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Compare Southern Ocean (2005) - Liberia (2002)

Compare Southern Ocean (2005) z Liberia (2002)

 Southern Ocean (2005)Liberia (2002)
 Southern OceanLiberia
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
Age structure - 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 - rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber
Airports - 47 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways - 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: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
total: 111,370 sq km


land: 96,320 sq km


water: 15,050 sq km
Area - comparative slightly more than twice the size of the US slightly larger than Tennessee
Background A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). 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 - 45.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget - revenues: $85.4 million


expenditures: $90.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Capital - Monrovia
Climate sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Coastline 17,968 km 579 km
Constitution - 6 January 1986
Country name - conventional long form: Republic of Liberia


conventional short form: Liberia
Currency - Liberian dollar (LRD)
Death rate - 16.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external - $2.1 billion (2000 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
Diplomatic representation in the US - 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 Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west rebels and refugees contribute to border instabilities with Sierra Leone
Economic aid - recipient - $94 million (1999)
Economy - overview Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed 112,934 metric tons, of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer 12,248 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 the previous year. 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 - 418.5 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports - 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production - 450 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m
Environment - current issues increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
Environment - international agreements the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
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, 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 - 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: 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 - $55 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities - rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee
Exports - partners - Belgium 38.5%, Germany 17.6%, Italy 6.0%, US 5.8% (2000)
Fiscal 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
GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.6 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture: 60%


industry: 10%


services: 30% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate - 5% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude 6 30 N, 9 30 W
Geography - note the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds 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: 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%
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 - $170 million f.o.b. (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities - fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs
Imports - partners - France 29.1%, South Korea 20.6%, Japan 15.8%, Singapore 8.4% (2000)
Independence - 26 July 1847
Industrial production growth rate - NA
Industries - rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds
Infant mortality rate - 130.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) - 8% (2001 est.)
International organization participation - 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 - 30 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries - total: 1,585 km


border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km
Land use - arable land: 1.97%


permanent crops: 2.08%


other: 95.95% (1998 est.)
Languages - English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
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
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 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: 51.8 years


male: 50.33 years


female: 53.33 years (2002 est.)
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
Location body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Map references Antarctic Region Africa
Maritime claims - 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 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 - Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Nationality - noun: Liberian(s)


adjective: Liberian
Natural hazards huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)
Natural resources probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
Net migration rate - -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 - 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 - NA
Population - 3,288,198 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line - 80%
Population growth rate - 1.91% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica


note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers (see Article 7)
Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia
Radio broadcast stations - 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 - indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%
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: 1.02 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage - 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)
Telephones - main lines in use - 6,700 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular - 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations - 1 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001)
Terrain the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
Total fertility rate - 6.29 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Transportation - note Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal -
Unemployment rate - 70%
Waterways - none
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