A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

geography and peopleS 1
Liberia is located on the Atlantic coast in West Africa and encompasses a territory of 43,000 square
miles. 1 The country shares borders with Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, and Côte
d’Ivoire to the east. 2 The country is rich in natural resources including iron ore, timber, diamonds, and
gold, and provides a favorable environment for growing rubber trees. 3
Liberia is divided into 15 counties whose territories correspond in some measure to territories claimed
by particular Liberian ethnic groups. 4 The population in 2008 was estimated to be 3,489,072. 5 English
is the official language of Liberia, although more than 20 indigenous languages and a form of English
known as Liberian English are also widely used. 6
Although Liberia is a small country, it has an ethnically diverse population. Ethnicity in Liberia,
sometimes referred to as tribal identity, is a complex and often artificial notion, 7 just as it is in other
parts of Africa and the world. 8 At least 95 percent of the population is of indigenous African origin. 9 A
defining feature of Liberia’s recent social, cultural, and political history is that a small proportion, less
than five percent, of its population consists of descendants of repatriated Africans, including freed
1 The audience for this report includes some individuals who have in-depth personal knowledge of Liberia and others
who may be learning for the first time about Liberia, including its people, history, and the recent conflict. Accordingly, the
following background and historical overview provides context for later sections of this report. This information is not
intended as a definitive discussion of Liberian history and culture.
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