Liberia - Tourism and Travel

The Republic of Liberia is located in West Africa, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

It has an area of 43,000 square miles (111,369 square kilometers).

Liberia was founded by freed African-American slaves who arrived in 1822. Liberia became an independent country in 1847.

The capital of Liberia is Monrovia.

Liberia has mangrove swamps along its coast.

Further inland, there is a forested plateau.

There are highlands along the border with Guinea, which is to the north.

Liberia has a hot climate. There are heavy rains.

3,955,000 people live in Liberia. One fourth of them live along the coast.

5% of the people are Americo-Liberians (descendants of former slaves who came from America), and 95% are members of indigenous tribes.

English is the official language. Other languages spoken include Kpelle, Bassa, Vai, Kru, Grebo, Gola, Kissi and Loma.

68% of the people are Christian, 18% practice traditional religions and 14% are Muslim.

Liberia has many forests.

There are abundant mineral resources.

Important exports are diamonds, iron ore, timber and rubber.

Liberia experienced civil war between 1989 and 1997 and between 2000 and 2003. Because of the infrastructure damage caused by these wars, Liberia is now heavily dependent on foreign aid. It has a very high level of international debt.

The official currency of Liberia is the Liberian dollar, which equals 100 cents.