Liberia (2001) | Wallis and Futuna (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three kingdoms at the second order named Alo, Sigave, Wallis |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.21% (male 698,178; female 695,599) 15-64 years: 53.34% (male 840,103; female 880,403) 65 years and over: 3.45% (male 56,073; female 55,481) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber | breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats |
Airports | 46 (2000 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
44 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
111,370 sq km land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
total: 274 sq km
land: 274 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Seven years of civil strife were brought to a close in 1996 when free and open presidential and legislative elections were held. President TAYLOR now holds strong executive power with no real political opposition. The years of fighting coupled with the flight of most businesses have disrupted formal economic activity. A still unsettled domestic security situation has slowed the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country. | Although discovered by the Dutch and the British in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the French who declared a protectorate over the islands in 1842. In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory. |
Birth rate | 46.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $17 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Monrovia | Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers | tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees C |
Coastline | 579 km | 129 km |
Constitution | 6 January 1986 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Liberia conventional short form: Liberia |
conventional long form: Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands
conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna local short form: Wallis et Futuna |
Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) | - |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $3 billion (1999 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Bismarck MYRICK embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, Monrovia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380 FAX: [231] 226-148 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador William BULL chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | large refugee population from civil war in Sierra Leone | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $200 million pledged (1998) | assistance from France |
Economy - overview | A civil war in 1989-96 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some returned during 1997. 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. The democratically elected government, installed in August 1997, inherited massive international debts and currently relies on revenues from its maritime registry to provide the bulk of its foreign exchange earnings. The restoration of the infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies of the new government, including the encouragement of foreign investment. Recent growth has been from a low base, and continued growth will require major policy successes. | The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% labor force earnings from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia. |
Electricity - consumption | 401.8 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 432 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Singavi 765 m |
Environment - current issues | tropical rain forest subject to deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage | deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion; there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
- |
Ethnic groups | indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Liberian dollars per US dollar - 39.8100 (December 2000), 41.0483 (2000), 41.9025 (1999), 41.5075 (1998), 1.0000 (officially fixed rate 1940-97); market exchange rate: Liberian dollars per US dollar - 40 (December 1998), 50 (October 1995)
note: until December 1997, rates were based on a fixed relationship with the US dollar; beginning in January 1998, rates are market determined |
Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2003) election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Administrator Xavier DE FURST (since 18 January 2005)
head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Patalione KANIMOA (since NA January 2001) cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly |
Exports | $55 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $250,000 f.o.b. (1999) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa | copra, chemicals, construction materials |
Exports - partners | Belgium 53%, Switzerland 9%, US 6%, France 4% (1999) | Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13% |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | a large white modified Maltese cross - shifted a little off center toward the fly and slightly downward - on a red background; the flag of France outlined in white on two sides is in the upper hoist quadrant; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.35 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
60% industry: 10% services: 30% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 15% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 6 30 N, 9 30 W | 13 18 S, 176 12 W |
Geography - note | - | both island groups have fringing reefs |
Highways | total:
10,600 km paved: 657 km unpaved: 9,943 km note: (there is major deterioration on all highways due to heavy rains and lack of maintenance) (1996 est.) |
total: 120 km (Ile Uvea 100 km, Ile Futuna 20 km)
paved: 16 km (all on Ile Uvea) unpaved: 104 km (Ile Uvea 84 km, Ile Futuna 20 km) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | increasingly a transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets | - |
Imports | $170 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $300,000 f.o.b. (1999) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs | chemicals, machinery, passenger ships, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Korea 30%, Italy 24%, Japan 15%, Germany 9% (1999) | France 97%, Australia 2%, New Zealand 1% |
Independence | 26 July 1847 | none (overseas territory of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds | copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber |
Infant mortality rate | 132.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO | FZ, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | none; justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu |
Labor force | - | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (1999 est.) | agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government 4% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,585 km border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 59% forests and woodland: 18% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 25% other: 70% (2001) |
Languages | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence | Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census) |
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 | French legal system |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held in NA 2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held in NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1; note - the Alliance of Political Parties was a coalition of the LAP and the Liberia Unification Party or LUP |
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 March 2002 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR and affiliates 13, Socialists and affiliates 7 note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate - elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats - RPR (now UMP) 1; French National Assembly - elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held by NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats - RPR (UMP) 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.41 years male: 49.96 years female: 52.91 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38.3% male: 53.9% female: 22.4% (1995 est.) note: these figures are increasing because of the improving school system |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50% male: 50% female: 50% (1969 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1,478 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 49,456,361 GRT/76,620,648 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 324, cargo 97, chemical tanker 163, combination bulk 20, combination ore/oil 38, container 245, liquefied gas 97, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 24, petroleum tanker 310, refrigerated cargo 74, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 45 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 8, Australia 1, Ashmore and Cartier Islands 1, Austria 5, Bermuda 5, Belgium 5, Burma 1, Brazil 8, Canada 1, China 28, Chile 7, Costa Rica 8, Cyprus 27, Denmark 4, Ecuador 1, Germany 117, Greece 83, Hong Kong 54, Croatia 9, Indonesia 2, India 8, Israel 1, Italy 8, Japan 85, South Korea 8, Latvia 15, Monaco 28, Mexico 6, Malaysia 1, Nigeria 1, Netherlands 7, Norway 86, Netherlands Antilles 1, NZ 1, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Philippines 1, Russia 22, Saudi Arabia 20, South Africa 1, Slovenia 1, Singapore 30, Spain 1, Sweden 8, Switzerland 23, UAE 5, Taiwan 10, UK 15, US 85, Uruguay 1, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,754 GRT/1,187 DWT
by type: passenger 4 foreign-owned: 4 (France 3, United States 1) (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Navy | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY98) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
715,753 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
385,460 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Liberian(s) adjective: Liberian |
noun: Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders
adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander |
Natural hazards | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) | NA |
Natural resources | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999, all Liberian refugees, who had fled the domestic strife, were assumed to have returned |
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Lusinee KAMARA]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [Cletus WOTORSON]; Liberian National Union or LINU [Henry MONIBA, chairman]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Togba-Nah TIPOTEH, chairman]; National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Isaac DAKINAH]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Charles Ghankay TAYLOR] - governing party; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Chea CHEAPOO, chairman]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [Henry Boimah FAHNBULLEH, chairman]; True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN, chairman]; United People's Party or UPP [Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman]; Unity Party or UP [Charles Clarke] | Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians) [leader NA]; Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche or MRG [leader NA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Clovis LOGOLOGOFOLAU]; Taumu'a Lelei [Soane Muni UHILA]; Union Populaire Locale or UPL [Falakiko GATA]; Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,225,837 (July 2001 est.) | 16,025 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.92% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Ports and harbors | Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia | Leava, Mata-Utu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 6, shortwave 4 (1999) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000) |
Radios | 790,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
490 km (328 km single track); note - three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with the Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two were shut down by the civil war; large sections of the rail lines have been dismantled; approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for scrap standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 99%, other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 681 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1997) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1995) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast | volcanic origin; low hills |
Total fertility rate | 6.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 70% | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |