Liberia is a country in West Africa. Neighboring countries are
Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
Liberia was
originally a project of the United States to settle former slaves
and descendants of slaves who at that time were still largely
without rights in the USA. On the west coast of Africa, these people
were to be given the opportunity to start a new life in freedom.
In 1847, Liberia declared its independence from the United
States, but the two countries are still closely linked to this day.
Even during the period of imperialism, Liberia remained independent,
but was economically completely dependent on the USA.
Dissatisfaction in the country led to a military coup in 1980 and
then to a civil war that lasted for years, which destroyed the
country's well-developed infrastructure.
After the civil war
ended with a ceasefire agreement in 2003, the peace process was
accompanied by a UN mission. First, a transitional government was
formed. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was president from 2006 to 2018.
George Weah won the 2017 presidential election. This change is
considered the first democratic, peaceful transfer of power in the
African country.
The UN mission UNMIL ended in March 2018.
Liberia was hit particularly hard by the Ebola epidemic from
2014 to 2016. There were 10,600 confirmed cases of Ebola, although a
high number of unreported cases is assumed. This has also
significantly weakened the country's development.
Entry requirements
Entry into Liberia is only possible with a
valid visa, which must be applied for in advance. A valid yellow fever
vaccination is also mandatory.
There is an embassy in Berlin that
is responsible for Germany and Austria. Swiss citizens must contact the
embassy in Paris. The visa costs €75, plus possible travel costs to
Berlin for a personal interview (not applicable for Austrians).
Embassy of Liberia in Germany, Kurfürstenstrasse 84, 10787 Berlin
(Tiergarten). Tel.: +49 30 26391194, email:
info@liberiaembassygermany.de. Proof of yellow fever, solvency and
health insurance required. Residents of the Federal Republic of Germany
may be required to appear in person. Also responsible for Austria and
the Scandinavian countries. Open: Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 2:00
p.m.-4:00 p.m. Price: one entry €75, several €150 (5-7 working days);
express surcharge (2-3 working days) + €50 each.
For Swiss
citizens, the embassy in Paris is responsible.
Airplane
1
Roberts International Airport (Monrovia Airport, IATA: ROB; just under
60km east of Monrovia). Tel.: +231 (0)88 694 22 95 . The only
international airport is Roberts International Airport. There are direct
flights from Europe with Brussels Airlines from Brussels with a stopover
in Freetown (Sierra Leone).
Train
There are no train
connections abroad. The only railway line in the country transports ore
from the interior to the coast.
Car/motorcycle/bicycle
In
principle, entry is possible from all of Liberia's neighboring
countries. However, not all roads are paved yet and it is difficult
without a four-wheel drive vehicle, especially in the rainy season. In
2014, the Liberian government recorded 180 land border crossings, of
which only 36 were permanently manned and therefore usable by
third-country nationals. As a result of the epidemics of the last ten
years, some crossings were closed.
In 1822, the United States, on the lands acquired in Africa, founded a colony - an independent state of freeborn and freed African Americans, and in 1824 called it "Liberia" (from Latin liber - "free, independent"). In 1847 the Republic of Liberia was proclaimed.
Anthropological and
archaeological studies show that the territory of Liberia has been
inhabited since at least the 12th century.
The Mende-speaking
peoples moved west, forcing many small ethnic groups to move south
towards the Atlantic Ocean. Dei, Bassa, Kru, Gola and Kissi were among
the first settlers. This influx increased with the onset of the
decline of the western Sudanese Mali Empire in 1375 and the Songhai
Empire in 1591. In addition, the interior regions were subjected to
desertification and their inhabitants were forced to move to wetter
coastal regions. These settlers brought skills in cotton spinning,
weaving, iron smelting, rice and sorghum cultivation, and
socio-political institutions from the Mali and Songhai empires.
Shortly after the conquest of the region by the Mane tribe (former
warriors of the Empire of Mali), there was a migration of the Vai people
to the Grand Cape Mount region. The Vai were part of the Mali Empire but
were forced to migrate to the coastal regions when the empire collapsed
in the 14th century. The Kru peoples resisted the influx of the Wai into
their territory. An alliance between the Mane and the Kru stopped their
advance, but the Vai remained in the Grand Cape Mount region (where the
city of Robertsport is currently located).
The population of the
intertidal zone built canoes and traded with other inhabitants of West
Africa from Cape Verde to the territory of modern Ghana. Later, European
merchants began to trade with the locals by hauling their canoes aboard
ships. Initially, the Kru traded only goods with Europeans, but later
they actively participated in the African slave trade.
The Kru
left their territories to work as paid laborers on plantations and in
construction. Some of them even worked on the construction of the Suez
and Panama Canals.
Another ethnic group in the region were
Grebo[en]. As a result of the conquest of the Mane, the Grebos were
forced to move to that part of the coast that later became Liberia.
Between 1461 and the end of the 17th century, Portuguese, Dutch and
British traders had trading posts in what is now Liberia. The Portuguese
called this region Costa da Pimenta (Pepper Coast), later translated as
Grain Coast because of the abundance of Meleget peppercorns.
The history of the statehood of Liberia
begins with the arrival of the first black American settlers -
Americo-Liberians, as they called themselves, to Africa - on the coast
of which they founded a colony of "free men of color" in 1822 under the
auspices of the American Colonization Society. By agreement with the
leaders of local tribes, the settlers acquired territories with an area
of more than 13 thousand km² - for goods worth 50 US dollars.
In 1824, this colony was named Liberia, its constitution was adopted. By
1828, settlers captured the entire coast of modern Liberia (about 500 km
long), and then also occupied parts of the coast of modern Sierra Leone
and Côte d'Ivoire.
On July 26, 1847, American settlers declared
the independence of the Republic of Liberia. The settlers perceived the
continent from which their ancestors were taken into slavery as the
"promised land", but did not seek to join the African community.
Arriving in Africa, they called themselves Americans and, both the
natives and the British colonial authorities of neighboring Sierra
Leone, were considered Americans. The symbols of their state (flag,
motto and seal), as well as the chosen form of government, reflected the
American past of the Americo-Liberians.
Religion, customs and
sociocultural standards of the Americo-Liberians were based on the
traditions of the pre-war American South. Mutual distrust and enmity
between the "Americans" from the coast and the "natives" from the
hinterland gave rise throughout the history of the country to the
(rather successful) attempts by the Americo-Liberian minority to
dominate the local blacks, whom they considered barbarians and people of
the lower class.
The founding of Liberia was sponsored by private
American groups, mainly the American Colonization Society, and the
country also received informal support from the US government. Liberia's
government was modeled after the American one, and was democratic in
form but not always in substance. After 1877, the True Whig Party
monopolized power in the country, and all important positions were held
by members of this party.
Three problems facing the Liberian authorities - territorial
conflicts with neighboring colonial powers, Britain and France,
hostilities between settlers and local residents, and the threat of
financial insolvency - called into question the sovereignty of the
country. Liberia retained its independence during the colonial
division of Africa, but lost in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries a significant part of the territory it had previously
captured, which was annexed by Britain and France. In 1911,
Liberia's borders with the British and French colonies were
officially established along the Mano and Cavalli rivers. Economic
development at the end of the 19th century was hampered by the lack
of markets for Liberian goods and by debt obligations on a variety
of loans, the payment of which drained the economy.
At the
beginning of the First World War, Liberia declared its neutrality,
hoping to maintain trade relations with Germany, which by 1914
accounted for more than half of Liberia's foreign trade turnover.
However, in 1917, Liberia declared war on Germany, for which its
capital was bombed by the Germans in 1918.
In 1926, American corporations
provided Liberia with a large loan of $5 million.
In the
1930s, Liberia was accused of complicity in the slave trade, as such
it was considered allowing labor to be recruited into Liberian
territory for plantations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon; recruited
workers were subjected to ill-treatment and were practically in the
position of slaves. Because of these accusations, then-President
Charles King was forced to resign, and the UK even raised the issue
of establishing guardianship over Liberia. The Commission of the
League of Nations confirmed the main points of the accusations.
After the outbreak of World War II, Liberia again declared
neutrality, but its territory was used to transfer American troops
to North Africa. In 1944, Liberia officially declared war on
Germany.
After World War II, the US provided loans to
Liberia, and soon Liberia became a major exporter of rubber and iron
ore. In 1971, President William Tubman, who had served five terms in
this post, died, his place was taken by William Tolbert, who had
been vice president for 19 years. Continuing the foreign policy of
his predecessor, Tolbert maintained close ties with the United
States, but at the same time sought to increase the role of Liberia
in African affairs, opposed apartheid, while improving relations
with the socialist countries. His economic reforms produced some
positive results, but corruption and poor governance offset them. In
the 1970s, political opposition to Tolbert developed, and the
deteriorating economic situation led to an increase in social
tension. Rising prices, and this led to numerous "rice riots". The
largest of these occurred in April 1979, when President Tolbert
ordered fire on a rioting crowd, which eventually led to riots and a
general strike.
On April 12, 1980, a
coup d'état took place in Liberia. The President of the Republic,
William Tolbert, was killed, his associates were executed, and
Sergeant Samuel Doe, a representative of the Krahn tribe, seized
power in the country, who assumed the rank of general. If at first
the change of power was perceived positively by the citizens, then
the constant efforts of Samuel Doe to strengthen his power and the
ongoing economic downturn led to a drop in his popularity and a
whole series of unsuccessful attempts at military coups. In 1985,
Liberia formally returned to civilian rule, the October elections
were officially won by Samuel Doe, who had previously credited
himself with one year to meet the stated minimum age of 35 for the
president, and carried out widespread fraud and fraud; however,
according to independent polls, the opposition candidate won with
about 80% of the vote. On November 12, 1985, an unsuccessful coup
attempt took place, used by the president as an excuse to crush all
dissenters. During the repressions that followed, about 1,500
people, mostly civilians, died.
Already on May 3, 1986, in a
speech on television, S. Dow said that the country's economy was on
the verge of collapse. US representatives were invited to key
ministries and financial institutions for "joint decision-making".
Doe was killed in September 1990 by field commander Prince
Johnson, who brought him to one of the buildings of the largest port
in West Africa (Freeport), and then brutally killed him - they first
broke his arms, then they castrated him, cut off his ear and forced
him to eat, and then were killed, and at the same time, video
filming was carried out, which was then presented to the whole world
(in 2007, Johnson received the post of senator in the government of
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first woman president in Africa, and in
2011 he unsuccessfully ran for the presidency of the country, having
received only about 12 % of votes).
In the early 90s, a large-scale conflict took place in the country,
in which several factions took part, divided along ethnic lines.
Neighboring states were involved in the conflict, supporting various
groups for various reasons; in particular, at the first stage of the
war, Charles Taylor's group was supported from the neighboring
countries of Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire, from the remote
countries of Togo and Libya. As a consequence, the
countries-opponents of these states supported Taylor's opponents.
For neighboring Sierra Leone, this led to the outbreak of civil war
on its territory, to which Taylor made significant efforts, de facto
becoming the founding father of the Revolutionary United Front.
Military operations were carried out with great cruelty, torture was
used en masse. According to the most conservative estimates, the war
caused the passage of more than half a million refugees to
neighboring countries. The result of the first round was the signing
of a peace agreement and the election of the President of the
Republic in 1997, which was won by Charles Taylor. The world
community chose to ignore the electoral fraud and massive violence
against the opposition.
After the elections, the opponents of
Charles Taylor organized a small-scale insurrectionary war, several
times invaded the territory of Liberia from neighboring countries.
In 2002, with the active help and support of Guinean President
Lansana Conte, a large opposition movement, LURD, was created,
which, after a year and a half military campaign, managed to
overthrow Taylor and expel him from the country.
In the presidential elections held in 2005, the famous football player George Weah was considered the favorite, who won the first round by a narrow margin, but the victory in the second round was won by a Harvard graduate, a former employee of the World Bank and many other international financial institutions, the Minister of Finance in the government of Charles Taylor - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Her victory in the elections was officially announced on November 23, 2005. She is the first female president of an African country. Former Liberian finance minister Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the country's presidential election. According to the results announced on November 23 by the election commission, she received 59.4 percent of the vote in the second round of the presidential elections.
On December 4, 2003, Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Charles Taylor on charges of crimes against humanity and violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention. His name was placed on the list of the most wanted criminals. Nigeria, where Charles Taylor was at the time, refused to comply, but agreed to transfer him to Liberia if requested by the country's president. On March 17, 2006, such a request was received. On 25 March, Nigeria only agreed to release him so that he could stand trial in Sierra Leone. Three days later, Taylor disappeared from the seaside villa Calabar, Nigeria, where he was being held in exile, but on March 29, he was caught trying to cross the border into Cameroon in a car with Nigerian diplomatic plates. From there, he was taken first to Liberia and then to Sierra Leone, where he was charged. An agreement was soon reached to transfer Taylor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which found Charles Taylor guilty on 26 April 2012 of 11 counts of crimes against humanity, violations of the Geneva Convention and other international laws. On May 30, 2012, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
The thought of the spirits of ancestors, the deceased, idols and amulets plays a major role among the peoples of the West African coast. Singing, masks and masked dances are used in all ceremonies. They are used by medicine men in their incantation ceremonies to exert a strong psychological influence on the sick. African religions form the background for the classification of medicine and healing methods as magical practices and real treasures of experience. All important stages of life - birth, sexual maturity, marriage, illness, death - but also practical activities such as hunting and fishing, making weapons and tools were linked to magic. Belonging to and practicing certain rituals in secret societies, such as the Poro, is still part of the life of the ethnic groups.
The knowledge and history of the indigenous peoples has been
preserved and passed on for centuries in the form of oral literature.
Among the Liberian peoples there were also men who were revered as
storytellers, who spread memorized texts and news from the places they
had previously visited. These highly respected men reproduced their
texts, refined through gestures, music, dance and pantomimic
expressions, as myths, fairy tales, fables and songs at village
festivals, weddings, births, healing ceremonies, funerals or while
traveling through, and in return received accommodation, food and drink.
The most famous Liberian writer is Wilton G. S. Sankawulo, who was
also President of Liberia for a time. Sankawulo belonged to the Kpelle
people and translated the Bible into this language. He collected and
published fairy tales and fables from his homeland (for example:
Marriage of Wisdom and Other Tales from Liberia), wrote numerous
treatises and stories and worked for several decades as a university
lecturer in literature and English. His last novel, Sundown at Dawn: A
Liberian Odyssey, was published in 2005.
The poet and author Melvin
Beaunorus Tolson, who emigrated to the USA, comes from the Liberian
literary scene and joined the Harlem group of Negro writers in New York.
A collection of poems was published in 1950 under the title Libretto for
the Republic of Liberia.
The New York Times and Washington Post's
book recommendations for 2008 include the autobiographical story The
House at Sugar Beach by the Monrovia-born journalist Helene Cooper. The
author belongs to the Congo ethnic group.
A coming to terms with
recent history and the traumatic experiences of the civil war is
contained in numerous works by young writers and poets, several of whom
went into exile in the 1990s, including Patricia Jabbeh Wesley.
Lynda
Schuster: The final Days of Dr. Doe. 1994.
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley:
Before the Palm Could Bloom: Poems of Africa. In: New Issues Poetry &
Prose. 1998.
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley: Where the Road Turns. 2007.
In the 1930s, the British writer Graham Greene traveled through West
Africa and described his experiences in the report Journey without Maps,
published in 1936. One of the most remarkable experiences of this trip
was his meeting with the then head of the Liberian border guards,
Colonel Elwood Davis. On behalf of the government, he had used brute
force to suppress the uprisings of various ethnic groups and then ruled
the Grand Bassa region for several years as the archetype of a lawless
warlord.
Dances are an integral part of daily life in many parts of Africa and
are an important form of cultural expression for the people, but also a
natural connection to the ancestors and their souls. The whole (village)
community is involved in the dances; there are dancers and non-dancers,
but they also fulfil an important function. The traditional dances are
also increasingly performed on state holidays or as a folkloristic
element, which increases the risk of alienation and trivialization.
A variety of drums, rattles and percussion instruments are used in
music. The sasa, a calabash rattle surrounded by a net with percussion
balls, is particularly popular and widespread because it is also cheap.
Traditional instruments also include xylophones, slit drums, string
instruments (frame zither, pluriarc and musical bow), small bells and
cross-blown horns (túru) made of wood and animal horn or ivory trumpets.
At the request of President Tubman, the Cape Palmas Military Band was founded in 1963. It was responsible for the musical arrangement of military parades and state visits and was used for state holidays and festive events. The military band had a high level of musical ability.
The current Liberian music scene has been increasingly oriented towards Western models since the 1980s and has influences from reggae and hip hop as well as West African ethno music. A special feature was the voice impersonator and entertainer Emmanuel Uwechue, who sings in Chinese. The most famous traditional singer in Liberia is probably Sundaygar Dear Boy, who usually sings in the national language Bassa.
The Cavalla Basin in western Liberia has been home to artistically gifted wood carvers for centuries, who have specialized in the production of ritual masks, talismans and figures as well as small-format pieces of furniture. Numerous European museums have extensive art collections with artifacts from the region. The masks have cultic and ritual significance, but were also used as status symbols. According to a study begun in the 1930s by the German-Swiss ethnologist Eberhard Fischer from the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, around 140 types of masks are found in this area of West Africa, whose symbolism and distribution he was able to examine.
The traditional building style of the indigenous population has
adapted over centuries to the living conditions in the tropical
rainforest and the savannah and consists of simple wooden huts covered
with leaf roofs or mud houses with straw roofs in the savannah. The
forms of decoration vary from ethnic group to ethnic group - for
example, beams decorated with carved work, and the furniture is often
artistically decorated.
The "ridge roof house" that dominates in
the rainforest region is 4 to 5 meters long and has an interior space of
around 20 square meters. The material required to build the house is
obtained from the immediate vicinity of the settlement and consists of
vegetable building materials, such as woven mats, palm leaves, brushwood
and straw, as well as processed wood for the supporting post structures.
The lifespan of the houses is limited due to the building materials used
and requires frequent maintenance work. Palm leaf roofs have to be
re-covered every three years. This is why corrugated iron roofs are
becoming more and more popular, but are too expensive for many families.
The house architecture of the savannah region has adopted the
cylindrical round house, which is mainly built from clay. The
construction of these buildings is more complex and usually requires the
help of the family clan or the village population. These houses have a
diameter of three to five meters and thus a maximum usable area of
around 20 square meters.
Special forms of architecture are the
mosques built by the Muslims and various palace buildings.
The
former slaves who immigrated to Africa did not want to adopt these
traditional house forms and copied the architecture popular in the
southern states of the USA. A small number of government and
administrative buildings from this period have survived.
As early
as 1900, as a result of the increasing missionary work, a lively
construction of church buildings began. Brick construction was preferred
and the focus was on traditional European (neo-Romanesque and
neo-Gothic) architecture. In the emerging cities and larger settlements,
only a few stone buildings were built because wood was available in a
wide variety and at a reasonable price.
A significant change in
the style of European-influenced architecture - so-called "colonial
style buildings" - took place after the First World War. Cheap
industrial building materials - especially corrugated iron - replaced
the previous natural building materials and became the status symbol of
modern construction. Today they are devalued and synonymous with the
slum architecture of the townships. Today almost everyone who can afford
it tries to use corrugated iron sheets (zinc) of various qualities for
their roof, as these do not have to be replaced every three years like
natural roofs.
One of the most notable buildings in the old town
of Monrovia is the Masonic Temple, the house of the Liberian Masonic
lodge - today a ruin inhabited by homeless people.
In the early
1950s, a group of young African-American architects from the southern
states of the USA, including Henry Clifford Boles, were given a teaching
position at the newly founded University of Liberia in the field of
architecture and urban planning. In addition to training local
architects, their task was also to plan several model buildings that
were seen as American development aid: the Monrovia Elementary School
(1954) and the Mines and Geology Office of Liberia (1955), also built in
Monrovia, also met American building standards.
Liberia's traditional cuisine is based on West African cuisine and
offers a rich, varied range of food, which includes rice, corn and
millet as a basis in addition to vegetables and fruit. Fish and meat
(from goats, cattle, poultry and game) are preserved by smoking before
use, but freshly slaughtered meat is usually used. Water is commonly
drunk, and ginger beer, palm wine and rum are served at festivals. Due
to the influence of the Anglo-Liberians, new dishes and recipes were
adopted, including potatoes.
Typical local dishes include:
cassava (manioc) in a variety of preparations, plantains, rice, corn,
stews with cabbage, fufu and palava sauce. Now after the war, the
population hardly buys the better but expensive country rice from their
own country, but rather broken rice imported from Asia.
There is no such thing as "traditional Liberian clothing": clothing
varies not only with the gender and age of the wearer, but is also
determined by his social and economic situation. Special clothing for
participating in ceremonies and rituals has already developed in
prehistoric times. The clothing preferred today has been influenced by
Western and Muslim moral values; African ideas are taken into account in
the pattern and color of textiles. During the colonization of Africa,
clothing styles were adopted for the first time - initially these were
uniforms of soldiers and sailors. In the cities and on the coastal
plantations, the influence of European and American fashion was felt,
and appropriate clothing was imported as status symbols (dark or light
suits, official robes, and also footwear). Today's clothing is also
strongly influenced by social background. Among young people, certain
rural groups prefer military-style clothing, while urban youth are
interested in European jeans and T-shirts as status symbols.
Especially in the interior of the country, it is considered a break with
tradition if women do not wear the wrap-around skirt, called Lappa. A
woman can tell the origin of the wearer by the pattern of the Lappa.
The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders sees
obvious problems for press freedom in Liberia.
The first
international communications links were two submarine cables that German
and French cable companies laid off the coast of West Africa around
1910. From the Monrovia station, the German operating company laid two
more cables in the following years to Togo, Cameroon and Namibia and via
Brazil and Uruguay to Argentina. France also used its own submarine
cables from Monrovia to reach the Central African colonies. The first
radio sets arrived as early as the First World War; the Liberian
government received a modern radio telegraph as a gift from the USA in
the 1940s. In 1959, two Liberian radio amateurs received a license to
set up a medium and short wave transmitter in Paynesville with a maximum
transmission power of 10 kilowatts. The amateur radio identifier of the
transmitter was ELRS and became synonymous with Liberian radio. After
the test operation, the station was nationalized in 1960 and served as
the first electronic mass medium. With the support of President Tubman,
Liberia's first television studio was opened in 1964. The state
television station ELTV was initially only available in the area around
the capital. The broadcasting technology was modernized in the following
years, co-financed by Japanese and American state contracts. Since the
1960s, there have also been several radio stations operated by the
mining companies, which broadcast news and light music as an additional
program, also in the most important national languages. Also worth
mentioning is the broadcasting technology of the airports and the port
authority of Monrovia and the other port cities in the country, which,
however, served exclusively for communication with the Liberian merchant
fleet and incoming ships (maritime radio). In response to the
independence movements in the crumbling colonial empires of Africa, the
USA installed a military broadcasting station near Monrovia, which
transmitted propaganda broadcasts from Voice of America in numerous
African and European languages.
Radio ELWA in Monrovia is the
oldest Christian radio station in Africa. In addition to English, the
radio station broadcasts in the languages Grebo, Kru, Gola, Bassa,
Kpelle, Kissi, Dan, Krahn and Loma. The station was put into operation
on January 18, 1954. Since the 1980s, other mission stations and the
Catholic Church in Monrovia have also had their own broadcast studios
(Radio Veritas) and frequencies to broadcast Christian religious content
on the radio. These stations also fell victim to the war. A new station
of the Catholic Church now also broadcasts educational and information
programs, as radio reception is currently the safest medium in the
country. During the civil war, all Liberian broadcasting stations in the
country were captured and destroyed by the rebels. For a transitional
period, Liberian programs can be received on Radio France Internationale
and the BBC World Service. A group of communications engineers and
editors are currently working on a restart of the state radio and
television program and have already been successful.
The first
private television station, DC-TV, already exists through foreign
license partners; the majority of programs are received via satellite
television.
The Liberian journalists' association, Press Union of
Liberia (PUL), strives to provide an objective, impartial presentation
of news and events. One of the most popular radio stations is the
private Star Radio or the UN station, called UNMIL Radio.
In
2022, 30.1 percent of Liberia's residents used the Internet.
Liberia's participation in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was the
14th time that it has participated in the Olympic Games. The first
participation was in 1956. Liberia's athletes - for example Kia Davis,
Bobby Young and Abraham Morlu - are particularly successful in
athletics. Special Olympics Liberia took part in the Special Olympics
World Games.
The most popular sport is football, but basketball
and numerous other sports are also played. There are two newly built
stadiums in Monrovia; otherwise there is no significant sports
infrastructure in the country that meets international competition
conditions. Most internationally successful Liberian athletes train and
live abroad. In addition, Liberian George Weah is the only African to
have won the award for World Footballer - the Ballon d'Or.
The following are considered national monuments in Liberia:
The
Centennial Pavilion - a kind of hall of fame for the country's founders
The National Museum
The Presidential Palace - also a symbol of the
civil war that has been overcome
All buildings are located in
Monrovia's old town.
Liberia sees itself as a Christian country; state holidays are based on the USA model. In addition to national holidays, the religious festivals of Islam and Christianity are also celebrated. In addition to these holidays, religious, traditional and cultural festivals are celebrated at certain times of the year.
Liberia is located in the southwest of West Africa on the Atlantic
coast. It borders Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north and
northeast, and the Ivory Coast to the east.
The Portuguese were
the first European explorers to learn about this area in 1461, which was
initially entered on maps under the name of the Pepper Coast ("Costa de
Malagueta"). Mesorado Bay, Cape Palmas, and Cape Mesurado were described
as landmarks on the approximately 579 km long coastline, along with
several river mouths and conspicuous mountains.
The national
territory covers 111,370 km², which is roughly the size of Bulgaria or
almost a third of Germany. The national border has a total length of
1585 km, of which 563 km are in Guinea, 716 km in Ivory Coast, and 306
km in Sierra Leone. The country extends 520 km in a northwest-southeast
direction and 270 km in a southwest-northeast direction.
Liberia lies in a geological zone of very old Paleozoic rocks (mainly
granite and gneiss), the surface of which is characterized by strong
weathering and sedimentation.
The territory of Liberia consists
largely of mountainous land 300 to 500 m above sea level. The 10 to 50
km wide, swampy coastal plain is followed by a plateau landscape up to
400 m high. The area covered by rainforest has been broken up into
countless hills and valleys by erosion. There are mountains in the
north. The country belongs to the tropical rainforest zone, which takes
up about 60 percent of the current national territory. The agricultural
and forestry use resulted in numerous small-scale clearings, and nine
rubber tree plantations are important for the economy.
The highest elevation is Mount Wuteve (1440 m) in the north of the country, which is part of the Wologizi Mountains in the northwest. The Nimba Mountains in the north are located in the county of the same name and have iron ore deposits, but mining came to a halt due to the civil war. In the middle of the northwest are the Mano Hills, in the center the Bong Range extends to the suburbs of the capital Monrovia, and the Putu Range in the east extends to within 80 km of the coastal city of Greenville.
Liberia, which is close to the equator, has the following special
climatic conditions:
in the coastal area there is a tropical climate
with consistently hot and humid weather,
in the northern coastal
plain the rainy season is interrupted by a dry period in August,
in
the northern parts of the country the rainy season is from June to
October, which is determined by the rainfall regime of the West African
monsoon,
in the extreme south there are two rainy season maximums.
On the coast 24 °C to 35 °C are measured, in the interior 22 °C to 40 °C. The average temperatures are 26 °C in January and 24 °C in July.
The rainy season is characterized by heavy rainfall in all parts of
the country, during this time road traffic in the hinterland often
breaks down for weeks. In the capital Monrovia, the annual rainfall is
5130 mm, in Robertsport (north-west coast) 5210 mm and in the drier
southeast near Harper only 2500 mm.
On average, the annual
rainfall decreases sharply towards the interior of the country, but in
the low mountain ranges in the north it increases again. In the interior
of the country in particular, the dusty, hot Harmattan wind, a northeast
trade wind from the southern Sahara, blows during the dry season from
October to March, which drives up temperatures. The rainfall decreases
so much for just a few weeks that it can be described as a dry season in
which precipitation is less than evaporation.
The Guinea Current, a warm ocean current from the Atlantic Ocean, flows incessantly onto the coast of Liberia. It is responsible for the sediment deposits along the coastline in the form of spits and is a climate factor.
The water network consists of countless streams and some larger rivers, which mostly flow in a southwesterly direction towards the coast. There are seven larger rivers that have their source in or on the border with Guinea. The Mano, Moa, Lofa and Saint Paul Rivers originate on or at the edge of the Beyla plateau, the Saint John River, Cestos River and Cavally in the Nimba Mountains. The largest river is the Cavally, although only part of its catchment area is in Liberia.
The largest lake is Lake Piso (about 100 km²) near Robertsport. There are numerous small lagoons and mangrove swamps along the coast. The Mount Coffee Dam on the lower reaches of the St. Paul River and the Firestone hydroelectric power station on the Farmington River are the only dams in the country to date.
The constantly moist, warm conditions lead to intensive weathering of
the source material with leaching of the water-soluble nutrients, so
that soil types that are poor in nutrients from the point of view of
crop cultivation predominate:
Ferralsols are dominant in large parts
of the country. The weathering horizon of this soil type is extremely
deep. The dissolved minerals are quickly washed out due to the soil's
low exchange capacity, so that it contains almost no nutrients and
cannot store them after fertilization. The nutrients are contained in
vegetation and litter. After clearing, the soil is leached out within a
few harvest periods. Ferralsols are traditionally only used in shifting
cultivation. Use by permanent crops such as plantations is, however,
agriculturally possible.
From the coastal strip up to about 150 m
above sea level, orange-yellow (xanthic) Ferralsols dominate. In the
mountainous interior of the country, humic and hardened (plinthic)
Ferralsols are found, and on the border with Guinea, typical (haplic)
Ferralsols.
In the final stage of weathering, the silicates are
washed out (desilicification), leaving only the iron and aluminum oxides
(ferrallitization). These can cement themselves with clay particles and
then harden irreversibly after drying out once (plinthite formation).
After that, the soil material can only be used as building material. The
tendency to harden can be observed almost nationwide. Particularly badly
affected soils (Plinthosols) are occasionally associated with
Ferralsols.
On the border with the Ivory Coast and nationwide,
Acrisols are also important. These are nutrient-poor, acidic soils with
a shift in clay. They tend to silt up and become encrusted, which is why
cleared areas are difficult to cultivate and very susceptible to
erosion. Acid-tolerant crops such as oil palms must be grown on them,
which cover the soil as much as possible.
In addition to these
large-scale dominant soils, there are others with a notable
distribution:
Cambisols are relatively fertile, young soils in
the river valleys.
Fluvisols are formed from river sediments and
are located directly on large rivers.
Gleysols are located in the
wetlands and are strongly influenced by groundwater
Leptosols are
very shallow soils in the mountainous areas.
Nitisols are young,
fertile soils that occur in small areas in the mountains
Regosols
are the young, barely developed soils on the dunes of the coastal strip.
Liberia is one of the biodiversity hotspots of the African continent.
Since the 19th century, research expeditions have repeatedly discovered
and described new species in Liberia's dense rainforests. The National
Nature Conservation Authority lists the occurrence of 2200 plant
species, 193 mammal species and 576 bird species.
Evergreen
rainforests are typical of Liberia's vegetation. In the far north of the
country there are also some zones that are considered wet savannah, and
the coasts are partly covered by mangrove swamps. Teak and mahogany wood
in particular are particularly valuable tree species. The forests are
only partially deciduous in places where less than 2000 mm of rainfall
falls per year.
Leopards, forest elephants and hippos are the
best-known large mammals in Liberia, which were also game until
recently. One of the world's last populations of pygmy hippopotamuses
lives in Sapo National Park in the east of the country. Other rare
species found in the country include:
The Liberian mongoose or
Liberian kusimanse (Liberiictis kuhni) is a predatory species from the
mongoose family that lives in West Africa. It was only scientifically
described in 1958 and is considered endangered.
The Diana monkey
(Cercopithecus diana) is a primate species from the genus Cercopithecus.
West African colobus monkeys are tree dwellers, but their habitat is
more flexible than their eastern relatives. In addition to rainforests,
they can also be found in mangrove areas and tree-covered savannahs.
Jentink's duikers (Cephalophus jentinki), a species of antelope, are
threatened with extinction. The species only occurs in individual areas
of Sierra Leone, Liberia and western Ivory Coast. Their survival depends
heavily on whether remaining rainforest areas, such as those in Sapo
National Park, can be protected.
The genus of chimpanzees is divided
into two species, and the common chimpanzee into further subspecies. The
western subspecies found in Liberia's rainforests differs so much from
the other subspecies in terms of skull structure and DNA sequences that
it may be a separate species.
The country's rainforests are home
to a wide variety of animals. Reptile species are particularly numerous,
including crocodiles, as well as a large number of more or less
poisonous snake species, as well as scorpions and lizards. Insects are
also represented in a wide variety of species, with colorful butterflies
sharing the airspace with bats and birds (including parrot species).
Mammals include chimpanzees, antelopes and pygmy hippos. But forest
buffalo and elephants, as well as the now rare leopard, are also native
here.
The coastal waters and the numerous rivers are home to a
variety of fish and shellfish species. Turtles and seabirds also use
this habitat. The mangrove swamps, which are characterized by changing
water levels and brackish water zones, are a special feature.
Illegal logging increased significantly during the Second Civil War in 2003. In 2012, President Sirleaf granted logging companies licenses to log 58% of Liberia's primary forest. After international protests, some licenses were withdrawn. In September 2014, Liberia agreed to an agreement with Norway under which all logging would be stopped and Liberia would receive 150 million USD in development aid.
The international nature conservation organization Fauna & Flora
International was the first organization to resume its work in Liberia
in 1997. The Sapo National Park and the Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve
were the project team's first successes. The idea of nature
conservation was also incorporated into the revision of the laws and
regulations on logging in the rainforest. Parks, nature reserves and
hunting areas (safaris) were among Liberia's tourist attractions from an
early stage.
The following protected areas recognized by IUCN
exist (as of 2023):
Gola Forest National Park
Sapo National Park
Nimba Mountains Nature Reserve
Ramsar sites
In 2023, 54 percent of Liberia's inhabitants lived in cities. The six
largest cities in 2008 were:
Monrovia (1,010,970 inhabitants)
Gbarnga (45,835 inhabitants)
Ganta (41,106 inhabitants)
Buchanan
(34,270 inhabitants)
Zwedru (23,903 inhabitants)
Harper (17,837
inhabitants)
Liberia had 5.4 million inhabitants in 2023. Annual population growth
was + 2.2%. A birth surplus (birth rate: 31.0 per 1000 inhabitants vs.
death rate: 8.6 per 1000 inhabitants) contributed to population growth.
The number of births per woman was statistically 4.0 in 2022, compared
to 4.9 in the West and Central Africa region. The life expectancy of
Liberia's inhabitants from birth was 61.1 years in 2022. The median age
of the population in 2021 was 17.9 years. In 2023, 40.0 percent of the
population was under 15 years old, while the proportion of people over
64 was 3.3 percent of the population.
In 2017, 2.1% of the
population was born abroad; there was also strong internal migration.
The process of migration and urbanization continues in the
metropolitan region of Monrovia; the settlement area extends up to 30
kilometers into the hinterland and leads to an increase in social
tensions. A large part of the rural population lives in the northern
border region with Guinea. The last census identified around 10,000
inhabited settlements in Liberia.
Article 27 of the Liberian constitution stipulates that only people
of African descent ("persons who are Negroes or of Negro descent") can
obtain citizenship. There is a population group of African-American
descent called Creoles or "Americoliberians"; they make up 2-5% of
Liberia's population and are mostly Christians. About 8,000 Lebanese
still live in Liberia as a minority.
The 16 indigenous ethnic
groups of Liberia are divided into two different cultural and linguistic
groups. One belongs to the Mande peoples: the Kpelle, who traditionally
live as hoe farmers in the center of the country, make up 20.3% of the
population. In the north live the Gio or Dan with 8% and the Mano with
7.9%. Other important Mande peoples are the Loma with 5.1% and the Vai
with 3% of the population.
The second group are the peoples who
speak Kwa languages: the largest ethnic group are the Bassa around
Buchanan, who make up 13.4% of the country's population and are often
employed in mining and as domestic servants. On the coast east of
Greenville, the Kru, who make up 6% of the population, play an important
role in seafaring and technical professions; for more than 400 years
they were valued as sailors on the West African route. Other Kwa peoples
are the Grebo with 10% and the Krahn with 5%. There are also the Gola
ethnic groups with 4.4%, the Kissi, Malinke (Mandingo) and Bela.
In the practice of coexistence between the various parts of Liberian
society, a patronage system developed in Liberia from the 1860s onwards,
with families of the Americo-Liberian upper class taking in children and
young people from families of the indigenous population in their
households and family environments in order to bind them to themselves
through school and vocational training. As a result of this increasing
intertwining with the upper class, a deep-rooted dependence and devotion
of the indigenous population towards the Americo-Liberians developed.
As a result of the civil wars in the neighbouring countries of
Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, there were still around 12,600 refugees
from Sierra Leone in Liberia in 2008; at the same time, a roughly equal
number of Liberian civil war refugees live in West African countries or
have applied for political asylum in European countries.
None of the West African languages has yet been able to take a
dominant position in the national context of Liberia. The state of
Liberia uses English as its official language, which is a modified
version of Liberian English, which is interspersed with numerous loan
words from local languages. 2.5 percent of the population - descendants
of freed slaves who returned from the USA - now say that English is
their mother tongue.
In everyday life, the use of the languages
of individual ethnic groups predominates. Mande is spoken in the west
and north of the country and Kru in the east and south. Other languages
in Liberia are Gola and Kpelle.
Some of these peoples have
become known for their great achievements in developing their own
scripts. The Vai script is a special script: it was developed to record
West African family and place names and other personal data in church
registers. The script was mastered by educated members of the Vai ethnic
group, who had to report such data to the authorities. This syllabary
consists of 226 characters (vowels or syllables) and was first described
in 1849 by the missionary S. W. Koelle. Local sources reported that the
Vai script was invented between 1829 and 1839. All known documents of
the Vai script are collected in the Monrovia Museum.
In addition,
the Bassa, the Kpelle, the Mende and the Loma each have their own
writing systems and alphabets for their native languages (the Bassa
Vah script, the Kpelle script and the Mende script). In the meantime,
however, the Latin script has largely replaced the local writing
systems.
According to the 2008 census, around 85.6 percent of the population
(mainly in the coastal region) are Christians, 12.2 percent are Muslims
and only 0.6 percent are followers of traditional religions. 1.4% have
no religion. The numbers of believers given below contradict this
result.
The National Muslim Council of Liberia in Monrovia was
led by Shaykh Kafumba Konneh and represents the approximately 670,000
devout Muslims.
The Roman Catholic Church has 166,000 believers
in Liberia. There are three dioceses: the Archdiocese of Monrovia with
132,600 believers, the Diocese of Cape Palmas with 19,100 believers and
the Diocese of Gbarnga with 14,300 believers. The division was made in
the 1950s.
The Methodist Episcopal Church began work in Liberia
in 1833. It was a predecessor of the United Methodist Church. The Bishop
of the Methodist Church for Liberia is Reverend Dr. Samuel J. Quire Jr.
This church had 281,007 church members in the country (as of around
2017). The Methodist church with the second highest number of members in
Liberia is The African Methodist Episcopal Church (around 42,000 church
members around 2005).
Bishop Sumoward E. Harris heads the 35,600
believers of the Lutheran Church of Liberia.
The Protestant
Episcopal Church of Liberia is part of the Anglican Communion, Province
of West Africa. This church was founded in Liberia in 1836 and joined
the West Africa ecclesiastical province in 1982. The metropolitan of the
church province is the current bishop of Accra in Ghana. The bishop of
Liberia, with his seat in Monrovia, was Reverend Edward Neufville until
2011; his diocese currently has around 20,000 believers.
The
Pentecostal church Assemblies of God has 14,500 believers; it has 287
congregations and was founded in 1908. It is headed by General
Superintendent Jimmie K. Dugbe.
The Providence Baptist Church in
Liberia is led by Reverend A. Momolue Diggs and has around 2,500
believers. The church has 300 congregations and runs eight schools. The
Liberian Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention Inc. was founded
in 1880 in Monrovia (headquarters); it is currently under the presidency
of Reverend J.K. Levee and Reverend Charles W. Blake as general
secretary.
The influence of the USA is also noticeable in
religious practice; the influence of the Methodists, Baptists,
Presbyterians and Episcopalians is growing in particular. Their first
missionary societies began their work shortly after the founding of the
Republic of Liberia.
Jehovah's Witnesses have more than 6,000
believers in Liberia.
The Liberian state education system is free and consists of primary
and secondary education. Regular school attendance is set by law at nine
years. According to government figures, 10 percent of the annual state
budget has been invested in education since 1999. School enrollment
takes place at the age of 7; primary school attendance usually lasts six
years. At the age of 13, secondary school education begins, which can
also lead to the Abitur in two consecutive three-year training phases.
According to aid organizations, only 40 percent of school-age children
have been able to attend school again since 2002, as the school
infrastructure in many rural areas is only rudimentary. School lessons
according to European standards are therefore only offered in the larger
cities and in the vicinity of Christian mission stations. The majority
of children from Muslim families only attend Koran school.
The
vital and traditional knowledge of the Liberian rural population is
imparted in the traditional way. Both boys and girls are separated from
their families at a certain age before reaching puberty and prepared for
adult life in isolated groups. These groups are called "Poro School";
girls are taken into the "Sande". There they learn traditional customs,
secret rites and the skills necessary for survival from a few
instructors. The young people acquire the necessary respect for the
authorities and hierarchies in their group and society. After the three
to four years of "training", these young people are ceremoniously
welcomed into the adult circle and are given new rights and duties in
the community. Only as adults do they have the opportunity to decide to
go to school to learn to read and write. Girls tend to receive less
schooling.
Various government projects aim to improve educational
opportunities. Literacy campaigns are also carried out to compensate for
the deficits that arose during the civil war. Mary Antoinette
Brown-Sherman was the first female rector of an African university.
During her term in office (1978-1984), a boarding school was established
in Fendall (University Primary School).
The literacy rate in 2015
was 47.6% of the population.
Liberia is a focus country of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion
Church. The Christian Education Department A.M.E. Zion Church operates
the A.M.E. Zion University in Monrovia to train pastors and counselors.
The Booker T. Washington Institute (BWI) is located in Kakata. It is
privately run and has existed since the 1950s. It teaches over 5,000
young people, making it the largest vocational school in the country.
The BWI has an excellent reputation, but despite high fees, cannot keep
up with the demand.
Another educational institution that was finally
closed in 2000 was the College of West Africa (CWA) in Monrovia. Its
function was taken over by the J. J. Roberts United Methodist School
(JJRUMS).
One of the oldest (private) universities in Africa is
located in Suacoco near Gbarnga: the Cuttington University College. It
was founded in 1889 in Harper (Cape Palmas) and moved to the hinterland
in 1948. The college maintains close ties with educational institutions
in the USA.
With foreign support, a forestry training center - the
Forest Development Authority (FDA) - and an institute for industrial and
economic development - the Liberian Opportunities Industrialization
Center (LOIC) - were founded.
The state-run University of Liberia is
the largest university in the country and is located in Monrovia. The
university has the only law school in the country. In 2011, a huge
university campus was cautiously opened far outside Monrovia, in
Fendall. This was built by the Chinese government; however, the move had
to be stopped due to botched work and serious construction defects. In
2013, all of the approximately 25,000 applicants failed the entrance
exam. The requirements were then lowered so that 1,600 students could
ultimately be admitted.
Some of the urgently needed medical
professionals are being trained at the newly founded (private) St. Luke
School of Medicine in Monrovia.
The Stella Maris Polytechnic is a
state technical college in Monrovia. It emerged from the Arthur Barclay
Technical Institute and the Don Bosco Polytechnic College.
The United
Methodist University of Liberia (UMU) is currently being built with the
support of the United Methodist Church (see above: Religions).
The
William V. S. Tubman University in Harper is the second state
university. It emerged from the William V.S. Tubman College of
Technology, which was founded in Tubman's hometown in 1978.
For joint
educational projects and mutual recognition of university degrees,
Liberia joined the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). This is an
association of English-speaking countries.
The country's healthcare expenditure amounted to 16.6% of gross
domestic product in 2021. Due to poor infrastructure and a lack of
financial resources, the healthcare system lacks qualified personnel,
medicines and medical equipment - especially in rural areas. Medical
care is at an extremely low level even in the capital Monrovia. In 2020,
1.5 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants practiced in Liberia. Pharmacies are
widespread, but the quality of the medicines offered is sometimes
questionable. Around three quarters of all medical facilities are run by
- mostly foreign - non-governmental organizations. Corruption in the
healthcare system is also a problem. The health of the people is
therefore rather poor. The mortality rate among children under 5 was
73.2 per 1,000 live births in 2022. The life expectancy of Liberia's
inhabitants from birth was 61.1 years in 2022 (women: 62.4, men: 59.8).
Life expectancy increased by 19% from 51.4 years in 2000 to 2022. The
most common causes of death include malaria, diarrheal diseases and
respiratory infections.
The HIV rate is estimated at 1.9 percent
(2019). This is above the international average of around one percent,
but Liberia is not one of the high-prevalence countries. In everyday
life, HIV-infected people suffer from severe stigmatization and access
to HIV-specific health care is limited.
The World Health
Organization (WHO) points out health risks on its information pages on
Liberia. Liberia is considered a high-risk area for various diseases.
Common tropical diseases are yellow fever, cholera and dengue fever.
Malaria is a problem all year round and in all parts of the country,
with the dangerous tropical malaria responsible for most cases. Malaria
prophylaxis drugs are available in many pharmacies, with those run by
Indians in particular offering a selection and quality comparable to
Western standards.
The focus of the WHO's current health policy
in Liberia is on improving the medical infrastructure. 250 facilities
(including hospitals, health centers and clinics) have either been
renovated or newly built. In 2011, for example, the Chinese government
built a large hospital with computer tomography in the town of Tapeta in
Nimba County, but the necessary specialist staff is still lacking. In
addition, many devices are defective and are not repaired due to
frequent corruption. Malnutrition is still widespread; it mainly affects
women and children. In 2018, 37.5% of the population was considered
malnourished.
The Republic of Liberia, which has existed since 1847, is the second
oldest independent state in Africa (after Ethiopia). The first
constitution of Liberia was discussed and adopted on January 5, 1839
with the main representatives of the American Colonization Society. The
text described the new state as a presidential republic of the
Commonwealth of Liberia.
In 1984, a new constitution was adopted
by referendum, which, like the previous one, is closely based on the US
model. The legislature lies with the parliament. The parliament consists
(following the American model) of two chambers:
the Senate has 30
senators
the House of Representatives has 64 elected representatives.
All representatives and senators are elected by majority voting, with
the 15 administrative districts (“counties”) of Liberia each sending two
senators for a term of nine years. Determining the constituencies for
the House of Representatives is more problematic; here, the number of
registered voters determines how many constituencies are to be formed in
each county. Due to the consequences of the civil war, tens of thousands
of people are still in camps and refugee camps, making it difficult to
check the electoral lists precisely.
According to Liberia's
constitution, the president, who is elected for six years, is
simultaneously head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief
of the Liberian armed forces.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Unity Party)
won the presidential elections in November 2005 with around 59.4 percent
of the vote. She thus prevailed in two rounds against 22 candidates, of
whom George Weah (Congress for Democratic Change) was the one who
reached the runoff election with her but was defeated there. She is the
first woman to be elected head of state in Africa. In the 2011 election,
Sirleaf received 43.9 percent of the vote in the first round on October
11, while her challenger Winston Tubman from the Congress for Democratic
Change (CDC) received 32.7 percent. In the runoff election in November,
Sirleaf received around 90 percent. Her opponent did not run. The
election was overshadowed by violent riots. As a result, voter turnout
was low; according to experts, it was 37 percent.
Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf did not run in the 2017 election and George Weah was
elected President of Liberia. His party, the Congress for Democratic
Change, also became the strongest party in parliament. The transfer of
power was smooth and peaceful. In recognition of her successful
governance and her services to the democratization of Liberia, Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf was awarded the Mo Ibrahim Prize in 2018. In the 2023
elections, Weah narrowly lost to his challenger Joseph Boakai (Unity
Party), who has been in office as president since January 2024.
Following the coup d'état of 1980, the previously dissolved People's
Supreme Court was "reinstalled" as Liberia's Supreme Court in February
1982. Since January 1992, an independent Supreme Court consisting of
five members has been responsible for confirming election results. Henry
Reed Cooper is currently at the head of the judicial system as Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Liberia's judicial
system is also under construction; however, there are only a very small
number of courthouses, judges and prosecutors. Knowledge of and respect
for the law is barely developed; in large parts of the country, trials
are carried out according to traditional, archaic laws or the religious
regulations of Sharia.
The conditions in Liberian prisons are
harsh and sometimes life-threatening. In contrast to European legal
systems, in large parts of Liberia, conservative moral values,
indigenous laws and traditions still regulate coexistence in rural
regions. The practice of rape within marriage, domestic violence against
children and the internationally condemned female genital mutilation
also exists there.
The successful reconstruction of the state apparatus is an essential
prerequisite for the future of the country. The ECOWAS peacekeeping
force ECOMOG has been in the country since 1990, mainly from Nigeria and
Ghana. Under pressure from ECOWAS, the peace process was continued in
the mid-1990s.
Corruption is still a major problem at all levels
of state building.
With a mandate from the UN, around 15,000 members of the UNMIL peacekeeping force and 1,100 UNPOL officers have been in the country since the end of the civil war, helping to ensure that internal security is maintained. The Liberian National Police (LNP) is being restructured, recruited, trained and equipped with modern technology with the involvement of the UNPOL. Since 2004, 3,500 LNP officers have been deployed. However, the police presence cannot yet prevent cases of violence and vigilantism.
Liberia is a member of the following international organizations and
unions:
African Union (AU)
Community of Sahel-Saharan States
(CEN-SAD) since 2004
Mano River Union (MRU) since 1973 as a founding
member, since 2004 after exclusion during the civil war
Organization
of African Unity (OAU) since 1963 as a founding member
United Nations
(UN) since November 2, 1945
West African Monetary Area (WAMZ)
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Liberia has
been one of the most unstable and dangerous countries in the world since
the 1980s. After the civil war, Liberia's government is trying to
strengthen its traditional ties and relations with the USA. In the
run-up to a state visit by US President George W. Bush on February 21,
2008, he stated that the United States was not planning any new US
military bases in Africa, although Liberian President Sirleaf was the
only African leader to have pushed for the headquarters of the US Africa
Military Command to be established in Liberia. AFRICOM was established
in Europe (Stuttgart) because the African Union and its members did not
trust AFRICOM's goals and the United States was therefore unable to find
an African host country for the agency.
The previous President
Bill Clinton and his wife and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
also visited Liberia regularly to organize support for aid projects.
As part of her trip to Africa, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
visited the capital Monrovia in October 2007. On this occasion, the
business representatives traveling with her were assured of an
improvement in German-Liberian economic relations.
At the same
time, the People's Republic of China's efforts to gain influence in
Liberia are growing. Chinese development workers and technicians are
trying to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure - in return, China
expects preferential contracts for the supply of raw materials such as
rubber and iron ore and for the import of Chinese products by Liberia.
As a lasting sign of "good relations", the Chinese ambassador to Liberia
handed over the newly built Fendall campus to the University of Liberia
in June 2010.
Liberia has experienced a lot of rejection in African states due to
its pro-Western stance, so only a few African states have established
diplomatic relations with Liberia. During the civil war, almost all
diplomats left the country for security reasons and returned only
hesitantly. The embassies of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Switzerland and Austria were evacuated to Accra, the capital of Ghana.
The German embassy in the Congo Town district of Monrovia does not have
a visa department (as of 2019).
Under the former government of
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Asian states were increasingly
approached for economic cooperation and diplomatic relations were
agreed; the most recent example (June 2010) is the Emirate of Kuwait.
The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) go back to a militia founded in the 19th century by the first black colonists in Liberia. They were reorganized in 2008 and are under the command of George Weah, the President of Liberia. The military commander is Brigadier General Daniel Dee Ziankahn. The AFL comprises around 2,100 army soldiers and a small coast guard with 2 boats.
The state of Liberia is divided into 15 regions (counties). The Liberian government appoints the 15 administrative heads (county superintendent and district commissioner) of these subordinate units. The cities have elected mayors and city councils. Traditional leaders at different levels (town chief, clan chief and paramount chief) exert great influence on political events in the country. This conflict also continues in the legal system, where public and traditional jurisdiction exist side by side.
Liberia's economy is characterized by great contrasts. After the
Second World War, the country was one of the most advanced countries in
Africa and under the rule of William Tubman had the highest economic
growth in the world after Japan. However, many achievements were
destroyed by the Liberian civil wars. During the civil war, per capita
income fell to less than 125 euros.
Liberia is therefore one of
the poorest countries in the world today. 420 million euros have been
provided internationally in development aid and Liberia is integrated
into many multinational communities. According to a study by the
Washington-based organization Fund for Peace and the US political
magazine "Foreign Policy", Liberia has made the most significant
improvement in the Fragile State Index in the years since the end of the
civil war; this assesses the political, social and economic situation of
the respective state.
The economy is strongly influenced by
proceeds from raw material exports (rubber) and the proceeds from the
shipping register. International sanctions against the Liberian state on
the trade in diamonds and timber have been lifted, meaning that exports
of these goods will contribute positively to economic growth. President
Johnson-Sirleaf has taken initial steps to combat corruption, encourage
private investment and launch a promotional initiative to support
international donors.
In the Global Competitiveness Index, which
measures a country's competitiveness, Liberia ranks 131st out of 138
countries (as of 2016). In the Index for Economic Freedom, the country
ranks 161st out of 180 countries in 2017.
The state budget in 2016 included expenditures of the equivalent of
743 million US dollars, compared to revenues of the equivalent of 613
million US dollars. This results in a budget deficit of 6.1% of GDP.
Public debt in 2016 was 39.5% of GDP.
After decades of dependence on the USA, Liberia has adapted to new
trading partners. The most important buyers for Liberia's exports in
2008 were Belgium with 48 percent and Italy with 10 percent of the
country's total revenue; a clear shift in favor of the People's Republic
of China is now expected. The most important supplier countries for
Liberia's imports are South Korea with 27 percent, Japan with 25 percent
and Singapore with 7 percent. These countries supply Liberia with new
ship construction and repair services. Germany also has a considerable
market share with 14 percent.
Export goods include natural rubber
and rubber, tropical wood, iron ore, diamonds, cocoa, coffee and
pineapples. After iron ore, rubber is the country's second most
important export. President Johnson-Sirleaf expects the agreement with
Arcelor Mittal to send a signal for further foreign investment in the
Liberian economy. But dependence on foreign investors also contributes
to the country's problems.
Liberia formally operates the second largest merchant fleet in the world. After World War II, more and more European, American and Asian ship operators flagged their ships to Liberia. In 2019, the Liberian shipping register included ships with a total tonnage of 124.1 million gross registered tons. Liberia's merchant flag is considered a "flag of convenience".
Just over 70 percent of Liberians live from subsistence agriculture.
Most of the time, they work using slash-and-burn farming, which not only
depletes the soil and destroys valuable forests, but is also not
suitable for market production, i.e. production that goes beyond
subsistence. The main foods are manioc, rice, corn and sweet potatoes.
Liberia is an important growing area for manioc, known in Liberia as
cassava. It is grown by family farmers (smallholders) and is
concentrated in the central provinces of Bong, Nimba and Grand Bassa.
Other crops traditionally intended for export to the USA include
sugar cane, cotton, coffee, cocoa and oil palm products. Large areas of
forest have been cleared for Malaysian and British investors to grow oil
palm. The reserves of over 100 valuable species of tropical wood from
the ten state forest districts (Gbi, Gio, Gola, Grebo, Krahn-Bassa,
Kpelle, Nimba, Sapo, South-Belle, North-Belle and Vai) have declined
sharply. Some of the forest areas are now to be placed under permanent
nature conservation, and coastal areas are to be conceded to foreign
timber companies with strict conditions.
The fishing sector accounts for around fifteen percent of the
country's GDP. For centuries, Liberian residents have been engaged in
simple coastal fishing with nets. Since the 1970s, deep-sea fishing has
also been carried out with relatively modern fishing boats; in 1988,
Liberia had 55 fishing trawlers. Fishing and the associated supply
industries and businesses provide employment for 20,000 people.
In 1999, there were five commercial companies in Liberia, which,
together with their associated fish factories and cold storage
facilities, employed around 6,000 people in the fishing and processing
sectors. The economically most important species of fish for food,
accounting for 80 percent of the catch, is Ethmalosa (Ethmalosa
fimbriata). Shrimp, West African catfish (Arius seemani) and Blue
Threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum) are also caught. Cichlids
(Tilapia nilotica) and African catfish (Clarias luzerra) are preferred
in the country's rivers.
Mussels, cephalopods and crustaceans are
also caught for food.
The service sector is one of the fastest growing economic sectors. In the capital, numerous new bank buildings mark the reviving economy. Private transport is developing particularly in the metropolitan region of Monrovia. Numerous taxis and pick-up companies have been established here. Great expectations are placed on the expansion of the free port.
Before the civil war, the economy was largely based on the mining of
iron ore. With investments worth 1 billion US dollars from the steel
company Arcelor Mittal, the iron ore industry is now to be revitalized.
3,500 new jobs will be created directly and 15,000 to 20,000 indirectly
as soon as production can be ramped up.
Another dominant industry
is rubber. In 1926, part of the national territory was given to the US
companies Firestone and Goodrich for rubber plantations for 99 years.
Firestone founded the largest rubber plantation in the world in Harbel,
50 kilometers east of Monrovia. In 1950, rubber accounted for almost 90
percent of Liberia's total export volume. Natural rubber still has a
high value and holds its own against chemical derivatives. The Liberian
government has therefore decided on a reconstruction program for the
rubber plantations; it speaks of an agro-industry.
The industrial
production of concrete moldings is of great importance for the
reconstruction of the infrastructure. There are manufacturing plants in
several coastal towns.
As a result of the civil war, the Liberia
petroleum refinery had to be shut down in 1982. In the 1970s, a status
symbol for Liberia's economic boom, the plant has already been largely
dismantled.
The most important mineral resource is iron ore. Around a billion
tons of ore are forecast to be found in the Nimba region; the ore
currently provides 60 percent of export earnings. Manganese, barite,
kyanite, columbite and gold are present in quantities worth mining.
Diamonds are found on the border with Sierra Leone.
The iron ore
deposits in Liberia formed an essential basis for the country's economic
development. There are five concession areas that are exploited with
Liberian participation:
The most important area was in the Nimba
Range, concessioned to the Liberian-American-Swedish Mining Company
(LAMCO). The important deposits also continue across the border
(Guinea), and this country is planning to build its own railway line to
mine the ore. Chinese technicians are currently working on repairing the
railway line from the ore port of Buchanan to Santiquelle in the Nimba
Range.
As early as the 1950s, DELIMCO - a German-Liberian steel
consortium (on the German side: Thyssenkrupp and Hoesch AG) - began
building the mining facilities in the Bong Range and Putu Range regions.
500 million US dollars were invested and the entire infrastructure,
which also includes the Bong mining railway, was built. The mining
concessions for the deposits in the Wologizi Range were awarded to the
Liberia Iron and Steel Company (LISCO), while the deposits in the west
of the country went to the National Ironore Company (NIOC) and the
Liberian Mining Company (LMC).
Diamonds are found in some areas
in the west of the country. The precious stones were also known as blood
diamonds during the civil war years, as the insurgents were able to
finance their weapons with captured diamonds. To contain the conflict,
the UN imposed a diamond trade embargo on Liberia, which has since been
lifted.
The currency is managed by the Central Bank of Liberia, which
replaced the inefficient National Bank of Liberia in October 1999. The
bank pursues a policy of monetary stability and refuses to be influenced
by the government, which wants to reduce budget deficits through
financial policy tricks.
Liberia joined the Eco-Zone on February
16, 2010. Following the example of the euro, a common currency is to be
created in parts of West Africa in order to facilitate the real economy
and the exchange of goods. The currency was planned to be introduced in
January 2015. This date passed without incident, as did the follow-up
target of 2020; the new target is 2027. In addition to Sierra Leone and
Guinea, the members of the "Eco-Zone" are Ghana, Nigeria and Gambia. The
project is an essential basis for the West African Economic and Monetary
Union that has been sought for decades.
The legal tender is the
Liberian dollar (abbreviation: LRD), colloquially known in the country
as "Liberity".
Banknotes in denominations of 500, 100, 50, 20, 10
and 5 LRD are in circulation; coins are no longer in circulation.
The exchange rate in mid-2019 was 1 US dollar to around 200 LRD.
The Anglo-American measurement system applies in Liberia. In contrast to this, the electricity network was converted to the European standard with Norwegian support.
On January 28, 2016, the EU Commission presented a package of measures to combat tax evasion, which included Liberia on the black list of tax havens.
The Liberian road network is subject to heavy strain due to the
topographical and climatic conditions. There are asphalt roads around
the administrative centers and cities, and the majority of local roads
are dirt roads and tracks. In the rainy season, traffic collapses
because the roads are impassable. The first automobiles, vehicles from
the British, arrived in the country as early as 1910. As a result, a
road traffic regulation had to be issued immediately and the first
traffic police were stationed in the capital. Traffic drives on the
right in the country. At that time, there was a horse-drawn tram line in
Monrovia for a short time, but it did not seem to be profitable.
The Dakar-Lagos Highway is the most important trunk road and land
connection to the neighboring West African countries. However, the road
in Liberia is only rudimentarily developed; a section of around 100
kilometers (Ganta-Tappita-Tobli border with the Ivory Coast) is missing.
There used to be daily bus connections to all district capitals from
Monrovia's central bus depot at Wood Camp. A modern coach was offered
for tourists to take city tours. Now countless taxi companies serve
downtown Monrovia. As a gift from the Chinese government, there are a
few buses that serve a few routes when completely overcrowded. Since
2011, thousands of cheap Chinese motorcycles have also been offering
passenger transport, but they are more expensive and dangerous.
Liberia had the fourth highest number of fatal traffic accidents in the
world in relation to the population. In 2013, 1,448 people died in
traffic accidents.
Liberia currently has no actual rail network. There are only three
railway lines leading from the coast to the interior, between which
there are no cross-connections, of which the Yekepa-Buchanan railway
line is the longest.
The majority of the mining areas are in the
northern border area; the ore was transported via a railway line from
the port city of Harper. The rail network was partially interrupted
during the civil war and rail operations had to be stopped due to a lack
of profitability. Chinese construction crews are now working on renewing
the facilities, as the country is interested in further developing its
natural resources. The sections of track that have now been reopened
already allow tropical wood to be transported again and also offer
limited transport options for jeeps and small cars. In the summer of
2010, plans by a Brazilian mining company to build a completely new
railway line and an ore port in order to be able to develop a Guinean
mining area were also announced.
Direct flights to and from Europe are currently (2024) only offered
by Brussels Airlines (to Brussels). There are still connections to
neighboring West African capitals offered by African airlines. In
contrast to the merchant fleet, Liberian airlines are among the most
unsafe in the world. Liberia is one of only six countries in the world
from which no airline is allowed to use EU airspace or even land within
the EU.
There are currently two major airports in Liberia,
Roberts International Airport and the smaller Spriggs Payne Airport.
Both have an asphalt runway. There are also 51 unpaved airfields, none
of which are more than 2500 m long. These can hardly be used anywhere
due to the overgrown vegetation and are also closed by the government.
The most important cities in Liberia are located on the coast and have ports or anchorages. Coastal shipping often offers an alternative to the poorly developed road network. The navigability of the rivers, on the other hand, is limited to sections near the coast due to countless rapids and shallows.
Many shipping companies sail under the Liberian flag, which is mainly
due to the low costs (no taxes beyond the registration fees) and the
secrecy of the authorities. As a result, Liberia has the second largest
fleet in the world in terms of gross registered tonnage. In 2020, there
were already around 4,600 registered ships.
The Liberian fleet is
now also one of the safest; in the relevant rankings of port state
controls (U.S. Coast Guard, Paris MOU, Tokyo MOU), Liberia's fleet has
long held a top position. The register is based in New York. Liberia has
five ports; Freeport Monrovia is the largest commercial port in the
country and was built with American support during World War II.
The Liberian state telecommunications authority has set up a landline network, but it is considered to be very susceptible to interference. Almost the entire country is now covered by mobile networks. Internet cafes have been opened in all major cities, but the transmission speed is extremely low. It is extremely rare to see small wooden houses in the streets where a public telephone connection has been installed and an operator offers to make connections or receive calls almost day and night for a fee.
The construction of the energy supply network in Liberia began in the
1940s. It was initially limited to the coastal region, where the
industrial and port facilities, administrative and commercial
facilities, hospitals and hotels were available as reliable consumers.
The agricultural regions in the hinterland were only connected to the
power grid sporadically. The largest investment in the energy network to
date was the construction of the Mount Coffee Dam. This hydroelectric
power station was put into operation in 1966, but was destroyed in the
civil war in 1990. In the mid-1970s, the power station was expanded to
four generators and the outdated transmission lines were replaced. This
has been out of service for years. Those in the population who can
afford it buy tiny to medium-sized small generators for their private
homes or businesses. There has been no municipal power grid in the
entire country since the end of the war. Even government buildings use
their own systems that only supply the respective building.
In
2005, 320,000,000 kWh of electrical energy were generated, which is less
than half of the energy production from 20 years ago. The infrastructure
was damaged during the civil war and new construction was delayed. With
support from abroad, the Mount Coffee Dam power plant was able to be put
back into operation at the end of 2016.
One of Liberia's biggest problems is the lack of infrastructure for waste disposal. Even in the metropolitan area of Monrovia, there are only eight garbage trucks. Controlled dumping of municipal waste has been taking place on the main streets of Monrovia since spring 2012. A second aspect of this problem is the enormous rainfall: the rainwater is contaminated in the garbage heaps and spreads, along with some of the waste, in the city center. Due to the lack of sanitary conditions, outbreaks of infectious diseases and epidemics are to be expected.