Liberia
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
| Gevernment type | republic |
| Capital |
name: Monrovia
geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 47 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) |
| Internet country code | .lr |
| Ports and terminals | Buchanan, Monrovia |
| Agriculture products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
| Industries | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
| Geography |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone |
| Coordinates | 6 30 N, 9 30 W |
| Continent | Africa |
| Area |
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
| Coastline | 579 km |
| 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, hydropower |
| Natural hazards | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
| People |
| Population | 3,042,004 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
| Languages | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence |
