[170] In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax. [108] Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with a formal employment rate of 15%. [citation needed] Liberia struggled to attract investment to develop infrastructure and a larger, industrial economy. Liberia imports 90% of its rice, a staple food, and is extremely vulnerable to food shortages. [51] Category:Islands of Liberia - Wikipedia [85], Liberia is divided into fifteen counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 90 districts and further subdivided into clans. [112] Liberia's external debt was estimated in 2006 at approximately $4.5 billion, 800% of GDP. The Mano and Morro rivers in the northwest and the Cavalla in the east and southeast are major rivers and form sections of Liberias boundaries. The Wologizi mountains are an isolated area of upland located in north-west of the country, to the south of the town of Voinjama. [14], Undated Acheulean (ESA) artifacts are well documented across West Africa. It hosts FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in addition to international concerts and national political events. In Liberia, the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex serves as a multi-purpose stadium. [29] 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. "[29], American and other international interests emphasized resource extraction, with rubber production a major industry in the early 20th century. 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. From its original name, it was first renamed . [57] Most parties suffer from poor organizational capacity. Americo-Liberians formed into a small elite that held disproportionate political power; indigenous Africans were excluded from birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.[11][12]. During World War II, Liberia supported the United States war effort against Germany, and in turn received considerable American investment in infrastructure, which aided the country's wealth and development. It was founded during the administration of U.S. Pres. 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. Please read the. [120], 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. Deforestation and drought in the Sahel have affected the climate, lengthening the dry season by almost a month in some areas. [1] 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. Taylor resigned in August 2003 and went into exile in Nigeria. [151][152][153] An additional 13 ultra-deep offshore blocks were demarcated in 2011 and planned for auction. Many treessuch as red ironwood, camwood, whismore, teak, and mahoganyare valuable, but occur with other species, preventing easy harvest. [75], Liberia is a global biodiversity hotspota significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The first town (1822) was on Providence Island at the mouth of the Mesurado River. Behind the rolling hills, most of the countrys interior is a dissected plateau with scattered low mountains ranging from 600 to 1,000 feet (180 to 305 metres) in elevation; some mountains rise to 2,000 feet (600 metres). 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. Longest distances: 274 kilometers (170 miles) from north-northeast to south-southwest; 548 . 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 peopleto slavesand how she wanted us to be free. Located on Capitol Hill, the school has approximately 2,000 students. Founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, the military was renamed in 1956. Liberia has been an active participant in international and local policy changes related to climate change. [127][128], Due to its status as a flag of convenience, Liberia has the second-largest maritime registry in the world behind Panama. [citation needed] On July 16, 1892, Martha Ann Erskine Ricks met Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle and presented her a handmade quilt, Liberia's first diplomatic gift. [139] In 2013, the mineral sector accounted for 11% of GDP in the country and the World Bank projected a further increase in the sector by 2017. Representative of Liberia to the United Nations, 198185. The", "Data: Improved sanitation facilities (% of population with access)", "Liberia: Breathing Life into ailing healthcare system", "Data: Health expenditure per capita (current US$)", "Data: Health expenditure, total (% of GDP)", "Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO", The Ebola response in West Africa: Exposing the politics and culture of international aid, "Liberia: War-Weary, With Echoes of Old Dixie", "Liberia: It's the Little Things A Reflection on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Journey to the Presidency", "Liberia: "Literature Must Be Given Priority", "Baa Salaka: Sacrificial Lamb A Book Review & Commentary", "George Weah: Ex-AC Milan, Chelsea & Man City striker elected Liberia president", "Liberia:Chaos Mars Grand Bassa and Nimba Clash", "Reforming Cocoa and Coffee Marketing in Liberia", "Gov't Pledges Commitment to Adopt Metric System", Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, List of countries by English-speaking population, List of countries where English is an official language, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liberia&oldid=1150057700, English-speaking countries and territories, States and territories established in 1847, Articles with dead external links from May 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in Liberian English, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from January 2023, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from January 2023, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2006, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2022, Articles lacking reliable references from November 2015, Articles containing potentially dated statements from November 2014, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The Senate is made up of two senators from each county for a total of 30 senators. [74] It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.79/10, ranking it 116th globally out of 172 countries. [208], Liberian cuisine heavily incorporates rice, the country's staple food. [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). 15 Best Places to Visit in Liberia - The Crazy Tourist The "Black Continent" is divided roughly in two by the equator and surrounded by sea except where the Isthmus of Suez joins it to Asia. km. [109] 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. [103] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries. This makes them the youngest examples of such MSA technology anywhere in Africa. Howard Brotz, ed., African American Social & Political Thought 18501920 (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1996), 3839. [81], The Hairy Slit-Faced Bat (Nycteris hispida) suffers from malaria here. [199] In early August 2014 Guinea closed its borders to Liberia to help contain the spread of the virus, as more new cases were being reported in Liberia than in Guinea. Latosols of low to medium fertility occur in rolling hill country and cover about three-fourths of the total land surface. Liberia is divided into 15 counties which are subdivided into 90 and further into clans. It is a region suitable for agriculture and forestry. [13] A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. The greatest amount of rainfall, 205 inches (5,200 mm), occurs at Cape Mount and diminishes inland to about 70 inches (1,800 mm) on the central plateau. [57] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a US-educated economist, former Minister of Finance and future Nobel Prize for Peace winner, was elected as the first female president in Africa. "Gender Roles, Marriage and Family", Economic Community of West African States, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, highest population growth rate in the world, Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act, "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2022", "July 26, 1847 Liberian independence proclaimed", Liberia: History, Geography, Government, and Culture, "Praise for the woman who put Liberia back on its feet", "Liberians: An Introduction to their History and Culture", "A quantitative analysis of Liberian colonization from 1820 to 1843 with special reference to mortality", "Address on Colonization to a Deputation of Negroes", "These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia's Founding History", "How a former slave gave a quilt to Queen Victoria", "Frontline/World Liberia No More War Liberia's Historic Ties to America PBS", "Independent Lens Iron Ladies of Liberia Liberian History PBS", Elections Chief Hints Slashing Numbers of Mushrooming Parties for 2005 Polls, "Elections history in Africa's oldest democratic republic: Liberia", "Commission's Report: International Commission of Enquiry in Liberia", "Pan-Africanism Revisited: Vision and Reality of African Unity and Development", "Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship", "Liberia's civil war: Fiddling while Monrovia burns", "Profile: Leymah Gbowee Liberia's 'peace warrior', "Taylor resigns as president of Liberia, leaves the country", "Liberia: UNMIL extends deployment as more troops arrive", United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "LiberiaNigeria: "Time to bring Taylor issue to closure," says Sirleaf", "Taylor Sent Off to Face War Crimes Charges", "War-battered nation launches truth commission", "Tuesday, July 26, is National Independence Day; to be Observed as National Holiday", "Sirleaf seen winning Liberia run-off vote", "From Football King To Liberian President George Weah's Journey", "Top 10 youngest serving presidents in Africa, 2018", "George Weah sworn in as Liberia's president", "Building effective climate governance in Liberia Liberia", "Multinational Investment and the Development of an Export Industry: Rubber in Liberia", "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm", "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity Supplementary Material", "Poaching in Liberia's Forests Threatens Rare Animals", 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en, "Extinction is forever: A crisis that is Liberia's endangered wildlife", "The elimination of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense? Liberias rainforest used to abound with animals such as monkeys, chimpanzees, small antelopes, pygmy hippopotamuses, and anteaters. Waterfalls, rapids, rocks, and sandbanks occur frequently in upstream sections of most rivers, inhibiting river traffic, and limiting navigation inland to short distances. Time zone: Noon = noon GMT. Updates? [76], Pollution is a significant issue in Monrovia. [140], There are six major newspapers in Liberia, and 65% of the population has a mobile phone service. [80], The Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) is a constant presence here. [204], A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. [50], In March 2003, a second rebel group, Movement for Democracy in Liberia, began launching attacks against Taylor from the southeast. Clickable Map of Africa, showing the countries, capitals and main cities. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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. Forestry is an important industry in Liberia. It was established on land acquired for freed U.S. slaves by the American Colonization Society, which founded a colony at Cape Mesurado in 1821. Includes 99 Liberia mountains. [28] The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberia's independence. ", "Ellen Describes Tubman University's Opening As PRS Success", "Remarks by H.E. It was among the few African countries to maintain its sovereignty during the Scramble for Africa. This page was last updated on February 24, 2021, All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com. [118] The country acted as a major trader in Sierra Leonian blood diamonds, exporting over US$300 million in diamonds in 1999. Monrovia - Wikipedia President William Tubman encouraged economic and political changes that heightened the country's prosperity and international profile; Liberia was a founding member of the League of Nations, United Nations, and the Organisation of African Unity. It contains the Freeport of Monrovia, the major national port of Liberia and a variety of businesses. The 1988 Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act designated the metric system as "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce," but in practice the system is in mixed usage, with the population generally preferring customary units and industries either fully metric or mixed. In 1980, political tensions from the rule of William R. Tolbert resulted in a military coup during which Tolbert was killed, marking the end of Americo-Liberian rule in the country and beginning over two decades of political instability. [201], The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. [189] Approximately 58.2%[190] 66%[191] of women are estimated to have undergone female genital mutilation. The country enjoyed relative stability until a rebellion in 1989 escalated into a destructive civil war in the 1990s that did not fully cease until 2003. [1] The country's education sector is hampered by inadequate schools and supplies, as well as a lack of qualified teachers. European traders would barter commodities and goods with local people. The Cavalla is the longest river in the nation at 320 mi (515 km).