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
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Geographic coordinates: 6 30 N, 9 30 W
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and
cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Independence: 26 July 1847
Nationality: Liberian(s)
Capital City: Monrovia
Population: 3,164,156 (July 2000 est.)
Head of State: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR
Area: 111,370 sq km
Type of Government: republic
Currency: 1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents
Major peoples: indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle,
Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and
Bella), 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)
Religion: indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim
20%
Official Language: English
Principal Languages: English, some 20 ethnic group languages,
of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
Major Exports: diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa
History: Liberia's tribal peoples migrated to the area between
the 12th and 16th centuries. The Portuguese arrived in 1461 and began
a trade in ivory and pepper, and later in slaves. In 1816 the AMERICAN
COLONIZATION SOCIETY was founded in the United States to resettle former
slaves in Africa. In 1820 the first colonists arrived, and their
successful settlement was named Monrovia (for U.S. president James Monroe)
in 1824. More colonists gradually arrived and established separate
colonies. In 1847 the colonies amalgamated, and Liberia became the first
independent republic in black Africa.
The new nation faced a variety of problems: resistance to the
government by the indigenous tribes, decline in demand for Liberia's exports,
and territorial encroachment by the British, French, and Germans.
Liberia was able to maintain its independence only with support from the
United States. In order to restore the languishing Liberian economy,
in 1926 a 99-year rubber-plantation concession was granted to the Firestone
Company in exchange for a large long-term loan from the U.S. government.
Following World War II, the modern port, airport, and hospitals, along
with a hydroelectric station and other projects, all financed by the United
States, were opened.
Liberian policies toward the United States and foreign business remained
unchanged for some time after the 1980 coup. Foreign investment declined,
however, and the coup aroused economic expectations Liberia's new leaders
were unable to meet. Doe was elected to a 6-year term as president
in elections held in 1985. The two major opposition parties were
not allowed to participate, however, and there were widespread charges
of electoral fraud. The discontent climaxed in an unsuccessful coup
attempt later that year. Doe, a member of the Krahn tribe, accused
members of the Gio tribe of attempting to overthrow his government, and
there were reports of widespread indiscriminate killing of civilians in
1990 by Liberian troops in the northern county of Nimba. A rebel
National Patriotic Front, led by Charles Taylor, a former cabinet minister
in the Doe regime, gathered increasing support for his effort to overthrow
the government. By late June rebel forces had captured a large part
of the country, and the Doe government found itself besieged in Monrovia,
the capital. Another rebel faction was led by Prince Johnson.
Taylor gained control of most of the countryside, while Johnson battled
Doe's armed guard in Monrovia.
In August 1990 a multinational West African force entered Liberia to
try to end the bloody three-way civil war, which had caused at least 5,000
deaths (mostly among civilians as a result of tribal rivalries exacerbated
by the war). Doe was killed by Johnson's forces on September 9, but
the war continued. It was estimated that half of Liberia's population
had become refugees or displaced persons. The multinational force
installed an interim government headed by Dr. Amos Sawyer and gradually
gained control of Monrovia, but Taylor's rival government controlled the
countryside, and the fighting spilled over into Sierra Leone. Regional
diplomatic efforts to arrange multiparty elections made little progress,
and fighting continued through 1992 and into 1993.
