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 Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand
Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe
Independence:
26 July 1847
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Constitution:
6 January 1986
Legal system:
dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for
the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal
practices for indigenous sector
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
Chairman of the Council of State David KPOMAKPOR (since March 1994);
election last held on 15 October 1985 (next scheduled to be held
September 1994); results - Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%,
Jackson DOE (LAP) 26.4%, other 22.7%; note - President Doe was killed
by rebel forces on 9 September 1990
cabinet:
Cabinet; selected by the leaders of the major factions in the civil
war
note:
a transitional coalition government was formed as part of a July 1993
Cotonou Peace Treaty negotiated under UN auspices by the leaders of
the major factions in the civil war; elections now scheduled for
September 1994
Legislative branch:
unicameral Transitional Legislative Assembly, the members of which are
appointed by the leaders of the major factions in the civil war
note:
the former bicameral legislature no longer exists and there is no
assurance that it will ever be reconstituted
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), Augustus CAINE, chairman;
Liberian Action Party (LAP), Emmanuel KOROMAH, chairman; Unity Party
(UP), Joseph KOFA, chairman; United People's Party (UPP), Gabriel
Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman; National Patriotic Party (NPP), Charles
TAYLOR, chairman; Liberian Peoples Party (LPP), Dusty WOLOKOLLIE,
chairman
Member of:
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user),
INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Konah K. BLACKETT
chancery:
5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
telephone:
(202) 723-0437 through 0440
consulate(s) general:
New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
(vacant); Charge d' Affaires William P. TWADDELL
embassy:
111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia
mailing address:
P. O. Box 100098, Mamba Point, Monrovia, or APO AE 09813
telephone:
[231] 222991 through 222994
FAX:
[231] 223710
Flag:
11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with
white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the
upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

@Liberia, Economy

Overview:
Civil war since 1990 has destroyed much of Liberia's economy,
especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Businessmen have
fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Many will
not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and
a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and
exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign
owned, had been small in scope. Political instability threatens
prospects for economic reconstruction and repatriation of some 750,000
Liberian refugees who have fled to neighboring countries. The
political impasse between the interim government and rebel leader
Charles Taylor has prevented restoration of normal economic life,
including the re-establishment of a strong central government with
effective economic development programs.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
1.5% (1988)
National product per capita:
$800 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
43% urban (1988)
Budget:
revenues:
$242.1 million
expenditures:
$435.4 million, including capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989
est.)
Exports:
$505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.)
commodities:
iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
partners:
US, EC, Netherlands
Imports:
$394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.)
commodities:
rice, mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment,
other foodstuffs
partners:
US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS
External debt:
$2.1 billion (September 1993 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA% (1993-94); much industrial damage caused by factional
warfare
Electricity:
capacity:
410,000 kW
production:
750 million kWh
consumption per capita:
275 kWh (1991)
Industries:
rubber processing, food processing, construction materials, furniture,
palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)
Agriculture:
accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and forestry);
principal products - rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava,
palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, goats; not self-sufficient in
food, imports 25% of rice consumption
Illicit drugs:
increasingly a transshipment point for heroin and cocaine
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $665 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $870
million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $25 million; Communist
countries (1970-89), $77 million
Currency:
1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1 - 1.00 (officially fixed rate since
1940); unofficial parallel exchange rate of L$7 = US$1, January 1992
(unofficial rate floats against the US dollar)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

@Liberia, Communications

Railroads:
480 km total; 328 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 152 km 1.067-meter
narrow gauge; all lines single track; rail systems owned and operated
by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian
Government
Highways:
total:
10,087 km
paved:
603 km
unpaved:
gravel 5,171 km (includes 2323km of private roads of rubber and timber
firms, open to the public); earth 4,313 km
Ports:
Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville, Harper (or Cape Palmas)
Merchant marine:
1,595 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 56,923,236 GRT/97,692,316
DWT, barge carrier 3, bulk 423, cargo 126, chemical 122, combination
bulk 30, combination ore/oil 64, container 112, liquefied gas 67, oil
tanker 468, passenger 32, refrigerated cargo 61, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 19, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier
59
note:
a flag of convenience registry; all ships are foreign owned; the top 4
owning flags are US 14%, Japan 13%, Norway 10%, and Hong Kong 8%
Airports:
total:
59
usable:
41
with permanent-surface runways:
2
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
4
Telecommunications:
telephone and telegraph service via radio relay network; main center
is Monrovia; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT earth station; most telecommunications services inoperable
due to insurgency movement

@Liberia, Defense Forces

Branches:
the ultimate structure of the Liberian military force will depend on
who is the victor in the ongoing civil war
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 707,927; fit for military service 377,950
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP

@Libya, Geography

Location:
Northern Africa, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea,
between Egypt and Tunisia
Map references:
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
1,759,540 sq km
land area:
1,759,540 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries:
total 4,383 km, Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger
354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline:
1,770 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm
Gulf of Sidra closing line:
32 degrees 30 minutes north
International disputes:
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that
the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad,
and that Libya must withdraw from it by 31 May 1994; Libya had
withdrawn its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but as of June
1994 still maintained an airfield in the disputed area; maritime
boundary dispute with Tunisia; claims part of northern Niger and part
of southeastern Algeria
Climate:
Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain:
mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
8%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
90%
Irrigated land:
2,420 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
desertification; sparse natural surface-water resources; the Great
Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the
world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the
Sahara to coastal cities
natural hazards:
hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four
days in spring and fall
international agreements:
party to - Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection;
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the
Sea

@Libya, People