The blank outline map represents the West African country of Liberia. The oldest counties are Grand Bassa and Montserrado, both founded in 1839 prior to Liberian independence. Pressure from the United Kingdom, which controlled Sierra Leone to the northwest, and France, with its interests in the north and east, led to a loss of Liberia's claims to extensive territories. [159] The population of Liberia was 1,016,443 in 1962 and increased to 1,503,368 in 1974. [161] Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of African American and West Indian, mostly Barbadian (Bajan) settlers, make up 2.5%. Liberia is an independent state that is situated in West Africa. The 16 officially recognized ethnic groups include the Kpelle, Bassa, Mano, Gio or Dan, Kru, Grebo, Krahn, Vai, Gola, Mandingo or Mandinka, Mende, Kissi, Gbandi, Loma, Dei or Dewoin, Belleh, and Americo-Liberians or Congo people (so named because many immigrants including those freed from slave ships arrived from ports at the mouth of the Congo River). 1820 to 1847 | History Of Liberia: A Time Line | Articles and Essays Forestry is an important industry in Liberia. Milestones: 1830-1860 - Office of the Historian [24], The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered, especially those in communities of the more isolated "bush". [167] A multitude of diverse Protestant confessions such as Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) denominations form the bulk of the Christian population, followed by adherents of the Catholic Church and other non-Protestant Christians. What part of Africa is Liberia located in? OECD Atlas of Gender and Development: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries, OECD Publishing, 2010. p 236. multiparty republic with two legislative bodies (Liberian Senate [30]; House of Representatives [73]), Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz, Which Country Is Larger By Population? [66] The inauguration marked Liberia's first fully democratic transition in 74 years. For a treatment of earlier periods and of the country in its regional context, see western Africa. A peace deal was signed later that month. [citation needed], In the United States, there was a movement to settle free people of color, both free-born and formerly enslaved, in Africa. [204], A rich literary tradition has existed in Liberia for over a century. [94] The National Police Training Academy is in Paynesville City. "China and Liberia: Engagement in a Post-Conflict Country 20032013". [198] As of November17, 2014[update], there were 2,812 confirmed deaths from the ongoing outbreak. Monrovia - Wikipedia However, Lincoln in 1862 described Liberia as only "in a certain sensea success", and proposed instead that free people of color be assisted to emigrate to Chiriqu, today part of Panama. [85], Liberia is divided into fifteen counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 90 districts and further subdivided into clans.