Liberia
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Monrovia
- Population
- 5,563,541 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 111,369 sq km
- Government
- presidential republic
- Languages
- English 20% (official) and 27 indigenous languages, including Liberian English variants
- Religions
- Christian 84.9%, Muslim 12%, Traditional 0.5%, other 0.1%, none 2.6% (2022 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Kpelle 20.2%, Bassa 13.6%, Grebo 9.9%, Gio 7.9%, Mano 7.2%, Kru 5.5%, Lorma 4.8%, Krahn 4.5%, Kissi, 4.3%, Mandingo 4.2%, Vai 3.8%, Gola 3.8%, Gbandi 2.9%, Mende 1.7%, Sapo 1%, Belle 0.7%, Dey 0.3%, other Liberian ethnic group 0.4%, other African 3%, non-African 0.2% (2022 est.)
- Currency
- Liberian dollars (LRD)
- Life Expectancy
- 61.6 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .lr
- Climate
- tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
- Terrain
- mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
- Natural Resources
- iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
- Major Exports
- gold, ships, iron ore, rubber, refined petroleum (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
With 28 ethnic groups and languages, Liberia is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world. For hundreds of years, the Mali and Songhai Empires claimed most of Liberia.