Liberia (2001) | Martinique (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 department of France) |
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: 22.4% (male 49,112/female 47,697)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 145,531/female 145,250) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 20,423/female 24,887) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
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
over 3,047 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
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
111,370 sq km land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly more than six 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. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 46.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
Capital | Monrovia | Fort-de-France |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 579 km | 350 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: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) | - |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $3 billion (1999 est.) | $180 million (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department 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 department 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 department of France) |
Disputes - international | large refugee population from civil war in Sierra Leone | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $200 million pledged (1998) | NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
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 based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. |
Electricity - consumption | 401.8 million kWh (1999) | 1.095 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 432 million kWh (1999) | 1.178 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 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 | NA |
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 |
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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) | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
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 |
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (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); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $55 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
Exports - partners | Belgium 53%, Switzerland 9%, US 6%, France 4% (1999) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
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 light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; 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: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 15% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 6 30 N, 9 30 W | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | - | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
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: 2,105 km (2000) |
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 | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | $170 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Korea 30%, Italy 24%, Japan 15%, Germany 9% (1999) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
Independence | 26 July 1847 | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 132.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2000 est.) | 3.9% (1990) |
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 | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | - | 165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (1999 est.) | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
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: 10.38%
permanent crops: 9.43% other: 80.19% (2001) |
Languages | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence | French, Creole patois |
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 General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.41 years male: 49.96 years female: 52.91 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.04 years
male: 79.43 years female: 78.64 years (2005 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 |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
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.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Navy | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
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.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Liberian(s) adjective: Liberian |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
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 |
-0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (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] | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
Population | 3,225,837 (July 2001 est.) | 432,900 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.92% (2001 est.) | 0.76% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia | Fort-de-France, La Trinite, Marin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 6, shortwave 4 (1999) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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 |
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Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
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.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 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: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1997) | 172,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1995) | 319,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2000) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 6.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 70% | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | none | - |