Norfolk Island (2005) | Liberia (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gparbolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 714,563; female 709,582)
15-64 years: 53.2% (male 854,324; female 894,753) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 57,925; female 57,051) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 47 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 111,370 sq km
land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Tennessee |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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. In 2001, the UN imposed sanctions on Liberian diamonds along with an army embargo and a travel ban on government officials for Liberia's support of the rebel insurgency in Sierra Leone. |
Birth rate | NA | 45.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $85.4 million
expenditures: $90.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Monrovia |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers |
Coastline | 32 km | 579 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 6 January 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Liberia
conventional short form: Liberia |
Currency | - | Liberian dollar (LRD) |
Death rate | NA | 16.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $2.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador William V. S. BULL
chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | rebels and refugees contribute to border instabilities with Sierra Leone |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $94 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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; 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 and timber industry 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 and containment of armed rebellion. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 418.5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 450 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage |
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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | 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) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Liberian dollars per US dollar - 46.0400 (December 2001), 48.5833 (2001), 40.9525 (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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 October 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% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | $55 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Belgium 38.5%, Germany 17.6%, Italy 6.0%, US 5.8% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.6 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 60%
industry: 10% services: 30% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 6 30 N, 9 30 W |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
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.) |
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 |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $170 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | NA | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | France 29.1%, South Korea 20.6%, Japan 15.8%, Singapore 8.4% (2000) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 26 July 1847 |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
130.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 8% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1,345 | - |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,585 km
border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 1.97%
permanent crops: 2.08% other: 95.95% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | 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 |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 51.8 years
male: 50.33 years female: 53.33 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | NA | 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 |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1,513 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,912,244 GRT/79,297,046 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 313, cargo 89, chemical tanker 167, combination bulk 16, combination ore/oil 32, container 318, liquefied gas 99, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 23, petroleum tanker 302, refrigerated cargo 69, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 42 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, Man, Isle of 5, Monaco 56, Netherlands 12, New Zealand 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, United Arab Emirates 12, United Kingdom 39, United States 113, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $7.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.3% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 729,469 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 393,028 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Liberian(s)
adjective: Liberian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
Natural resources | fish | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA | -10.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999, all Liberian refugees who had fled the domestic strife were assumed to have returned (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [George BORWAH]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian National Union or LINU [Victor MOMOH]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; National Democratic Party of Liberia or NDPL [Isaac D. DIKENAH]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Weah A. WEAH]; Reformation Alliance Party or RAP [James THOMAS]; True Whig Party or TWP [Rudolph SHERMAN]; United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles Clarke] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 3,288,198 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 80% |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 1.91% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 0, FM 7, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | - | 790,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 490 km (328 km single-track)
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: in 1989, Liberia had 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 (2001) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 6,700 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 0 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast |
Total fertility rate | NA | 6.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 70% |
Waterways | - | none |