| Also on Encarta |
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| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
Republic of Liberia |
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| Capital |
Monrovia |
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| Area |
99,067 sq km |
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38,250 sq mi |
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| Largest cities (population) |
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| Monrovia |
572,000 (2003 estimate) |
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| Buchanan |
27,300 (2003 estimate) |
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| Liberian Flag and Anthem |
 Expand |
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| People |
| Population |
3,334,587 (2008 estimate) |
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| Population growth rate |
3.66 per cent (2008 estimate) |
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| Population density |
35 persons per sq km (2008 estimate) |
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90 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate) |
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| Urbanization |
| Per cent urban |
48 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Per cent rural |
52 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Life expectancy |
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| Total |
41.1 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Female |
42.5 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Male |
39.9 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
| 144 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
59.5 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Female |
43.9 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Male |
75.1 per cent (2005 estimate) |
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| Ethnic divisions |
| Bassa, Gio, Kpelle, and Kru |
95 per cent |
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| American Liberians (descendants<p />of repatriated slaves) |
5 per cent |
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| Languages |
| English (official), Kpelle, Bassa, Dan, and numerous other indigenous languages |
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| Religions |
| Indigenous |
70 per cent |
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| Muslim |
20 per cent |
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| Christian |
10 per cent |
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| Government |
| Type of government |
Republic |
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| Independence |
July 26, 1847 |
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| Constitution |
January 6, 1986 |
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| Voting rights |
Universal at age 18 |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) (US$) |
| 631 million (2006) |
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| GDP per capita (US$) |
176.30 (2006) |
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| GDP by economic sector |
| GDP, agriculture |
63.6 per cent (2005) |
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| GDP, industry |
15.2 per cent (2005) |
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| GDP, services |
21.1 per cent (2005) |
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| National budget (US$) |
| Total revenue |
242.1 million (1989 estimate) |
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| Total expenditure |
435.4 million (1989 estimate) |
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| Monetary unit |
| 1 Liberian dollar (L$), consisting of 100 cents |
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| Exports |
| Iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee, diamonds, gold |
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| Imports |
| Mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transport equipment, rice and other foodstuffs |
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| Major trading partners for exports |
| Belgium, Singapore, Ukraine, Norway, Malaysia, Netherlands |
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| Major trading partners for imports |
| South Korea, Japan, France, Singapore, Croatia, Netherlands, China |
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| Industries |
| Rubber processing, food processing, construction materials, furniture, palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds) |
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| Agriculture |
| Principal products: rubber, timber, coffee, cacao, rice, cassava, palm oil, sugar cane, bananas, sheep, goats |
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| Natural resources |
| Iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold |
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| Sources |
| Basic Facts and People sections |
| Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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| Health and Education section |
| Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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| Government section |
| Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data are from Military Balance. |
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| Economy section |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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| Energy, Communication, and Transportation section |
| Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 per cent due to rounding. |
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