phil
3rd July 2003, 09:08
LIBERIA FACTS
Area: 43,000 square miles (111,369 square kilometers); a little larger than Ohio
Capital: Monrovia (named for U.S. President James Monroe)
Population (2002 estimate): 3.3 million (95 percent indigenous people; 5 percent descendants of freed American slaves)
Languages: English is official; 16 indigenous
Literacy: 15 percent
Life expectancy: 51.4 years
Economy: Primarily agricultural (rubber, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane) with some mining (iron, diamonds, gold, tin)
Unemployment: 70 percent
Founded: 1822 by the American Colonization Society, whose goal was to resettle freed slaves in Africa.
Independence: 1847, when the American Colonization Society gave up control.
Conflict history: Country was governed by descendants of freed American slaves for 133 years until 1980 when Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group seized power in a coup. In 1989, Charles Taylor, a descendant of the freed slave ruling class, led a revolt that ultimately resulted in Doe's execution. Civil war ensued among several factions, during which an estimated 200,000 people died. The United Nations, United States, African Union and Economic Community of West African States mediated a peace of sorts in 1996. Taylor gained power in a special election in 1997. He has been indicted by a U.N. court investigating war crimes in Sierra Leone. Since 2000, his regime has been under siege by rebels who say they want a return to democracy.
Area: 43,000 square miles (111,369 square kilometers); a little larger than Ohio
Capital: Monrovia (named for U.S. President James Monroe)
Population (2002 estimate): 3.3 million (95 percent indigenous people; 5 percent descendants of freed American slaves)
Languages: English is official; 16 indigenous
Literacy: 15 percent
Life expectancy: 51.4 years
Economy: Primarily agricultural (rubber, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane) with some mining (iron, diamonds, gold, tin)
Unemployment: 70 percent
Founded: 1822 by the American Colonization Society, whose goal was to resettle freed slaves in Africa.
Independence: 1847, when the American Colonization Society gave up control.
Conflict history: Country was governed by descendants of freed American slaves for 133 years until 1980 when Samuel Doe of the Krahn ethnic group seized power in a coup. In 1989, Charles Taylor, a descendant of the freed slave ruling class, led a revolt that ultimately resulted in Doe's execution. Civil war ensued among several factions, during which an estimated 200,000 people died. The United Nations, United States, African Union and Economic Community of West African States mediated a peace of sorts in 1996. Taylor gained power in a special election in 1997. He has been indicted by a U.N. court investigating war crimes in Sierra Leone. Since 2000, his regime has been under siege by rebels who say they want a return to democracy.