Portal:Liberia

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Liberia (/laɪˈbɪəriə/ ^ⓘ), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5.5 million and covers an area of 43,000 square miles (111,369 km²). The official language is English. Over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. The capital and largest city is Monrovia.

Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed that black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. 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. Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity, the settlers carried their culture and tradition with them while colonizing the indigenous population. Led by the Americo-Liberians, Liberia declared independence on July 26, 1847, which the U.S. did not recognize until February 5, 1862.

Liberia was the first African republic to proclaim its independence and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. Along with Ethiopia, it was one of the two African countries to maintain its sovereignty and independence during the European colonial "Scramble for Africa". During World War II, Liberia supported the U.S. war effort against Nazi Germany and in turn received considerable American investment in infrastructure, which aided the country's wealth and development. 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.

The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered. Colonial settlements were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their inland chiefdoms. Americo-Liberians formed into a small elite that held disproportionate political power, while indigenous Africans were excluded from birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.

In 1980, political tensions from the rule of William R. Tolbert resulted in a military coup, marking the end of Americo-Liberian rule and the seizure of power of Liberia's first indigenous leader, Samuel Doe. Establishing a dictatorial regime, Doe was assassinated in 1990 in the context of the First Liberian Civil War which ran from 1989 until 1997 with the election of rebel leader Charles Taylor as president. In 1998, the Second Liberian Civil War erupted against his own dictatorship, and Taylor was overthrown by the end of the war in 2003. The two wars resulted in the deaths of 250,000 people (about 8% of the population) and the displacement of many more, with Liberia's economy shrinking by 90%. A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. The country has remained relatively stable since then. (Full article...)

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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). Liberia has a climate favourable to farming, vast forests, and an abundance of water, yet low yields mean that over half of foodstuffs are imported, with net agricultural trade at -$73.12 million in 2010. This was dismissed as a "misconception" by Liberia's Minister of Agriculture.

The major crops are natural rubber, rice, cassava, bananas and palm oil. Timber is also a major export at $100 million annually, although much of this is the product of unsustainable habitat destruction, with Asian corporations criticised for their role. Although agricultural activity occurs in most rural locations, it is particularly concentrated in coastal plains (subsistence crops) and tropical forest (cash crops). The sector is very important for women as they are widely employed in it in comparison to the economy as a whole. (Full article...)

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... that Liberian lawyer Alfred Brownell won the "Green Nobel" prize for his efforts to protect more than 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) of tropical forest land?

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... that the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission listed former Council of State vice chair Isaac Musa among dead supposed perpetrators of human rights abuses and war crimes?
... that Francois Massaquoi, who studied economics at New York University, later led the Lofa Defense Force during the First Liberian Civil War?
... that Liberian paramount chief Tamba Taylor worked as a tailor and claimed to have sewn clothes for Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah?
... that Liberian factions voted Bismarck Kuyon to be the chair of the transitional executive branch of the government, but his nomination was revoked before he was installed?
... that in Liberia, self-induced abortions are performed with herbal remedies known as "rocket-propelled grenade" and "Christmas leaf"?
... that through their participation in the Liberian National Transitional Government, warlords could gain access to state resources whilst continuing hostilities between each other?

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Credit: White House photo by Eric Draper

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia passes an honor guard in 2008 along United States President George W. Bush during the latter's visit to Monrovia.

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The following are images from various Liberia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A map of Liberia (from Liberia)
Image 2A view of a lake in Bomi County (from Liberia)
Image 3A proportional representation of Liberian exports. The shipping related categories reflect Liberia's status as an international flag of convenience—there are 3,500 vessels registered under Liberia's flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide. (from Liberia)
Image 4A Liberian tropical forest (from Liberia)
Image 5Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (from Liberia)
Image 6Students studying by candlelight in Bong County (from Liberia)
Image 7INPFL militiamen in 1990 after taking control of much of Monrovia. (from History of Liberia)
Image 8A European map of West Africa and the Grain Coast, 1736. It has the archaic mapping designation of Negroland. (from Liberia)
Image 9Liberia on a 1839 map of West Africa (from History of Liberia)
Image 10A beachside barbecue at Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia (from Liberia)
Image 11President Tolbert and U.S. President Jimmy Carter (in car, left) in Monrovia, 1978 (from History of Liberia)
Image 12Pygmy hippos are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia. The World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. (from Liberia)
Image 13Paul Cuffee in 1812. (from History of Liberia)
Image 14Bassa culture. Helmet Mask for Sande Society (Ndoli Jowei), Liberia. 20th century. Brooklyn Museum. (from Liberia)
Image 15Liberia's population from 1961 to 2013, in millions. Liberia's population tripled in 40 years. (from Liberia)
Image 16African Americans depart for Liberia, 1896. The ACS sent its last emigrants to Liberia in 1904. (from Liberia)
Image 17A one Liberian Dollar banknote from 1862 (from History of Liberia)
Image 18Map of Liberia Colony in the 1830s, created by the ACS, and also showing Mississippi Colony and other state-sponsored colonies. (from Liberia)
Image 19Development of life expectancy (from Liberia)
Image 20The Buduburam refugee camp west of Accra, Ghana, home in 2005 to more than 40,000 refugees from Liberia (from History of Liberia)
Image 21Liberia's population pyramid, 2005. 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010. (from Liberia)
Image 22Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (from History of Liberia)
Image 23American troops secure Freeport of Monrovia, 2003 (from History of Liberia)
Image 24Residence of Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first President of Liberia, between 1848 and 1852. (from Liberia)
Image 25Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021). Liberia has the ninth highest percentage of forest cover in the world. (from Liberia)
Image 26Loggers and logging truck, early 1960s (from Liberia)
Image 27Map of Liberia c.1856 (from History of Liberia)
Image 28Liberia, trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010. (from Liberia)
Image 29Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927. (from History of Liberia)
Image 30Edward Wilmot Blyden (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 31American troops in Liberia during World War II. (from History of Liberia)
Image 32President Sirleaf with (left to right) British Prime Minister David Cameron, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, and United States Secretary of State John Kerry in September 2015 (from Liberia)
Image 33A technical in Monrovia during the Second Liberian Civil War. (from Liberia)
Image 34Liberian ceremonial spoon (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 35The Bassa Vah alphabet. (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 36Gyude Bryant (from History of Liberia)
Image 37Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927. (from Liberia)
Image 38Map of Liberia circa 1830 (from History of Liberia)
Image 39The streets of downtown Monrovia, March 2009 (from Liberia)
Image 40Real GDP per capita development, since 1950 (from Liberia)
Image 41The Daily Talk is a street blackboard announcing news on Monrovia's Tubman Boulevard. (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 42Liberia map of Köppen climate classification. (from Liberia)