Liberia (2001) | Reunion (2001) | |
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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); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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:
32.07% (male 120,259; female 114,669) 15-64 years: 62.25% (male 224,347; female 231,698) 65 years and over: 5.68% (male 16,892; female 24,705) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 46 (2000 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 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.) |
- |
Area | total:
111,370 sq km land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km |
total:
2,512 sq km land: 2,502 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 46.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues:
NA expenditures: NA |
Capital | Monrovia | Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 579 km | 207 km |
Constitution | 6 January 1986 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Liberia conventional short form: Liberia |
conventional long form:
Department of Reunion conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | Liberian dollar (LRD) | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 16.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3 billion (1999 est.) | $NA |
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 subsidies from France |
Economy - overview | A civil war in 1989-96 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Some returned during 1997. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. The democratically elected government, installed in August 1997, inherited massive international debts and currently relies on revenues from its maritime registry to provide the bulk of its foreign exchange earnings. The restoration of the infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies of the new government, including the encouragement of foreign investment. Recent growth has been from a low base, and continued growth will require major policy successes. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 401.8 million kWh (1999) | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 432 million kWh (1999) | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
54.55% hydro: 45.45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 |
- |
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) | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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 - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (since 2 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2003) election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1% |
chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Robert POMMIES (since NA 1996) head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the 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.) | $214 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | Belgium 53%, Switzerland 9%, US 6%, France 4% (1999) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.35 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
60% industry: 10% services: 30% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 15% (2000 est.) | 3.8% (1998 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 30 N, 9 30 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
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:
2,724 km paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1600 km by local authorities (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | increasingly a transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets | - |
Imports | $170 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South Korea 30%, Italy 24%, Japan 15%, Germany 9% (1999) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) |
Independence | 26 July 1847 | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 132.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 8.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 60 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | - | 261,000 (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services 22% (1999 est.) | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) |
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:
17% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 35% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence | French (official), Creole widely used |
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 law |
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 (47 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 7, UDF 8, PS 6, RPR 4, various right-wing candidates 15, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held 14 April 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 1, PCR 2; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 3, PS 1, and RPR-UDF 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.41 years male: 49.96 years female: 52.91 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
72.93 years male: 69.53 years female: 76.49 years (2001 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: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
1,478 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 49,456,361 GRT/76,620,648 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 324, cargo 97, chemical tanker 163, combination bulk 20, combination ore/oil 38, container 245, liquefied gas 97, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 24, petroleum tanker 310, refrigerated cargo 74, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 45 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 8, Australia 1, Ashmore and Cartier Islands 1, Austria 5, Bermuda 5, Belgium 5, Burma 1, Brazil 8, Canada 1, China 28, Chile 7, Costa Rica 8, Cyprus 27, Denmark 4, Ecuador 1, Germany 117, Greece 83, Hong Kong 54, Croatia 9, Indonesia 2, India 8, Israel 1, Italy 8, Japan 85, South Korea 8, Latvia 15, Monaco 28, Mexico 6, Malaysia 1, Nigeria 1, Netherlands 7, Norway 86, Netherlands Antilles 1, NZ 1, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Philippines 1, Russia 22, Saudi Arabia 20, South Africa 1, Slovenia 1, Singapore 30, Spain 1, Sweden 8, Switzerland 23, UAE 5, Taiwan 10, UK 15, US 85, Uruguay 1, Vietnam 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Navy | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and 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.) |
males age 15-49:
190,846 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
385,460 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
97,497 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
6,243 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 July (1847) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Liberian(s) adjective: Liberian |
noun:
Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower | fish, arable land, hydropower |
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 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,225,837 (July 2001 est.) | 732,570 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.92% (2001 est.) | 1.57% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 6, shortwave 4 (1999) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 790,000 (1997) | 173,000 (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 |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telephone and telegraph service via microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1997) | 236,500 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1995) | 85,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2000) | 22 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 70% | 42.8% (1998) |
Waterways | none | none |