Global Powers and Africa Programme. As of October 2007 it has 844 officers in 33 stations in Montserrado County, which contains Monrovia. Starz University, is a private higher education institution that was established in the United States in 2007, and became incorporated in Monrovia, 2009; with the objective of addressing the Information Technology(IT) need of Liberia. Olukoju, Ayodeji. [51] 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. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. [90] The judicial system is a blend of common law, based on Anglo-American law, and customary law. Nimba is the largest of the counties in size at 11,551km2 (4,460sqmi), while Montserrado is the smallest at 737.069sqmi (1,909.00km2). Forestry is an important industry in Liberia. [91], After the turmoil following the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars, Liberia's internal stabilization in the 21st century brought a return to cordial relations with neighboring countries and much of the Western world. [76], Pollution is a significant issue in Monrovia. [208], Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. [86], Prior to the 2008 census, the last census had been taken in 1984 and listed the country's population as 2,101,628. [97], Both male and female homosexuality are illegal in Liberia. It has 3,500 vessels registered under its flag, accounting for 11% of ships worldwide. Guinea, Cote D'Ivoire, Sierra Leone. The lowest point of the country is the Atlantic Ocean at 0m. Many treessuch as red ironwood, camwood, whismore, teak, and mahoganyare valuable, but occur with other species, preventing easy harvest. [72], Forests on the coastline are composed mostly of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, while the more sparsely populated inland has forests opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands. [12] Americo-Liberians encouraged religious organizations to set up missions and schools to educate the indigenous peoples. [106][107], Agriculture in Liberia is a major sector of the country's economy worth 38.8% of GDP, employing more than 70% of the population and providing a valuable export for one of the world's least developed countries (as defined by the UN). [46], Under Taylor's leadership, Liberia became internationally known as 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. Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors. Subsequent Portuguese explorers named Grand Cape Mount, Cape Mesurado (Montserrado), and Cape Palmas, all . Coauthor of. [76] After international protests, many of those logging permits were canceled. For most of the 194189 period, training was largely provided by U.S. advisors, with combat experience in the Second World War also playing a role in training. [201], The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. [173], In 2009, Tubman University in Harper, Maryland County was established as the second public university in Liberia. Deforestation and drought in the Sahel have affected the climate, lengthening the dry season by almost a month in some areas. "China and Liberia: Engagement in a Post-Conflict Country 20032013". Founding of Liberia, 1847 The founding of Liberia in the early 1800s was motivated by the domestic politics of slavery and race in the United States as well as by U.S. foreign policy interests. [25] Indigenous tribesmen did not enjoy birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904. [48] A peace deal between warring parties was reached in 1995, leading to Taylor's election as president in 1997. The first town (1822) was on Providence Island at the mouth of the Mesurado River. The Liberian constitution exercises jus sanguinis, which means it usually restricts its citizenship to "Negroes or persons of Negro descent. Coeditor of. As the nation's primate city, Monrovia is the country's economic, financial and cultural center; its economy is primarily centered on . [citation needed], 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. [209] Heavy stews spiced with habanero and scotch bonnet chilies are popular and eaten with fufu. Official Name: Republic of Liberia Location: West Africa coast between Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean Population: 5,057,681 (as of 2020) Land Area: 43,000 square miles (111,369 square kilometres) Capital: Monrovia Official Language: English Form of Government: Unitary presidential constitutional republic This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. [90], From 1877 to 1980, the government was dominated by the True Whig Party. [146], The repair and expansion of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Project, with a maximum capacity of 80 MW, was completed in 2018. [68], Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement after the 1980 coup. [189], In 2014, an outbreak of Ebola virus in Guinea spread to Liberia. Rape is the most frequently reported crime, accounting for more than one-third of sexual violence cases. It built the Freeport of Monrovia and Roberts International Airport under the Lend-Lease program before its entry into the Second World War. [82], Slash-and-burn agriculture is one of the human activities eroding Liberia's natural forests. [108] Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of 15%. [68] 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. [195] In 2009, government expenditure on health care per capita was US$22,[196] accounting for 10.6% of total GDP. 15th-century Portuguese navigators named itfor the cavalla (or horse mackerel) found at its mouth. [37] (The loser actually received around 60% of the eligible vote. Finally, there is a mountainous highland region to the north hosting the country's highest point, the 1,440 m high Mount Wuteve, which has been marked on the map by an upright yellow triangle. Mortality from tropical diseases was highof the 4,571 emigrants who arrived in Liberia between 1820 and 1843, only 1,819 survived. [58][59], In 2006, the government established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the causes and crimes of the civil war. [53] [citation needed] 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. Includes 99 Liberia mountains. [202] Most Americo-Liberian men were members of the Masonic Order of Liberia, which became heavily involved in the nation's politics. [76] In September 2014, Liberia and Norway struck an agreement whereby Liberia ceased all logging in exchange for $150 million in development aid. Liberia Bordering Countries: (2007). [168], Muslims comprised 12.2% of the population in 2008, largely represented by the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups. Nicola Jones, Janice Cooper, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall and David Walker, June 2014; "The fallout of rape as a weapon of war", ODI; Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. [134], The mining industry of Liberia has witnessed a revival after the civil war which ended in 2003. Category:Headlands of Liberia . Stella Maris Polytechnic, a post-secondary, private institution of higher learning. [96], Rape and sexual assault are frequent in the post-conflict era in Liberia. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [40] In international affairs, it was a founding member of the United Nations, a vocal critic of South African apartheid,[41] a proponent of African independence from European colonial powers, and a supporter of Pan-Africanism. They intermarried largely within the colonial community, developing an ethnic group that had a cultural tradition infused with American notions of political republicanism and Protestant Christianity. [143], 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Waterfalls, rapids, rocks, and sandbanks occur frequently in upstream sections of most rivers, inhibiting river traffic, and limiting navigation inland to short distances. [77], Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy. "[29], American and other international interests emphasized resource extraction, with rubber production a major industry in the early 20th century. [215], The Liberian government has begun transitioning away from use of United States customary units to the metric system. Liberia has year-round evergreen vegetation. Findings included government involvement in widespread "Forced or compulsory labour". [189] Approximately 58.2%[190] 66%[191] of women are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation. [212][213] The Liberia national football team has reached the Africa Cup of Nations finals twice, in 1996 and 2002. On average, children attain 10 years of education (11 for boys and 8 for girls). Monrovia stands on such an outcropping, a ridge of diabase (a dark-coloured, fine-grained rock). [124], Liberia has the highest ratio of foreign direct investment to GDP in the world, with US$16 billion in investment since 2006. [118] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999. [70] 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. Liberia is a country in West Africa. [68], Liberia's watershed tends to move in a southwestern pattern towards the sea as new rains move down the forested plateau off the inland mountain range of Guine Forestire, in Guinea. Encounters with tribal Africans in the bush often became violent. Liberia was the first African republic to proclaim its independence and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. Between ~43.5ka, these societies gradually transformed into food producers, possibly through contact with northern pastoralists and agriculturalists, as the environment became more arid. [7] Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia. It was founded during the administration of U.S. Pres. Liberia has been an active participant in international and local policy changes related to climate change. Area: 111,370 square kilometers (43,000 square miles) Highest point on mainland: Mount Wutivi (1,380 meters/4,528 feet) Lowest point on land: Sea level. [13] A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. This discussion focuses on Liberia from the 19th century. [15], The record shows that aceramic and ceramic Later Stone Age (LSA) assemblages in West Africa overlap chronologically, and that changing densities of microlithic industries from the coast to the north are geographically structured. 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. Howard Brotz, ed., African American Social & Political Thought 18501920 (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1996), 3839. The 16 officially recognized ethnic groups include the Kpelle, Bassa, Mano, Gio or Dan, Kru, Grebo, Krahn, Vai, Gola, Mandingo or Mandinka, Mende, Kissi, Gbandi, Loma, Dei or Dewoin, Belleh, and Americo-Liberians or Congo people (so named because many immigrants including those freed from slave ships arrived from ports at the mouth of the Congo River). and an interim government took power the following October. [83] A 2004 UN report estimated that 99% of Liberians burned charcoal and fuel wood for cooking and heating, resulting in deforestation. [42], 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 a majority of Tolbert's cabinet and other Americo-Liberian government officials and True Whig Party members. European traders would barter commodities and goods with local people. [104] 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. [8] Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity,[9][10] the settlers carried their culture and tradition with them.
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name the major island in liberia and their location