Article Outline
Liberia, republic, western Africa, bounded on the north by Sierra Leone and Guinea, on the east by Côte d’Ivoire, and on the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean. An independent state since its establishment in 1847, Liberia has an area of 99,067 sq km (38,250 sq mi). The capital of Liberia is Monrovia.
The coast of Liberia extends about 595 km (370 mi) from the River Mano in the west to the River Cavalla in the east. From a narrow, flat coastal plain the country rises in a series of ill-defined plateaux to a higher interior covered with evergreen rainforest in the south and deciduous rainforest in the north. The coastal plain, 15 to 55 km (9 to 34 mi) wide, is virtually the only developed region. The interior mountains reach elevations of about 900 to 1,200 m (3,000 to 4,000 ft). Many comparatively small rivers traverse the country.
The climate of Liberia is equatorial and humid, particularly during the rainy seasons from June to July and October to November. Annual rainfall varies from 1,778 mm (70 in) in the interior to 5,080 mm (200 in) along the coast. The annual mean temperature is about 27.8° C (82° F).
Until the outbreak of civil war in 1990 Liberia’s economy was primarily agricultural, with adequate supplies of water and a climate favouring agriculture. Minerals and forest products provided the most important export resources, but timber reserves declined in the mid-1990s. Iron ore and rubber account for over 80 per cent of export earnings. Hydroelectric power plants were built on several rivers, including the St Paul.
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