In 2015, the population of Liberia was estimated to be around 4.4 million people. The majority of the population were members of indigenous African ethnic groups such as the Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru and Mano. Other ethnic minorities included Americo-Liberians and Congau people. The economy of Liberia in 2015 was mainly based on subsistence agriculture and exploitation of natural resources such as rubber, timber and diamonds. Its main trading partners were China, United States and European Union countries. See ehealthfacts for Liberia in the year of 2005.
The foreign relations of Liberia in 2015 were mainly focused on strengthening ties with its neighbours such as Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. It also had friendly diplomatic relations with other countries in Africa and beyond. In terms of politics, Liberia was a presidential republic headed by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who had been elected in 2005 elections that ended the country’s 14-year civil war. Her government was praised for its efforts to improve infrastructure and reduce corruption while facing numerous challenges including poverty and disease outbreaks such as Ebola virus disease.
Yearbook 2015
Liberia. During the year, Liberia was declared several times free from the dreaded disease Ebola fever, which ravaged the country since the beginning of 2014. The first time was in May when it was found that no new cases had been reported since March. But in late June, a 17-year-old boy died in the town of Nedowein, about five miles outside the capital, Monrovia. Another handful of cases were discovered in July. In September, Liberia was again declared free of Ebola fever, but at the end of November another setback came when another boy, 15 years old, died of the disease. Two more family members were found infected after being isolated. Subsequently, no new cases were detected in the country during the year. By the end of December, 10,675 cases of Ebola fever had been identified in Liberia, of which 4,809 infected died.
After all, the sharp decline in the number of infected people allowed the return to a more normal social life. In mid-February, the country’s schools were reopened after being closed since July 2014 due to the risk of infection. However, it turned out that the approximately 20,000 people who worked to limit the ravages of the disease were finding it difficult to find new jobs since the epidemic subsided. A strong contributing cause was the fear that these people could carry the disease and pass it on.
According to COUNTRYAAH, Monrovia is the capital of Liberia which is located in Western Africa. The situation in the hardest hit countries – in addition to Liberia including Guinea and Sierra Leone – continued to be critical, not least because the business sector was largely crippled by the epidemic.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Liberia country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
In March, President Ellen Johnson urged Sirleaf the outside world to contribute to the economic recovery and called for something similar to the Marshall Plan after the Second World War. In the same month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Liberia was granted debt relief of just over US $ 36 million. In March, President Charles Taylor’s request to be transferred to Rwanda was rejected from the prison in the UK where he is serving a 50-year prison sentence. One reason Taylor stated was that he was not allowed to meet his family because they were denied a visa to the UK. The Court found that this was only because Taylor’s wife did not comply with applicable rules and declined the applicant’s offer of assistance.
In November, the United States announced that the sanctions imposed on Liberia in 2004 on the orders of President George W. Bush would be lifted. According to a US statement, the measure was a response to the positive development the country has undergone over the past decade. In December, Liberia was admitted as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a ceremony in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, an event that President Johnson Sirleaf marked as a major milestone in the country’s history.
LIBERIA. – In the summer of 1932 (August 27) the government of Liberia accepted in principle an assistance plan proposed by the Council of the League of Nations with a view to the adoption of measures in the administrative, hygienic and financial fields. According to the plan, the measures were to be carried out with the help of a principal adviser appointed by the League of Nations and by experts appointed by the government of Liberia itself. After the Geneva assembly in the fall of the same year, the plan was changed to the effect that Liberia, in addition to being under the control of the League of Nations, was placed under that of the United States on condition that the relief plan proposed by Geneva was accepted by all delegates.
The plan consisted of these measures: division of the territory into three provinces, each governed by a provincial prefect and an assistant prefect representing the executive power, who were responsible for their work before the president of the republic. As provincial prefects, the government of Liberia would hire three foreign specialists; the three adjunct prefects would be appointed by the Council of the League of Nations. In addition, two doctors, also nominated by the Council of the League of Nations, were hired from Liberia to be employed in hospitals and ensure the application and extension of hygiene rules. The president of the United States would have appointed a financial expert assisted by additional members, also designated by the American president, while an expert in chief would be appointed by the Council of the League of Nations and attached to the central government. The main function of these experts and their assistants, is the control of the execution of the assistance plan.
It was also established that, if the government of Liberia neglected the aforementioned conditions, the plan would be considered terminated and therefore the agreements entered into with the Finance Corporation and the Firestone rubber company for the execution of the assistance plan would not be more considered valid. This is what happened: the government of Liberia, fearful of foreign control, formulated reservations equivalent to a rejection of the plan and maintained these reservations despite the fact that in Geneva the British minister Eden threatened to have Liberia barred from the League of Nations by virtue of the annex 4 of art. 16 of the agreement.
On May 7, 1935, Edwin Barclay, former president of the republic since 1930, was re-elected to the supreme office.
Finance. – In the three-year period 1933-35, revenues (which went from 465 to 632 thousand US dollars) constantly exceeded expenses. At June 30, 1936, the floating internal debt amounted to $ 452,000 and the public debt, which is suspended, at the end of 1932 was $ 2,192,000.