Liberia




                                 Geography


Location:
     Western Africa, bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Cote
     d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     111,370 sq km
land area:
     96,320 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:
     total 1,585 km, Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306
     km
Coastline:
     579 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
territorial sea:
     200 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold
     nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Terrain:
     mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and
     low mountains in northeast
Natural resources:
     iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold
Land use:
arable land:
     1%
permanent crops:
     3%
meadows and pastures:
     2%
forest and woodland:
     39%
other:
     55%
Irrigated land:
     20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to deforestation;
     soil erosion; loss of biodiversity
natural hazards:
     dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)




international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution,
     Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
     Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
     Marine Life Conservation


                                  People


Population:
     2,972,766 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     3.33% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     43.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     12.34 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     113.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     57.73 years
male:
     55.27 years
female:
     60.25 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.36 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Liberian(s)
adjective:
     Liberian
Ethnic divisions:
     indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru,
     Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella),
     Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of repatriated slaves)
Religions:
     traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%
Languages:
     English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group about 20 local
     languages come from this group
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     40%
male:
     50%
female:
     29%
Labor force:
     510,000 including 220,000 in the monetary economy




by occupation:
     agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and commerce 4.5%, other
     14.2%
note:
     non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and
     engineering jobs; 52% of population of working age


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Liberia
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     LI
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Monrovia
Administrative divisions:
     13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand
     Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe
Independence:
     26 July 1847
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Constitution:
     6 January 1986
Legal system:
     dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for
     the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal
     practices for indigenous sector
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     Chairman of the Council of State David KPOMAKPOR (since March 1994);
     election last held on 15 October 1985 (next scheduled to be held
     September 1994); results - Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%,
     Jackson DOE (LAP) 26.4%, other 22.7%; note - President Doe was killed
     by rebel forces on 9 September 1990
cabinet:
     Cabinet; selected by the leaders of the major factions in the civil
     war
note:
     a transitional coalition government was formed as part of a July 1993
     Cotonou Peace Treaty negotiated under UN auspices by the leaders of
     the major factions in the civil war; elections now scheduled for
     September 1994
Legislative branch:
     unicameral Transitional Legislative Assembly, the members of which are
     appointed by the leaders of the major factions in the civil war




note:
     the former bicameral legislature no longer exists and there is no
     assurance that it will ever be reconstituted
Judicial branch:
      Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), Augustus CAINE, chairman;
     Liberian Action Party (LAP), Emmanuel KOROMAH, chairman; Unity Party
     (UP), Joseph KOFA, chairman; United People's Party (UPP), Gabriel
     Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman; National Patriotic Party (NPP), Charles
     TAYLOR, chairman; Liberian Peoples Party (LPP), Dusty WOLOKOLLIE,
     chairman
Member of:
     ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA,
     IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user),
     INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
     WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Konah K. BLACKETT
chancery:
     5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone:
     (202) 723-0437 through 0440
consulate(s) general:
     New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     (vacant); Charge d' Affaires William P. TWADDELL
embassy:
     111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 100098, Mamba Point, Monrovia, or APO AE 09813
telephone:
     [231] 222991 through 222994
FAX:
     [231] 223710
Flag:
     11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with
     white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the
     upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag


                                  Economy




Overview:
     Civil war since 1990 has destroyed much of Liberia's economy,
     especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Businessmen have
     fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Many will
     not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and
     a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and
     exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign
     owned, had been small in scope. Political instability threatens
     prospects for economic reconstruction and repatriation of some 750,000
     Liberian refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. The
     political impasse between the interim government and rebel leader
     Charles Taylor has prevented restoration of normal economic life,
     including the re-establishment of a strong central government with
     effective economic development programs.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     1.5% (1988)
National product per capita:
     $800 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     12% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
     43% urban (1988)
Budget:
revenues:
     $242.1 million
expenditures:
     $435.4 million, including capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989
     est.)
Exports:
     $505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.)
commodities:
     iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
partners:
     US, EC, Netherlands
Imports:
     $394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.)
commodities:
     rice, mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment,
     other foodstuffs
partners:
     US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS
External debt:
     $2.1 billion (September 1993 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate NA% (1993-94); much industrial damage caused by factional
     warfare
Electricity:
capacity:
     410,000 kW
production:
     750 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     275 kWh (1991)




Industries:
     rubber processing, food processing, construction materials, furniture,
     palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)
Agriculture:
     accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and forestry);
     principal products - rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava,
     palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in
     food, imports 25% of rice consumption
Illicit drugs:
     increasingly a transshipment point for heroin and cocaine
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $665 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $870
     million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $25 million; Communist
     countries (1970-89), $77 million
Currency:
     1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
     Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1 - 1.00 (officially fixed rate since
     1940); unofficial parallel exchange rate of L$7 = US$1, January 1992
     (unofficial rate floats against the US dollar)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     480 km total; 328 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 152 km 1.067-meter
     narrow gauge; all lines single track; rail systems owned and operated
     by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian
     Government
Highways:
total:
     10,087 km
paved:
     603 km
unpaved:
     gravel 5,171 km (includes 2323km of private roads of rubber and timber
     firms, open to the public); earth 4,313 km
Ports:
     Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville, Harper (or Cape Palmas)
Merchant marine:
     1,595 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 56,923,236 GRT/97,692,316
     DWT, barge carrier 3, bulk 423, cargo 126, chemical 122, combination
     bulk 30, combination ore/oil 64, container 112, liquefied gas 67, oil
     tanker 468, passenger 32, refrigerated cargo 61, roll-on/roll-off
     cargo 19, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier
     59
note:
     a flag of convenience registry; all ships are foreign owned; the top 4
     owning flags are US 14%, Japan 13%, Norway 10%, and Hong Kong 8%
Airports:
total:
     59




usable:
     41
with permanent-surface runways:
     2
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     4
Telecommunications:
     telephone and telegraph service via radio relay network; main center
     is Monrovia; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
     INTELSAT earth station; most telecommunications services inoperable
     due to insurgency movement


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     the ultimate structure of the Liberian military force will depend on
     who is the victor in the ongoing civil war
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 707,927; fit for military service 377,950
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP