Liberia - Statistics & Facts
Liberia is located on the West African coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Sierra Leone is located to the west, Guinea to the north and the Ivory Coast to the east. Liberia is actually the oldest republic in Africa and has a large indigenous population. In the 1990s, Liberia was engaged in a long and deadly civil war which ended in 2003, and from which the country is still trying to recover. In 2005, the country elected its first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was again reelected in 2011. That same year she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to secure peace and promote economic and social development within Liberia. However, despite her efforts, some say that little progress has been made. The recent Ebola outbreak also took a large economic and demographic toll on Liberia with thousands dead or infected.
