

The repair and expansion of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Project, with a maximum capacity of 80 MW, was completed in 2018.{{cite news | first = Clair | last = MacDougall | title=Liberia: Stepping Back Into The Light? | newspaper=ThinkPressAfrica|date=July 18, 2012}} Construction of three new heavy fuel oil power plants is expected to boost electrical capacity by 38 MW.{{cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201311280681.html|title=Liberia: Massive Electrification Boost|newspaper=allAfrica.com|date=November 27, 2013|access-date=June 9, 2014|archive-date=January 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108192806/https://allafrica.com/stories/201311280681.html|url-status=live}} In 2013, Liberia began importing power from neighboring Ivory Coast and Guinea through the West African Power Pool.{{cite news |first=Joe |last=Teh |url=http://cmiliberia.org/blog/2013/07/30/behind-the-power-switch-in-nimba-an-optimism-for-vibtant-economy/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140609061323/http://cmiliberia.org/blog/2013/07/30/behind-the-power-switch-in-nimba-an-optimism-for-vibtant-economy/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 9, 2014 |title=Behind The Power Switch in Nimba, An optimism for Vibrant Economy |newspaper=The News Pinnacle |date=July 30, 2013 }}

Liberia has begun exploration for offshore oil; unproven oil reserves may be in excess of one billion barrels.{{cite news |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFWEA839820091103 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120101525/http://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFWEA839820091103 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |title=Liberia may have over 1 bln barrels in oil resources |newspaper=Reuters Africa|date=November 3, 2009}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040202005192/en/NOCAL-2004-Liberia-Offshore-Bid-Announcement|title=NOCAL 2004 Liberia Offshore Bid Round Announcement|work=Business Wire|date=February 2, 2004|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420231133/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040202005192/en/NOCAL-2004-Liberia-Offshore-Bid-Announcement|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Natalie Obiko|last=Pearson|url=http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=53828|title=Liberia Opens Bidding for 10 Offshore Oil Blocks|work=RigZone|date=December 10, 2007|access-date=June 21, 2011|archive-date=March 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330155653/http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=53828|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.psg.deloitte.com/NewsLicensingRounds_LR_0909.asp|title=Third Liberian Offshore Petroleum Licensing Round 2009|work=Deloitte Petroleum Services|publisher=Deloitte|date=August 27, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104072748/https://www.psg.deloitte.com/NewsLicensingRounds_LR_0909.asp|archive-date=November 4, 2013}} An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction.{{cite web |first=Alphonso |last=Toweh |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE76K01J20110721?sp=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119002810/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE76K01J20110721?sp=true |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 19, 2012 |title=Liberia marks out new oil blocks, auction seen soon |work=Reuters |date=July 21, 2011 |access-date=August 22, 2011}} Among the companies to have won licenses are Repsol YPF, Chevron Corporation, and Woodside Petroleum.{{cite web |first=Ansu |last=Konneh |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/chevron-liberia-sign-deepwater-offshore-exploration-agreement.html |title=Chevron, Liberia Sign Deepwater Offshore Exploration Agreement |work=Bloomberg News |date=August 30, 2010 |access-date=March 8, 2017 |archive-date=September 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909022554/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/chevron-liberia-sign-deepwater-offshore-exploration-agreement.html |url-status=live }}

{{main|Demographics of Liberia}}

{{See also|Liberian nationality law}}

As of the 2017 national census, Liberia was home to 4,694,608 people.{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/Population_by_County.pdf |title=2008 National Population and Housing Census Final Results: Population by County |author=Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services |date=May 2009 |work=2017 Population and Housing Census |publisher=Republic of Liberia |access-date=June 10, 2009 |archive-date=September 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911055748/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/Population_by_County.pdf |url-status=dead }} Of those, 1,118,241 lived in Montserrado County, the most populous county in the country and location of the capital Monrovia. The Greater Monrovia District has 970,824 residents.{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/Population_by_County.pdf |title=2008 National Population and Housing Census Final Results: Population by County |author=Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services |date=May 2009 |work=2008 Population and Housing Census |publisher=Republic of Liberia |access-date=June 10, 2009 |archive-date=September 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911055748/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/Population_by_County.pdf |url-status=dead }} Nimba County is the next most populous county, with 462,026 residents. As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county capitals combined.

Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been taken in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628. The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974. {{As of|2006}}, Liberia had the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum).[https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031153622/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf |date=October 31, 2017 }} – Table A.8 In 2010 some 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15.{{Cite web|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816232627/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm|url-status=dead|title=World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations|archive-date=August 16, 2015|website=population.un.org|access-date=September 1, 2019}}

{{Largest cities of Liberia|class=info}}

{{bar box

|title=Ethnic groups in Liberia

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Ethnic groups

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent|Kpelle|darkgreen|20.3}}

{{bar percent|Bassa|purple|13.4}}

{{bar percent|Grebo|red|10.0}}

{{bar percent|Gio|black|8.0}}

{{bar percent|Mano|orange|7.9}}

{{bar percent|Kru|darkblue|6.0}}

{{bar percent|Lorma|lightgrey|5.1}}

{{bar percent|Kissi|maroon|4.8}}

{{bar percent|Gola|darkgray|4.4}}

{{bar percent|Krahn|gray|4.0}}

{{bar percent|Vai|tan|4.0}}

{{bar percent|Mandinka|lime|3.2}}

{{bar percent|Gbandi|Violet|3.0}}

{{bar percent|Mende|darkgreen|1.3}}

{{bar percent|Sapo|purple|1.2}}

{{bar percent|Belle|red|0.8}}

{{bar percent|Dey|black|0.3}}

{{bar percent|Other Liberian|orange|0.6}}

{{bar percent|Other African|darkblue|1.4}}{{bar percent|Non African|white|0.1}}

}}

The population includes 16 indigenous ethnic groups and various foreign minorities. Indigenous peoples comprise about 95 percent of the population. 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, and Belleh.{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/liberia/74187.htm |title=Liberia (09/06) |publisher=United States Department of States |access-date=31 March 2025}} The Americo-Liberians, or Congo people,{{efn|So named because many immigrants including those freed from slave ships arrived from ports at the mouth of the Congo River}} are a historical community in Liberia.{{cite web |url=https://aaregistry.org/story/the-americo-liberian-community-a-brief-story/ |title=The Americo-Liberian Community, a story |publisher=African American Registry |access-date=31 March 2025}}

The Kpelle comprise more than 20% of the population and are the largest ethnic group in Liberia, residing mostly in Bong County and adjacent areas in central Liberia.{{cite web|url=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fiske/135b/kpelle.htm|title=Kpelle|first=Alan|last=Fiske|website=www.sscnet.ucla.edu|access-date=November 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102030436/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/anthro/faculty/fiske/135b/kpelle.htm|archive-date=November 2, 2014|url-status=dead}} Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African American and West Indian, mostly Barbadian (Bajan) settlers, make up 2.5%. Congo people, descendants of repatriated Congo and Afro-Caribbean slaves who arrived in 1825, make up an estimated 2.5%.{{cite web |url=http://www.theperspective.org/rewriting_history.html |title=Liberia's Ugly Past: Re-writing Liberian History |publisher=Theperspective.org |access-date=January 3, 2010 |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420074423/http://www.theperspective.org/rewriting_history.html |url-status=live }}{{Better source needed|reason= The ref provided "Liberia's Ugly Past" seems irrelevant here as it does not address population/demographics|date=May 2022}} These latter two groups established political control in the 19th century which they kept well into the 20th century.

The Liberian constitution exercises jus sanguinis, which means it usually restricts its citizenship to "Negroes or persons of Negro descent."{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberianlegal.com/constitution1986.htm#_CITIZENSHIP|title=The Constitution of the Republic of Liberia – Chapter IV: Citizenship|website=www.liberianlegal.com|access-date=November 29, 2018|archive-date=October 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016145448/http://www.liberianlegal.com/constitution1986.htm#_CITIZENSHIP|url-status=live}} That being said, numerous immigrants have come as merchants and become a major part of the business community, including Lebanese, Indians, and other West African nationals. There is a high prevalence of interracial marriage between ethnic Liberians and the Lebanese, resulting in a significant mixed-race population especially in and around Monrovia. A small minority of Liberians who are White Africans of European descent reside in the country.{{Better source needed|reason= CIA Fact Book is no authority to populations in Liberia|date=November 2015}}

{{Further|Languages of Liberia}}

English is the official language and serves as the lingua franca of Liberia.{{cite web |first=Jina |last=Moore |url=http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/untold-stories/liberia-ma-ellen-talk-plenty-plenty-liberian-english |title=Liberia: Ma Ellen talk plenty plenty Liberian English |work=Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting |date=October 19, 2009 |access-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-date=October 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005210518/http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/untold-stories/liberia-ma-ellen-talk-plenty-plenty-liberian-english |url-status=dead }} As of 2022, 27 indigenous languages are spoken in Liberia, but each is a first language for only a small percentage of the population.Liberia in {{e25}} Liberians also speak a variety of creolized dialects collectively known as Liberian English.

{{main|Religion in Liberia}}

{{bar box |float=right |titlebar=#ddd

|title=Religion in Liberia (2010){{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/liberia#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010®ion_name=All+Countries&restrictions_year=2015|title=Religions in Liberia – PEW-GRF|website=www.globalreligiousfutures.org|access-date=October 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106235755/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/liberia#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010®ion_name=All+Countries&restrictions_year=2015|archive-date=November 6, 2018|url-status=dead}}

|left1=Religion

|right1=Percent

|bars=

{{bar percent|Protestantism|lightBlue|76.3}}

{{bar percent|Islam|green|12.2}}

{{bar percent|Roman Catholicism|red|7.2}}

{{bar percent|Other Christian|blue|1.6}}

{{bar percent|Unaffiliated|Lavender|1.4}}

{{bar percent|Other faith|grey|1.3}}

}}

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.6% of the population practiced Christianity, while Muslims represented a minority of 12.2%.{{cite web|url=https://www.lisgis.net/pg_img/NPHC%202008%20Final%20Report.pdf|title=2008 Population and Housing Census: Final Results|publisher=Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services|date=May 2009|page=A4-84|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412091820/https://www.lisgis.net/pg_img/NPHC|url-status=dead}} 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. 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 indigenous—especially Pentecostal and evangelical Protestant ones. Protestantism was originally associated with Black American settlers and their Americo-Liberian descendants, while native peoples initially held to their own animist forms of African traditional religion before largely adopting Christianity. While Christian, many Liberians also participate in traditional, gender-based indigenous religious secret societies, such as Poro for men and Sande for women. The all-female Sande society practices female circumcision.{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148698.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123105613/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148698.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 23, 2010 |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia |work=United States Department of State |date=November 17, 2010 |access-date=July 22, 2011}}

Muslims comprised 12.2% of the population in 2008, largely represented by the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Liberian Muslims are divided between Sunnis, Shias, Ahmadiyyas, Sufis, and non-denominational Muslims.Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2013

In 2008, 0.5% identified adherence to traditional indigenous religions, while 1.5% claimed no religion. A small number of people were Baháʼí, Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist.

The Liberian constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right. While separation of church and state is mandated by the Constitution, Liberia is considered a Christian state in practice.{{cite web |date=July 7, 2011 |title=Freedom in the World 2011 – Liberia |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4e16b8f91a.html |access-date=January 23, 2023 |work=Freedom House |publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |archive-date=October 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019035608/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4e16b8f91a.html |url-status=live }} Public schools offer biblical studies, though parents may opt their children out. Commerce is prohibited by law on Sunday and major Christian holidays. The government does not require businesses or schools to excuse Muslims for Friday prayers.

{{clear}}

{{main|Education in Liberia}}

File:Liberian students.jpg]]

In 2010, the literacy rate of Liberia was estimated at 60.8% (64.8% for males and 56.8% for females).{{cite web |url=http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=4300&BR_Region=40540 |title=Education profile – Liberia |work=Institute for Statistics |publisher=UNESCO |year=2010 |access-date=July 20, 2011 |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930035337/http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=4300&BR_Region=40540 |url-status=dead }} In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax.{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74422|title=Liberia: Go to school or go to jail|date=September 21, 2007|work=IRN|publisher=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|access-date=April 8, 2009|archive-date=March 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310014617/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74422|url-status=live}} In other areas children are required to pay a tuition fee to attend school. On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls). The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers.{{cite web |first1=Sidiki |last1=Trawally |first2=Derek |last2=Reeves |url=http://www.liftliberia.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=100&related=Press%20Release |title=Making Quality Education Affordable And Assessable To All{{snd}}Prez. Sirleaf's Vision With Passion |work=Lift Liberia |year=2009 |access-date=July 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512060404/http://www.liftliberia.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=100&related=Press%20Release |archive-date=May 12, 2013 }}

Higher education is provided by a number of public and private universities. The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. Located in Monrovia, the university opened in 1862. Today it has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.Jallah, David A. B. [http://www.ialsnet.org/meetings/enriching/JallahDavid.pdf "Notes, Presented by Professor and Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, David A. B. Jallah to the International Association of Law Schools Conference Learning From Each Other: Enriching the Law School Curriculum in an Interrelated World Held at Soochow University Kenneth Wang School of Law, Suzhou, China, October 17–19, 2007."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914053358/http://www.ialsnet.org/meetings/enriching/JallahDavid.pdf |date=September 14, 2013 }} International Association of Law Schools. Retrieved on September 1, 2008.

In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County was established as the second public university in Liberia.{{cite news |url=http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340:ellen-describes-tubman-universitys-opening-as-prs-success&catid=3:general&Itemid=68 |title=Ellen Describes Tubman University's Opening As PRS Success |newspaper=The New Dawn |date=March 3, 2010 |access-date=July 22, 2010 |archive-date=September 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919003247/http://www.thenewdawnliberia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340:ellen-describes-tubman-universitys-opening-as-prs-success&catid=3:general&Itemid=68 |url-status=live }} Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama.{{cite web |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/20101023President_Remarks_GBCC_Launch_Ground_Breaking.pdf |title=Remarks by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf At Official Launch and Fundraising Program Of the Grand Bassa Community College |publisher=The Executive Mansion |date=October 21, 2010 |access-date=July 22, 2011 |archive-date=October 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004060217/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/doc/20101023President_Remarks_GBCC_Launch_Ground_Breaking.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |first=Peter A. |last=Fahn |url=http://www.micat.gov.lr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156:government-moves-ahead-with-education-decentralization-plans&catid=47:new-liberia&Itemid=91 |title=Government Moves Ahead With Education Decentralization Plans |date=July 7, 2011 |access-date=August 3, 2011 |archive-date=October 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003220056/http://www.micat.gov.lr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156:government-moves-ahead-with-education-decentralization-plans&catid=47:new-liberia&Itemid=91 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004060405/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1951 |url=http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1951 |title=July 26 Celebrations Kick Off in Lofa As President Sirleaf Arrives |work=The Executive Mansion |date=July 25, 2011 |archive-date=October 4, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2013}}

Due to student protests late in October 2018, newly elected president George Weah abolished tuition fees for undergraduate students in public universities in Liberia.{{Cite news|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2018-10-25-liberias-weah-announces-free-tuition-for-undergrads|title=Liberia's Weah announces free tuition for undergrads|date=October 25, 2018|work=Mail & Guardian|access-date=March 20, 2018|agency=Agence France-Presse|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422213915/https://mg.co.za/article/2018-10-25-liberias-weah-announces-free-tuition-for-undergrads/|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Health in Liberia}}

File:Life expectancy in Liberia.svg

Hospitals in Liberia include the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia and several others. Life expectancy in Liberia is estimated to be 64.4 years in 2020.{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?end=2020&locations=LR&start=2020&view=bar |title=The WorldBank: Life Expectancy ranks |access-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804235643/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?end=2020&locations=LR&start=2020&view=bar |url-status=live }} With a fertility rate of 5.9 births per woman, the maternal mortality rate stood at 990 per 100,000 births in 2010, and 1,072 per 100,000 births in 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/docs/country_info/profile/en_Liberia_SoWMy_Profile.pdf |title=The State of the World's Midwifery 2011: Liberia |work=United Nations Population Fund |access-date=August 2, 2011 |archive-date=December 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206210251/http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/docs/country_info/profile/en_Liberia_SoWMy_Profile.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=Maternal health gets a new boost in Liberia |url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/7/feature-maternal-health-gets-a-new-boost-in-liberia |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=UN Women – Headquarters |date=July 17, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212173610/https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/7/feature-maternal-health-gets-a-new-boost-in-liberia |url-status=live }} A number of highly communicable diseases are widespread, including tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases and malaria. In 2007, the HIV infection rates stood at 2% of the population aged 15–49{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.AIDS.ZS/countries |title=Data: Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15–49) |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629102325/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.AIDS.ZS/countries |url-status=live }} whereas the incidence of tuberculosis was 420 per 100,000 people in 2008.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/gho/countries/lbr.pdf |title=Liberia: Health profile |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210455/http://www.who.int/gho/countries/lbr.pdf |url-status=live }} Approximately 58.2%{{cite news|title=Female genital mutilation (FGM)|url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029201427/http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2010|agency=World Health Organization}} – 66%[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf UNICEF 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |date=April 5, 2015 }}, p. 27. of women are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation.

Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages.{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/IndepthMain.aspx?InDepthID=72&ReportID=77811 |title=Liberia: Nurtitional "crisis" in Monrovia |date=February 23, 2007 |publisher=Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |access-date=February 24, 2011 |archive-date=October 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016172049/http://www.irinnews.org/indepthmain.aspx?InDepthID=72&ReportID=77811 |url-status=live }} In 2007, 20.4% of children under the age of five were malnourished.{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MALN.ZS/countries |title=Data: Malnutrition prevalence, weight for age (% of children under 5). The |publisher=World Bank |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522050449/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MALN.ZS/countries |url-status=live }} Liberia has a high level of hunger and food insecurity{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) - peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}

Approximately 95% of the country's healthcare facilities had been destroyed by the time civil war ended in 2003.{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=60788 |title=Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system |date=September 2006 |publisher=Integrated Regional Information Networks. UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |access-date=February 24, 2011 |archive-date=September 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910203141/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=60788 |url-status=live }} In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22, (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=22|start_year=2009}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) {{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PCAP/countries |title=Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$) |publisher=World Bank |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-date=June 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609191024/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PCAP/countries |url-status=live }} accounting for 10.6% of total GDP.{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS/countries |title=Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP) |publisher=World Bank |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-date=June 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609021820/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS/countries |url-status=live }} In 2008, Liberia had only one doctor and 27 nurses per 100,000 people.

In 2014, an outbreak of Ebola virus in Guinea spread to Liberia.{{cite news |first= Alphonso |last= Toweh |date= March 30, 2014 |title= Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-liberia-ebola-idUSBREA2T0ON20140330 |work= Reuters |access-date= March 30, 2014 |archive-date= September 24, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924195329/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/30/us-liberia-ebola-idUSBREA2T0ON20140330 |url-status= live }} {{as of|2014|November|17|df=US}}, there were 2,812 confirmed deaths from the ongoing outbreak.{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/17/how-liberia-might-have-beat-ebola.html |title=How Liberia (Might Have) Beat Ebola |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=November 17, 2014 |access-date=November 17, 2014 |last1=Haglage |first1=Abby |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054112/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/17/how-liberia-might-have-beat-ebola.html |url-status=live }}

{{main|Culture of Liberia}}

File:Brooklyn Museum 1998.80.2 Helmet Mask for Sande Society.jpg (Ndoli Jowei), Liberia. 20th century. Brooklyn Museum.]]

The religious practices, social customs, and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. The settlers wore top hat and tails and modeled their homes on those of Southern slaveowners.{{cite web |first=Teresa |last=Wiltz |url=http://www.theroot.com/views/liberia-war-weary-echoes-old-dixie |title=Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie |work=The Root |date=December 2, 2010 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901031105/http://www.theroot.com/views/liberia-war-weary-echoes-old-dixie |archive-date=September 1, 2011 }} Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Liberia has a rich history in textile arts and quilting, as the settlers brought with them their sewing and quilting skills. Liberia hosted National Fairs in 1857 and 1858 in which prizes were awarded for various needle arts. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,{{cite web|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp63618&rNo=0&role=sit|title=Martha Ricks|publisher=National Portrait Gallery|access-date=December 12, 2008|archive-date=May 24, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524033138/http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp63618&rNo=0&role=sit|url-status=live}} who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf moved into the Executive Mansion, she reportedly had a Liberian-made quilt installed in her presidential office.{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200603240593.html?page=2 |access-date=May 16, 2008 |title=Liberia: It's the Little Things{{snd}}A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency |work=allAfrica.com |date=March 24, 2006 |archive-date=September 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915195122/http://allafrica.com/stories/200603240593.html?page=2 |url-status=live }}

A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors.{{cite news |first=Varney |last=Kamara |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201007200709.html |title=Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority" |work=The Analyst |publisher=allAfrica.com |date=July 20, 2010 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=October 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020072418/http://allafrica.com/stories/201007200709.html |url-status=live }} Moore's novella Murder in the Cassava Patch is considered Liberia's most celebrated novel.{{cite web |first=J. Kpanneh |last=Doe |url=http://www.theperspective.org/bookreview.html |title=Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb – A Book Review & Commentary |work=The Perspective |date=October 31, 2000 |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=September 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909064724/http://www.theperspective.org/bookreview.html |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Mass media in Liberia}}

{{Further|Polygamy in Liberia}}

One-third of married Liberian women between the ages of 15–49 are in polygamous marriages.OECD Atlas of Gender and Development: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, 2010. p. 236. Customary law allows men to have up to four wives.Olukoju, Ayodeji. "Gender Roles, Marriage and Family", Culture and Customs of Liberia. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 97.

{{main|Liberian cuisine}}

File:Beachside Barbeque (6831739276).jpg, Monrovia, Liberia]]

Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. Other ingredients include cassava, fish, bananas, citrus fruit, plantains, coconut, okra and sweet potatoes.{{cite web|url=http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/liberia.php |title=Celtnet Liberian Recipes and Cookery |work=Celtnet Recipes |access-date=July 23, 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903234346/http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/liberia.php |archive-date=September 3, 2011 }} Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chilies are popular and eaten with fufu.{{cite web |url=http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Liberia.html |title=Liberia |work=Food in Every Country |access-date=August 27, 2013 |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230134326/http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Liberia.html |url-status=live }} Liberia also has a tradition of baking imported from the United States that is unique in West Africa.{{cite web |url=http://gwydion.weebly.com/liberian-baking.html |title=The Baking Recipes of Liberia |work=Africa Aid |access-date=July 23, 2011 |archive-date=September 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910175551/http://gwydion.weebly.com/liberian-baking.html |url-status=live }}

The most popular sport in Liberia is association football, with former President George Weah being the nation's most famous athlete. He is so far the only African to be named FIFA World Player of the Year.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131020073045/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=2187/ "Iconic Weah a true great"]. FIFA.com. Retrieved November 17, 2013{{cite news |title=George Weah: Ex-AC Milan, Chelsea & Man City striker elected Liberia president |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41607141 |publisher=BBC |date=June 22, 2018 |access-date=September 7, 2018 |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430115039/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41607141 |url-status=live }} The Liberia national football team has reached the Africa Cup of Nations finals twice, in 1996 and 2002.

The second most popular sport in Liberia is basketball. The Liberian national basketball team has reached the AfroBasket twice, in 1983 and 2007.

In Liberia, the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex serves as a multi-purpose stadium. It hosts FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in addition to international concerts and national political events.{{cite news|title=Liberia:Chaos Mars Grand Bassa and Nimba Clash|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201401211272.html|access-date=October 9, 2016|newspaper=All Africa|date=January 21, 2012|archive-date=January 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122173654/http://allafrica.com/stories/201401211272.html|url-status=live}}

Liberia has not yet completely adopted the International System of Units (abbreviated as the SI, also called the metric system). The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of United States customary units to the metric system.

{{cite web|url = http://trend.ag.utk.edu/international/ReformingCocoaCoffeeMarketingLiberia.pdf|title = Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia|author = Wilcox, Michael D. Jr. |year = 2008|work = Presentation and Policy Brief|publisher = University of Tennessee|access-date = April 25, 2010|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100624032539/http://trend.ag.utk.edu/international/ReformingCocoaCoffeeMarketingLiberia.pdf|archive-date = June 24, 2010}}{{Better source needed|reason=Cited source mentions only that coffee farmers have been confused by switchover, gives no information of when or how switchover occurred.|date=February 2024}} This change has been gradual, with government reports concurrently using United States Customary and metric units.

{{cite web| url = http://www.emansion.gov.lr/content.php?sub=County%20Development%20Agendas&related=CDAs| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100114003713/http://www.emansion.gov.lr/content.php?sub=County%20Development%20Agendas&related=CDAs| archive-date = January 14, 2010| url-status = dead| title = County Development Agendas| author = Government of Liberia| year = 2008| publisher = Government of the Republic of Liberia| access-date = May 1, 2010}}{{cite web|url = http://www.molme.gov.lr/doc/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Annual%20Report%20Jan%201%20-%20Dec%2031%202009.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110410125217/http://www.molme.gov.lr/doc/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Annual%20Report%20Jan%201%20-%20Dec%2031%202009.pdf|url-status = dead|archive-date = April 10, 2011|title = Annual report|author = Shannon, Eugene H.|date = December 31, 2009|publisher = Liberian Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy|access-date = May 1, 2010}} In 2018, the Liberian Commerce and Industry Minister announced that the Liberian government is committed to adopting the metric system.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liberianobserver.com/business/govt-pledges-commitment-to-adopt-metric-system/|title=Gov't Pledges Commitment to Adopt Metric System|first=Robin|last=Dopoe|date=May 25, 2018|access-date=September 1, 2019|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109004653/https://www.liberianobserver.com/business/govt-pledges-commitment-to-adopt-metric-system/|url-status=dead}}

{{portal|Liberia||}}

• Outline of Liberia
• Index of Liberia-related articles

{{Notelist}}

{{Clear}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}

• Cooper, Helene, House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood (Simon & Schuster, 2008, {{ISBN|0743266242}})
• {{cite book | title=Africa in World History, From Prehistory to the Present | date=October 2003 | publisher=Prentice Hall | isbn = 978-0130929075| edition=Paperback | author1=Gilbert, Erik |author2=Reynolds, Jonathan T }}
• {{cite book | title=Too Late to Turn Back | year=1991 | publisher=Penguin | isbn=0140095942 | author=Greene, Barbara | url=https://archive.org/details/toolatetoturnbac00gree }}
• {{cite book | title=Journey Without Maps | publisher=Vintage | year=1936 | isbn = 978-0099282235| author=Greene, Graham |title-link=Journey Without Maps }}
• {{cite book | title=Long Story Bit By Bit: Liberia Retold | publisher=New York: Umbrage | year=2009 | isbn = 978-1884167737| author=Hetherington, Tim }}
• {{cite book | title=Mississippi in Africa: The Saga of the Slaves of Prospect Hill Plantation and Their Legacy in Liberia Today | publisher=Gotham Books | year=2004 | isbn=978-1592400447 | author=Huffman, Alan | url=https://archive.org/details/mississippiinafr00huff }}
• {{cite book| url = https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/33835| title = Liberia : From the Love of Liberty to Paradise Lost| publisher = African Studies Centre, Leiden| year = 2015| isbn = 978-9054481447| author = Kraaij, Fred| author2 = van der| access-date = February 28, 2016| archive-date = August 3, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200803074535/https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/33835| url-status = live}}
• Lang, Victoria, To Liberia: Destiny's Timing (Publish America, Baltimore, 2004, {{ISBN|1413718299}}). Novel of the journey of a young Black couple fleeing America to settle in the African motherland of Liberia.
• Maksik, Alexander, A Marker to Measure Drift (John Murray 2013; Paperback 2014; {{ISBN|978-1848548077}}). A novel about a young woman's experience of and escape from the Liberian civil war.
• {{cite book

| title=Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary: third Edition

| publisher=Merriam Webster Inc.

| location=Springfield

| year=1997

| isbn=0877795460

| edition=Paperback

| url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersg1998merr

}}

• Mwakikagile, Godfrey, Military Coups in West Africa Since The Sixties, Chapter Eight: Liberia: 'The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,' pp. 85–110, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Huntington, New York, 2001; Godfrey Mwakikagile, The Modern African State: Quest for Transformation, Chapter One: The Collapse of A Modern African State: Death and Rebirth of Liberia, pp. 1–18, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2001.
• {{cite book

| title=Liberia: Portrait of a Failed State

| date=2001

| publisher=Reed Press

| isbn=1594290121

| author=Pham, John-Peter

| url=https://archive.org/details/liberiaportraito00pham

}}

• Sankawulo, Wilton, Great Tales of Liberia. Dr. Sankawulo is the compiler of these tales from Liberia and about Liberian culture. Editura Universității "Lucian Blaga", Sibiu, Romania, 2004. {{ISBN|978-9736518386}}.
• Sankawulo, Wilton, Sundown at Dawn: A Liberian Odyssey. Recommended by the Cultural Resource Center, Center for Applied Linguistics for its content concerning Liberian culture. {{ISBN|0976356503}}
• Shaw, Elma, Redemption Road: The Quest for Peace and Justice in Liberia (a novel), with a foreword by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Cotton Tree Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0980077407}})
• {{cite book

| title=Liberia: The Heart of Darkness

| date=2006 | publisher=Trafford Publishing

| isbn = 1553692942

| author=Williams, Gabriel I. H.

}}

{{refend}}

{{Sister project links|voy=Liberia|Liberia}}

• {{Official website|https://www.emansion.gov.lr/}}, President official government portal
• [https://www.mofa.gov.lr/ Foreign Affairs of Liberia]
• [https://ecowap.ecowas.int/country/Liberia Liberia] profile from ECOWAS
• {{wikiatlas|Liberia}}
• {{osmrelation-inline|192780}}
• [https://www.aljazeera.com/where/liberia/ News headline links] from Al Jazeera.
• [https://www.democracynow.org/topics/liberia Liberia], Democracy Now!
• [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13729504 Liberia profile] from the BBC News.
• [https://bizpages.org/countries--LR--Liberia Liberia Business Facts] from [https://bizpages.org Bizpages]

{{Liberia topics}}

{{Countries of Africa}}

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