Facts about Liberia
Liberia is a country on the Western African coast. Monrovia is the capital city as well as the largest city in the country. English is the country’s national language, and the Liberian dollar is the country’s national currency. The national name of the country is the Republic of Liberia. Similarly, “All Hail, Liberia, Hail” is the country’s national anthem, and the Cavalla River is the country’s Principle River. Black Pepper is the national flower, and the Palm tree is the national tree of Liberia. Furthermore, the Garden bulbul Pycnonotus is the country’s national bird, and the Asiatic Lion is the national animal of Liberia. Additionally, Football is the country’s national sport, and Mango is the national fruit. With these interesting facts about Liberia, let’s learn more about the history, culture, religion, people, industries, tourism, tradition, and many more.
Quick Facts about Liberia
The official name of the Country: The Republic of Liberia
Area: 111,369 km2
Population(2022): 5.26 million
Population density: 53 per kilometers Square
GDP (PPP)(2020): $6.468 Billion
GDP Per Capita (nominal): $1,413
Continent: Africa
Capital: Monrovia
Spoken Language: English, Kpelle, Bassa, Grebo, Dan, Kru, Mano, Loma, and Mandingo are some highly spoken languages in the country. 20 indigenous languages are spoken in the country.
Official Languages: English
Largest by area: 102nd largest country
Religion: Christianity: 86.2 %, Islam: 11.7%, No religion: 1.4%, Other: 0.7%.
Government: Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Currency: Liberian dollar (LRD)
Calling Code: +231
Time Zone: UTC (GMT)
Interesting Facts about Liberia
1. Bordering countries of Liberia
The country shares its land borders with three countries. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, and Ivory Coast to the east.
Further, Liberia shares its coast borders with the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest.
2. The first female African president is from Liberia
In 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf become elected as the president of Liberia. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first women president on the African continent. She is also known as the Iron Lady of Africa. She was Liberia's 27 president and served for over 12 years.
Further, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also won the Nobel peace prize in 2011.
3. Oldest republic country in all of Africa
Liberia is the oldest republic country in all of Africa. The American colonization society settled there on January 7th, 1822. And Liberia declared its independence on July 26th, 1847.
It was the only country in Africa to have gained independence without a revolt or major uprisings.
Liberia also kept and maintained its independence during the European colonial era.
4. The richest ecosystem in Africa
Liberia is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa. Sapo National park of Liberia is one of the 261 natural wonders of the world.
Further, Liberia is home to the world-famous Pygmy hippopotamus and other several animal species.
Sapo National park contains the second-largest tropical rainforest in West Africa. In this national park agriculture, construction, fishing, hunting, human settlement, and logging are prohibited.
5. Monrovia is named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe
Monrovia is the capital city of Liberia. It is founded by freed survivors of slavery from America and the Caribbeans. Initially, the city's name was Christopolis, and later the city was renamed Monroe in honor of U.S. President James Monroe. He is a prominent supporter of the colonization of Liberia and the American Colonization society.
After Washington DC, Monrovia is the second national capital to be named after a U.S. president.
6. Two Violent civil wars
Liberia had the second-highest rate of economic growth in the world during the 1950s. But due to the violent civil war, economic growth came in descending order.
After 1980, the political turmoil continued throughout the year and culminated in 2 extremely violent civil wars in 1989-1997 and 1999-2003.
Today, the country is on the right path and trying to slowly recover from its bloody past.
7. Do not use the metric system
Liberia is one of only three countries in the world that still do not use the metric system (International systems of the units or the modern form of the metric system), but imperial units.
The other two countries are Burma (Myanmar) and the United States.
8. The most fraudulent elections in world history
One of Liberia's presidents managed to break a world record but it's not something to be proud of. Charles D.B. King won the presidential elections of 1927. According to an official statement, King received 234,000 votes; however, Liberia had 15,000 registered voters at the time.
Thus, the Guinness Book of Records (1982) gave it the name of the most fraudulent elections ever reported in world history.
These are some interesting facts about Liberia.
Liberia Facts
- Liberia's name comes from the Greek word, meaning Land of the free.
- The country declares its independence on July 26, 1847.
- Liberia exports more rubber than any other country in the world.
- The Ebola virus killed eleven thousand three hundred people between 2013 to 1016 in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
- Liberia is one of the least corrupt countries in the world.
- The three largest cruise ships in the world are registered in Liberia. Also, one of every 10 ships in the entire world is registered in Liberia.
- Liberia is one of the youngest countries in the world. The average citizen is 17.9 years.
- Liberia is the 10th cleanest country in the world. It is the cleanest country in Africa. Also, it is cleaner than Spain.
- Liberians smoke less than almost any country in the world. Less than 1% of people smoke in the country.
- The Centennial Pavilion is a landmark in Liberian national life.
- George Weah is the first African player to win the Ballon D'or is from Liberia.
These are some Liberia facts.
Some of the interesting facts about Liberia
- Robertsport in Liberia is the best Surfing spot in all of Africa. It has some of the best places to surf in the entire world.
- Liberia is home to the pygmy hippopotamus. It is also home to around 700 species of birds.
- Liberia is one of the best countries to visit in Africa.
- The Flag of Liberia is very similar to the United States flag.
- The local's people of Liberia are so nice and friendly.
- Liberia is an example that you don't need a ton of money to be happy. The peoples of this country are happier than in other African countries.
- Liberia has 580 kilometers (360 miles) of Coastline.
- The country is one of the good fishing destinations.
- Liberia's firestone rubber plantation is the world's largest rubber plantation.
- Liberia is one of the biggest exporters of iron ore in Africa.
- The longest river in Liberia is named after a fish (the cavalla river).
- After Haiti, Liberia is the world's second the Black Republic.
- Liberia has the highest number of presidents in Africa of all time.
These are some interesting facts about Liberia.
In Conclusion
In this article, we discussed some interesting facts about Liberia. After reading this article, you might gain some knowledge about Liberia. If you have still queries and want to learn more about the country, then please comment to us. Further, if you already visited this beautiful country, and want to add more interesting facts to this article that are not included in the article above, please comment to us. Also, share your take on this article.
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