Liberia

C

Principal Cities

Monrovia is the main port and largest city, as well as the capital. It has a population of 572,000 (2003 estimate). Other important communities are Buchanan, population 27,300 (2003 estimate), which was the terminal for the railway transporting iron ore from the Mount Nimba mining project before the civil war; Harbel, 60,000 (1985); and Yekepa, 16,000 (1985).

D

Religion

Including the Americo-Liberians, about 10 per cent of Liberians are Christian, principally Protestant. Islam has made inroads among the people of the interior, who have largely retained their traditional religions. Altogether, about 70 per cent of the people follow traditional religions and 20 per cent are Muslim.

E

Language

English is Liberia’s official language but it is spoken by around only 69,000 people as a mother tongue. Twenty-seven African languages, all from the Niger-Congo language family, are spoken. Liberia Kpelle (487,400), Bassa (347,600), Mano (185,000), and Klao (184,000) are the most widely spoken. Most of the population speaks Liberian Pidgin English, which is a second language, to communicate across the many languages.

F

Education

The Compulsory Education Act of 1912 provides for compulsory, free education for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The government was attempting to implement this law before the outbreak of civil war, but educational facilities were scarce and only a minority of children received an education. Since 1990 the educational system has virtually collapsed. Only about 60 per cent of the population was literate in 2005. Higher education was provided by the University of Liberia (1851), in Monrovia, and several colleges.

G

Culture

Monrovia is the site of three major museums: the National Museum of Liberia, the Natural History Museum of Liberia, and the Africana Museum. The Tubman Centre of African Culture is based in Cape Mount. Famous Liberian writers include Bai T. J. Moore, a poet, folklorist and novelist. His most popular selection of poetry is Ebony Dust (1962).