showers
Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and
low mountains in northeast
Natural resources:
iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold
Land use:
arable land:
1%
permanent crops:
3%
meadows and pastures:
2%
forest and woodland:
39%
other:
55%
Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to deforestation;
soil erosion; loss of biodiversity
natural hazards:
dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation

@Liberia, People

Population:
2,972,766 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.33% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
43.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
12.34 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
113.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
57.73 years
male:
55.27 years
female:
60.25 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.36 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Liberian(s)
adjective:
Liberian
Ethnic divisions:
indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru,
Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella),
Americo-Liberians 5% (descendants of repatriated slaves)
Religions:
traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%
Languages:
English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group about 20 local
languages come from this group
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
40%
male:
50%
female:
29%
Labor force:
510,000 including 220,000 in the monetary economy
by occupation:
agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and commerce 4.5%, other
14.2%
note:
non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and
engineering jobs; 52% of population of working age

@Liberia, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Liberia
conventional short form:
Liberia
Digraph:
LI
Type:
republic
Capital:
Monrovia
Administrative divisions:
13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Cape Mo