Liberia is a country on the west coast of Afrika, bordered by Sierra Leone on the West, Guinea on the north, Côte d'Ivoire on the east, and the Atlantic Ocean on the south. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people. Its area is 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi).[1]
Liberia's capital is Monrovia. Many of Liberia's major cities can be found along the coast and further inland near the center of the country. Liberia is one of two Afrikan countries to never be colonized by European powers. Other is Ethiopia. It also the only Afrikan nation that was colonized and controlled by freed African-American and ex-Caribbean slaves as a free state and a homeland to live. During the colonial era, Liberia was presumed a protectorate of the United States. .
Republic of Liberia Republic of Liberia (English) |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
Motto: "The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here" | ||||
Anthem: "All Hail, Liberia, Hail!" | ||||
Location of Liberia (dark blue) – in Africa (light blue & dark grey) |
||||
Capital and largest city | Monrovia | |||
Official languages | English | |||
Demonym | Liberians | |||
Government | Presidential Federal republic | |||
- | President | Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf | ||
- | Vice President | Joseph Boakai | ||
Independence from the American Colonization Society | ||||
- | Formation and Establishment | 1822 | ||
- | Declared and recognized | 26 July 1847 | ||
- | Republic declared | 1847 | ||
Area | ||||
- | Total | 111,369 km2 (104th) 43,000 sq mi |
||
- | Water (%) | 14.0 | ||
Population | ||||
- | 2013 estimate | 4,300,000 [2] (126th) | ||
- | 2008 census | 3,500,000 | ||
- | Density | 92.0/km2 (126th) 44.5/sq mi |
||
GDP (PPP) | 2015 estimate | |||
- | Total | $2 billion [3] | ||
- | Per capita | $900 (184) | ||
GDP (nominal) | 2015 estimate | |||
- | Total | $2.9 billion[4] (141) | ||
- | Per capita | $513 | ||
Gini (2009) | 35.3 medium |
|||
HDI (2013) | Template:Low 0.412[5] Error: Invalid HDI value · 175th |
|||
Currency | Liberian Dollar (LRD ) |
|||
Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) | |||
- | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+1) | ||
Drives on the | left | |||
Calling code | +231 | |||
Internet TLD | .lr | |||
1The GDP estimate is as of 2014 provided by IMF; the total and per capita ranks are however based on 2014 GDP figures and population for Liberia. 2English language is the official language of Liberia, but like its West Afrikan neighbors, Liberia is a multilingual nation with 30 local indigenous languages [6] |
Etymology
The name Liberia means "Land of the liberty" or "Land of the Free" in Latin. The name's first use was in 1816 by American Colonization Society seeking to resettled freed African Americans and Caribbean people back to Africa. The name was adapted by Americo Liberians and African American settlers who set up the early Liberian state. Prior to 1822, Liberia was known by various names related to its pepper and location. From the late 15th to 18th centuries, Liberia was named the Malaguetta Coast or Pepper Coast by Portugese navigators and other Europeans for its local spicy pepper. As Europeans began to map West Afrika in greater detail in the 18th century, the name changed to Guinea Coast referring to the larger area of Liberia, Sierra Leone and today's Republic of Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
History
Subdivisions
Liberia is divided into 15 counties each with their own superintendents acting as provincial governors. The superintendents are appointed by the Liberian president instead of through county elections by the people. Until 1984, there were only nine counties. For most of the 20th century, Liberia's counties were mapped into three all encompassing regions: North, Central and South. The counties are further divided into 90 districts and the districts in turn are divided into clans.
Population of Major Cities
City | Population |
---|---|
Monrovia | 1,010,970 |
Paynesville | 400,000 |
Gbarnga | 45,835 |
Kakata | 33,945 |
Harper | 32,661 |
Voinjama | 26,594 |
Buchanan | 25,731 |
Zwedru | 25,678 |
Tubmanburg | 14,576 |
Cestos City | 2,578 |
Geography
Liberia has a hot equatorial climate with most rainfall arriving in the rainy season and harsh harmattan winds in the dry season. Liberia's populated Pepper Coast is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the sparsely populated inland is composed of forest that open to a plateau of drier grasslands.
Demographics
Cuisine
Notes
- ↑ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html
- ↑ . World Bank Population http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/liberia. Retrieved 2015-10-06. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ↑ "Liberia". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedimf2
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2013. Human development index trends: Table G" (PDF). The United Nations. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ↑ "Languages of Liberia". http://www.ethnologue.com/. Retrieved 2015-10-06. External link in
|publisher=
(help)