Africa A to Z: Continental and Country Profiles: Third Edition

Liberia

COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z Africa Institute of South Africa | Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles 231 Liberia Orientation Liberia lies on Western Africa’s Atlantic coast, between Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Its coastline of some 600 km is fairly straight with shallow mangrovefringed lagoons and no natural harbours. From the broad coastal plain the land rises to a plateau with low hills and mountain ranges. The plateau is dissected by deep river valleys and is covered by evergreen forest. On the country’s borders with Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire are high mountain ranges, with Mount Nimba (1 752 m), in Guinea, the highest peak. The rugged Nimba Mountains have rich iron ore deposits and diamonds and gold are extracted from the river valleys. The stretch of coastline from Monrovia (Liberia’s capital) to Sierra Leone and Guinea is among the wettest places on earth. The climate is hot and humid, with a rainy season lasting from April to November. Annual rainfall varies from over 5 000 mm at Monrovia to about 2 000 mm inland. In the southeast rainfall is somewhat lower and there are more dry spells. People There are some 30 ethnic groups belonging to the Atlantic, Mande and Kru linguistic groups. Speaking Atlantic Mel languages, the Goba and the Kissi peoples live in northern Liberia, extending into Guinea. Living around the Bong Mountains in the north-central part of the country, the Mande-speaking Kpelle are the country’s largest single group, accounting for about one- fifth of the total population. Other Mande peoples are the Gio and the Mano, living in the foothills of the Nimba Mountains, as well as the Mende along the Mano River that forms the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. Also associated with the Mande are the small Vai group, living around Robertsport at the northern end of the coastal strip. The speakers of Kru (Kruan) languages, accounting for about a third of the total population, are distributed across the southern section of Liberia. The largest single Kru group are the Bassa, living between the St John and Cess rivers. Predominating in the Zwedru area, in the south, are the Krahn people, and along the coast the seafaring Kru whose name corresponds with the broader linguistic grouping. The Americo-Liberians, who dominated the country’s politics for 160 years, account for about 3% of the total population; they are mainly concentrated in Monrovia and other coastal centres. There are also small groups of Lebanese COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z 232 Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles | Africa Institute of South Africa and Ful (Fulani) in the business centres, making a living from trading. English is the official language, though a creolised version of American English (Merico) is the mother tongue of many Americo-Liberians and has become a major lingua franca. A substantial part of the population profess traditional ethnic faiths; about 30% are Muslims, mainly in the north, and 10% Christians, mainly in Monrovia and the other coastal towns. Over half the population is urbanised, with most of them concentrated in Monrovia which is the country ’s only city. As thousands of refugees sought refuge in Monrovia during the many years of civil war, the city’s population could at present be over 1.5 million. Economy Liberia’s economy has been destroyed by the civil wars that devastated the country from 1990 to 2003. Although Liberia is fairly well endowed with natural resources, its people are now among the poorest in the world. Natural rubber has been produced in the country since the early 20th century. Iron ore production from mines in the foothills of the Nimba Mountains came to a halt during the civil war. Large foreign investment is needed for the rehabilitation of the destroyed iron ore mines. The country now depends on timber from its natural forests for most of its foreign earnings. However, over-exploitation of the forests presents a grave threat to this resource. Agriculture, fishing and forestry accounted for three- quarters of the country’s meagre GDP of US$0.5 billion in 2002. The bulk of the economically active population subsist on agriculture but the sector produces insufficient food, especially of rice, the staple food. Industrial rubber is produced on large estates and smallholdings and is the country’s second most important export, after timber. The largest rubber plantation in the world, owned by Japan’s Bridgestone Company (formerly Firestone), is...