[87], Parallel to the administrative divisions of the country are the local and municipal divisions. From its original name, it was first renamed . [25], On July 26, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution. [40] In international affairs, it was a founding member of the United Nations, a vocal critic of South African apartheid,[41] a proponent of African independence from European colonial powers, and a supporter of Pan-Africanism. Liberia has one of the highest incidences of sexual violence against women in the world. [103] This score represented a significant improvement since 2007, when the country scored 2.1 and ranked 150th of 180 countries. The Republic of Liberia is a country located in western Africa off the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. [16] Shortly after the Mane conquered the region, the Vai people of the former Mali Empire immigrated into the Grand Cape Mount County region. The country's capital and largest city is Monrovia. [68], Following a peak in growth in 1979, the Liberian economy began a steady decline due to economic mismanagement after the 1980 coup. Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. [125] Palm oil companies like Sime Darby (Malaysia) and Golden Veroleum (USA) have been accused of destroying livelihoods and displacing local communities, enabled by government concessions. [30][31][32], The leadership of the new nation consisted largely of the Americo-Liberians, who initially established political and economic dominance in the coastal areas that the ACS had purchased; they maintained relations with U.S. contacts in developing these areas and the resulting trade. [57] The 2005 elections marked the first time that the president's party did not gain a majority of seats in the Legislature. Liberian independence was proclaimed in 1847, and its boundaries were expanded. Give their locations, and length in miles. Professor of Geography, East Carolina College, Greenville, North Carolina. These features may represent social networks or some form of cultural diffusion allied to changing ecological conditions. Liberia - Wikipedia [113][114], Current impediments to growth include a small domestic market, lack of adequate infrastructure, high transportation costs, poor trade links with neighboring countries and the high dollarization of the economy. [170] In some areas primary and secondary education is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 16, though enforcement of attendance is lax. [214], Liberia has not yet completely adopted the International System of Units (abbreviated as the SI, also called the metric system). The University of Liberia is the country's largest and oldest university. In 2008, 0.5% identified adherence to traditional indigenous religions, while 1.5% claimed no religion. [19] Similar state-based organizations established colonies in Mississippi-in-Africa, Kentucky in Africa, and the Republic of Maryland, which Liberia later annexed. Sapo National Park, established in 1983 in the countrys southeast, was expanded in 2003 to encompass an area of some 700 square miles (1,800 square km). Edward Wilmot Blyden, Bai T. Moore, Roland T. Dempster and Wilton G. S. Sankawulo are among Liberia's more prominent authors. Olukoju, Ayodeji. [86] As of 2006[update], Liberia had the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum). [159] As revealed in the 2008 census, Monrovia is more than four times more populous than all the county capitals combined. [77], Bushmeat is widely eaten in Liberia, and is considered a delicacy. St. Clements University College (Liberia), a private higher education institution that was founded in 2008. Gbarpolu is the newest county, created in 2001. There are many reptiles, including three types of crocodiles and at least eight poisonous snakes. The 1988 Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act designated the metric system as "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce," but in practice the system is in mixed usage, with the population generally preferring customary units and industries either fully metric or mixed. One of the most well-known Liberian quilters was Martha Ann Ricks,[203] who presented a quilt featuring the famed Liberian coffee tree to Queen Victoria in 1892. GeoNames ID. Parallel to the coastal plains is a region of rolling hills some 20 miles (32 km) wide with an average maximum elevation of about 300 feet (90 metres); a few hills rise as high as 500 feet (150 metres). [174] Since 2006, the government has also opened community colleges in Buchanan, Sanniquellie, and Voinjama. [114] Following Sirleaf's inauguration in 2006, Liberia signed several multi-billion-dollar concession agreements in the iron ore and palm oil industries with numerous multinational corporations, including ArcelorMittal, BHP and Sime Darby. It lies between latitudes 4 and 9N, and longitudes 7 and 12W. Liberia was the first African republic to proclaim its independence and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. [147] Construction of three new heavy fuel oil power plants is expected to boost electrical capacity by 38 MW. [63], Following the 2017 Liberian general election, former professional football striker George Weah, one of the greatest African players of all time,[64][65] was sworn in as president on January 22, 2018, becoming the fourth youngest serving president in Africa. Other major rivers are the Lofa in the north and, moving southward, the St. Paul, St. John, and Cestos, all of which parallel each other and flow perpendicular to the coast. Shallow, coarse lithosols, in the hilly and rugged terrain, cover about one-eighth of the land. [7] Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia. Located on Capitol Hill, the school has approximately 2,000 students. [105], The Central Bank of Liberia is responsible for printing and maintaining the Liberian dollar, Liberia's primary currency (the United States dollar is also legal tender in Liberia). Waterfalls, rapids, rocks, and sandbanks occur frequently in upstream sections of most rivers, inhibiting river traffic, and limiting navigation inland to short distances. The first town (1822) was on Providence Island at the mouth of the Mesurado River. Subsequent Portuguese explorers named Grand Cape Mount, Cape Mesurado (Montserrado), and Cape Palmas, all . Today it has six colleges, including a medical school and the nation's only law school, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. Making Liberia safe: transformation of the national security sector. [76] After international protests, many of those logging permits were canceled. Monrovia is the largest and capital city of Liberia. [26][27] On August 24, Liberia adopted its 11-striped national flag. [167] A multitude of diverse Protestant confessions such as Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) denominations form the bulk of the Christian population, followed by adherents of the Catholic Church and other non-Protestant Christians. [1] The vice president serves as the President of the Senate, with a President pro tempore serving in their absence. These resulted in the deaths of 250,000 people (about 8% of the population) and the displacement of many more, with Liberia's economy shrinking by 90%. PDF A Brief History of Liberia - International Center for Transitional Justice
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