Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold
Land use: arable land: 1% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 59% forests and woodland: 18% other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara
(December to March)
Environment-current issues: tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of rivers from the dumping of iron ore tailings and of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
Environment-international agreements: party to: Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
@Liberia:People
Population: 2,771,901 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (male 622,797; female 616,902) 15-64 years: 52% (male 734,425; female 700,124) 65 years and over: 3% (male 47,099; female 50,554) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 5.76% (1998 est.)