Yearbook 2016

Liberia. In January, politician and businessman Harry Greaves was found dead on a beach in the capital, Monrovia. Greaves had previously served as advisers to Presidents Gyude Bryant and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and head of the state oil company Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC). However, after being accused of corruption, Greaves became one of the government’s strongest critics. According to countryaah, the current population of Liberia is 5,057,692. An autopsy conducted by American pathologists showed that Greaves drowned, but injuries to the body and the fact that Greaves disappeared from a hotel near the beach two days before his body was found gave rise to various rumors. However, the autopsy report showed that the injuries could very well have occurred after Greave’s death.

Liberia Population 2016

In February, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appointed his son Charles Sirleaf to the post of acting governor of the country’s central bank. This since the resignation of Governor Joseph Mills Jones to concentrate on his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election 2017. In April, a new Governor of the Central Bank, Milton Weeks, was appointed and Charles Sirleaf returned to the position of Deputy Governor. On the same day, President Johnson Sirleaf appointed a new finance minister, Boima Kamara, to replace Amara Mohamed Konneh, who was given a job at the World Bank.

According to thereligionfaqs, in May, the international organization Global Witness released a report that British mining company Sable Mining paid bribes to high-ranking politicians in Liberia with the help of Liberian lawyer Varney Sherman, who also chaired the ruling Unity Party. In this way, Sable Mining sought to pass a legislative amendment that would allow the company to have the right to mine iron ore in the northern part of the country. However, the lucrative contract did not go to the British. Among those named in the report as recipients of bribes were Fombah Sirleaf, son of the president and head of the country’s security service, House Speaker Alex Tyler and Ernest CB Jones, former rural minister. President Johnson Sirleaf responded to the corruption revelations by appointing a special investigation.

  • Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the 3-letter abbreviation of LBR stands for the nation of Liberia in geography.

In April, a new case of Ebola fever was discovered in Liberia. Together with Guinea and Sierra Leone, the country was the hardest hit during the 2014-15 epidemic. The woman, who was in her 30s, fell ill and died after a visit to Guinea. In June, the World Health Organization WHO declared Liberia free from the dreaded disease. In the same month, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first female chairman of the West African collaborative organization ECOWAS. In July, the UN force handed UNMIL the responsibility for the country’s security to the national army and the police. However, just over 1,200 UN soldiers and around 600 police officers will still be posted in Liberia in the event of a crisis.

HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

West African state. In 2005 the population reached 3,283,000 residents. It is estimated that, following the civil war that devastated the country from 1989 to 2003, about 500,000 Liberians have had to change their place of residence, and at least 200,000 have found refuge in neighboring countries; the return of the refugees to their homeland is delayed by the permanent conditions of insecurity in which the country finds itself. The American Liberians, descendants of the freed US slaves who landed in this part of Africa since 1821, make up the about 5% of the population. There are a number of descendants of Lebanese and Indians, who largely control the business sector. The largest timber concession is owned by Indonesians. There are also a number of citizens from other West African countries engaged in cross-border trade. The western community, confined to Monrovia and its immediate surroundings, has been greatly reduced following the civil war and the consequent conditions of insecurity. The average rate of population growth was in the period 2000-2005 of ‘ 1.4 %. The socio-economic indicators considered particularly expressive of the level of human development (life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, annual income per capita with purchasing power parity) place Liberia in a rearguard position in the world ranking.

Before the Civil War, the Liberian economy depended heavily on the extraction and export of iron ore. Since the eighties of the 20th century., Also as a result of the decline in demand for these minerals on the world market, the mining industry has entered into crisis, and the three major concessions (Bong Mines, Nimba and Bomi Hills), which provided 50 % of the value of exports, they gradually ceased all activities. Exports of raw wood, rubber and diamonds, and to a lesser extent coffee and cocoa, which combined to make up the other 50 %, also suffered the repercussions of the war. In particular, the trade in timber and diamonds has been affected by ongoing international sanctions. In 2001 the United Nations has imposed sanctions on Liberia, for the support given to the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in neighboring Sierra Leone. Manufacturing activities (rubber and palm oil processing, mainly in foreign hands) are still of little importance. The Liberian government recently announced the discovery of sizable oil fields along the Atlantic coast. Both the reconstruction of infrastructures and the increase in incomes in this troubled economic framework will largely depend on financial support and technical assistance from donor countries and international organizations in charge of helping countries in difficulty.

The Liberia is known for the tax and regulatory benefits it grants to ships and companies registered under its flag. This particular source of revenue, after several problems encountered in the eighties of the 20th century., Is rapidly gaining importance. In 2005, the Liberian was the second largest ship registry in the world, with more than 1,700 ships flying the Liberian flag, including 35 % of the world’s oil tanker fleet.