Liberia (2003) | Serbia and Montenegro (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gparbolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe | 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo* (currently under UN administration pending resolution of its future status), Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.4% (male 724,960; female 716,831)
15-64 years: 53% (male 858,191; female 898,851) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 59,539; female 58,804) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 1,027,479; female 956,681)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 3,602,959; female 3,627,616) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 693,929; female 917,236) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber | cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 47 (2002) | 45 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
total: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
total: 102,350 sq km
land: 102,136 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Kentucky |
Background | Eight years of civil strife were brought to a close in 1997 when free and open presidential and legislative elections were held. President TAYLOR now holds strong executive power with no real political opposition. 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. In 2001, the UN imposed sanctions on Liberian diamonds, along with an arms embargo and a travel ban on government officials, for Liberia's support of the rebel insurgency in Sierra Leone. Renewed rebel activity has further eroded stability and economic activity. A regional peace initiative commenced in the spring of 2003 but was disrupted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) indictment of President TAYLOR on war crimes charges. | The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought each other as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government and its successors (he died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were recognized as independent states in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in April 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and led to Yugoslavia being ousted from the UN in 1992. In 1998-99, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of a NATO-led force (KFOR), in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension from the UN was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, pending a determination by the international community of its future status. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro includes a provision that allows either republic to hold a referendum after three years that would allow for their independence from the state union. |
Birth rate | 45.28 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.13 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.4 million
expenditures: $90.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $8.668 billion
expenditures: $9.633 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Monrovia | Belgrade |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland |
Coastline | 579 km | 199 km |
Constitution | 6 January 1986 | 4 February 2003 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
conventional long form: Serbia and Montenegro
conventional short form: none local long form: Srbija i Crna Gora local short form: none former: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia abbreviation: SCG |
Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) | in Serbia the Serbian dinar (CSD) is legal tender, but the euro (EUR) is the de facto currency; in Montenegro and Kosovo the euro is legal tender. (2004) |
Death rate | 17.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.1 billion (2000 est.) | $14.01 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John William BLANEY III
embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 226-370 through 226-380 FAX: [231] 226-148 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael C. POLT
embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070 telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344 FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230 consulate(s): Podgorica note: there is a branch office in Pristina at 30 Nazim Hikmet 38000 Pristina, Kosovo; telephone: [381](38)549-516; FAX: [381](38)549-890 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affaires Aaron B. KOLLIE
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan VUJACIC
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933 consulate(s) general: Chicago |
Disputes - international | rebels and refugees contribute to border instabilities with Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, and Guinea; the Ivorian Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivorian rebels | the future status of Kosovo remains an unresolved issue in South Central Europe with Kosovo Albanians overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo independence; the international community has agreed to begin a process to determine final status only after significant progress has been made in solidifying multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo as outlined in the policy of "standards before status"; the Contact group (including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia) will review progress on the UNMIK standard around mid-2005; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O.M. boundary in accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transfers on net a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; Serbia and Montenegro have delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute |
Economic aid - recipient | $94 million (1999) | $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years) |
Economy - overview | Civil war and misgovernment have destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen have fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some have returned; many will not. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The restoration of the infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the settlement of civil warfare, the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies, including the encouragement of foreign investment, and generous support from donor countries. | MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it wrote off 66% of the debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is largely autonomous under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is greatly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, legal uncertainty over property rights, and scarcity of foreign-investment are holding back Serbia and Montenegro's economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe unemployment remains a key political economic problem. |
Electricity - consumption | 435.9 million kWh (2001) | 32.37 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 446 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.33 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 468.8 million kWh (2001) | 31.71 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
Environment - current issues | tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube |
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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | indigenous African tribes 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), 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) | Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2002), 48.58 (2001), 40.95 (2000), 41.9 (1999), 41.51 (1998)
note: until December 1997, rates were based on a fixed relationship with the US dollar; beginning in January 1998, rates are market determined |
new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); 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 2005) 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%; note - Taylor stepped down in August 2003 note:: a UN-brokered cease fire among waring factions and the Liberian government resulted in the August 2003 resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR; a jointly agreed upon replacement, President Gyude BRYANT, assumed office as chairman of the National Transitional Government on 14 October 2003 |
chief of state: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Ministries act as Cabinet elections: president elected by the Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 March 2003 (next to be held 2007) election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; vote was Svetozar MAROVIC 65, other 47 |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee | manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials |
Exports - partners | Germany 54.8%, Poland 8.9%, France 8.5%, China 4.9%, Italy 4.5%, US 4.2% (2002) | Italy 31.6%, Germany 17.5%, Austria 6.2%, France 6%, Greece 5.4%, Slovenia 4.1%, Hungary 4% (2003) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.116 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23.89 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 74%
industry: 7% services: 19% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 28.2% services: 56.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 1.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 30 N, 9 30 W | 44 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Heliports | - | 4 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 10,600 km
paved: 657 km unpaved: 9,943 km (1999 est.) |
total: 49,805 km
paved: 31,029 km (including 560 km of expressways) unpaved: 18,776 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials |
Imports - partners | South Korea 30.3%, Japan 19.1%, Germany 15.6%, France 9.1%, Singapore 7.9% (2002) | Germany 18.8%, Italy 16.3%, Austria 8.1%, Slovenia 6.6%, Hungary 5.8%, France 4.8%, Bulgaria 4.6%, Greece 4.4% (2003) |
Independence | 26 July 1847 | 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY - now Serbia and Montenegro - formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
Industries | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds | machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 132.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 139.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 125.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 13.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2002 est.) | 11.2% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO | BSEC, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 570 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | The Court of Serbia and Montenegro; judges are elected by the Serbia and Montenegro Parliament for six-year terms
note: since the promulgation of the 2003 Constitution, the Federal Court has constitutional and administrative functions; it has an equal number of judges from each republic |
Labor force | - | 2.93 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (2000 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
total: 2,246 km
border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.97%
permanent crops: 2.08% other: 95.95% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 33.35%
permanent crops: 3.2% other: 63.45% (2001) |
Languages | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
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 | based on civil law 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 NA 2006); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held 14 October 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 |
unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the Constitutional Charter calls for direct elections
elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Serbian parties: SRS 30, DSS 20, DS 13, G17 Plus 12, SPO-NS 8, SPS 8; Montenegrin parties: DPS 15, SNP 9, SDP 4, DSS 3, NS 2, LSCG 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 48.15 years
male: 47.03 years female: 49.3 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.4 years
male: 71.9 years female: 77.12 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% note: (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 NM | NA |
Merchant marine | total: 1,432 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 48,700,851 GRT/75,408,994 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 282, cargo 80, chemical tanker 163, combination bulk 12, combination ore/oil 24, container 357, liquefied gas 82, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 286, refrigerated cargo 60, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 37 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 9, Australia 2, Austria 15, Belgium 9, Brazil 5, Canada 4, Cayman Islands 1, Chile 7, China 39, Croatia 11, Denmark 4, Ecuador 1, Estonia 1, Germany 437, Greece 154, Hong Kong 69, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 90, Latvia 20, Isle of Man 5, Monaco 56, Netherlands 12, NZ 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 103, Pakistan 1, Portugal 5, Russia 66, Saudi Arabia 21, Singapore 20, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, South Korea 10, Spain 2, Sweden 9, Switzerland 17, Taiwan 29, Turkey 3, Ukraine 4, UAE 12, UK 39, US 113, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $7.8 million (FY02) | $654 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY02) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 735,481 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,718,234 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 396,725 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,184,937 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 81,245 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) | National Day, 27 April |
Nationality | noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian |
noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower | oil, gas, coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | -10.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: 200,000 Liberian refugees are in surrounding countries though slowly returning (2003 est.) |
-1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,177 km; oil 393 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Political Parties (a coalition of LAP and LUP) [leader NA]; All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; Liberia Unification Party or LUP [leader NA]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE] | Democratic Party or DS [Boris TADIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Bozidar BOJOVIC]; G17 Plus [Miroljub LABUS]; New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LSCG [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Dragan SOC]; Power of Serbia Movement or PSS [Bogoljub KARIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Ivica DACIC, president of Main Board]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC]
note: the following political parties participate in elections and institutions only in Kosovo, which has been governed by the UN under UNSCR 1244 since 1999: Albanian Christian Democratic Party or PSHDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Citizens' Initiative of Serbia or GIS [Slavisa PETKOVIC]; Democratic Ashkali Party of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit RRAHMANI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Justice Party of PD [Sylejman CERKEZI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR]; Liberal Party of Kosovo or PLK [Gjergj DEDAJ]; Ora [Veton SURROI]; New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Bislim HOTI]; Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Numan BALIC]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]; Prizren-Dragas Initiative or PDI [Ismajl KARADOLAMI]; Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija or SLKM [Oliver IVANOVIC]; United Roma Party of Kosovo or PREBK [Haxhi Zylfi MERXHA]; Vakat [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Political Council for Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; Group for Changes of Montenegro or GZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC] |
Population | 3,317,176 (July 2003 est.) | 10,825,900 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% | 30% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.67% (2003 est.) | 0.03% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia, Robertsport | Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 490 km
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: none of the railways are in operation (2002) |
total: 4,380 km
standard gauge: 4,380 km 1.435-m gauge (1,445 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 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 (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 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 - 381; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,700 (2000) | 2,611,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1998) | 3,634,600 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001) | more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.23 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 34.5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 587 km
note: Danube River traffic delayed by pontoon bridge at Novi Sad; plan to replace by summer of 2005 (2004) |