Demographics of Liberia
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
features of the population
of Liberia
, including population density
, ethnicity
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The demographics of Liberia Liberia's history
as a place set up in 1821 as a colony
for free slaves from the United States
. The noun for a person from Liberia
is Liberian(s). The adjective is Liberian. Despite the recent war's divisions along ethnic lines, Liberia remains a multiethnic and multicultural country. Diversity has always been celebrated in Liberian culture, cuisine, music, fashion, language and people themselves. This diversity has often been overlooked in post war years.
to be earliest tribe to inhabit Liberia, but the Gola themselves claim they met the Dei ethnic group there when they arrived. The Dei ethnic group are a vanguard group of Bassa that settled Liberia in waves. The ethnic groups of Liberia can be divided into five major groups:
The Dei settled first, and were later joined by the Gola ethnic group before any of the other Bassa groups arrived. The chintus (a Bassa group) was later established north of the Dei.
The Gola ethnic group originated somewhere in central Africa. During the Empire of Ancient Ghana they were heavily involved in the land-surveying and judicial aspects of the empire.
The other ethnic groups that fall under the Mande-Tan, Mande-Fu were also members of Ancient Ghana. Because of the their influence in the judicial aspects of the Ghana, the Gola's social structure dominated through the Poro.
With the influx of Islam many groups adopted it while others resisted. The Golas fought three wars with pro-Islamic elements in a changing Ghana. These wars were known as the Kumba Wars. The Golas lost the third of these wars and were forced to retreat toward Sierra Leone. They were pursued by the Mende, Gbandi and Loma. Their battles with the Mende in Sierra Leone forced them to retreat yet again and settle finally in Liberia where they encountered the Dei.
, the Caribbean
and the Congo
.
(Tajuasohn), Bassa, Dei, Mamba, Grebo.
tribes immigrating from Sudan from the 16th through 17th centuries: Vai, Mandingo
(see LURD)
Gio, Krahn
(see Samuel Doe
, and MODEL
), Kissi, Bella
is 3,042,004.
The birth rate is 37.25 births/1,000 population (July 2011 est.).
The death rate is 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.). The infant mortality rate is 149.73 deaths/1,000 live births.
The net migration rate is 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population.
44.3% (male 843,182; female 834,922)
15–64 years:
52.7% (male 989,623; female 1,007,577)
65 years and over:
2.9% (male 56,189; female 55,271)(2011 est.)
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15–64 years:
0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
1.03 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
57 years
male:
55.44 years
female:
58.6 years (2011 est.)
's indigenous population: indigenous Africa
n tribes 95% (including Kpelle
, Bassa, Gio
, Kru
, Grebo
, Mandingo
, Mano, Krahn
, Gola
, Gbandi
, Loma
, Kissi, Vai
, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the U.S. who had not been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had not been slaves); About 5,000 persons of European descent.
The Kpelle
in central and western Liberia is the largest ethnic group. Americo-Liberian
s, who are descendants of free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans that arrived in Liberia from 1822 onward, make up an estimated 5% of the population. There also is a sizable number of Lebanese
, India
ns, and other West Africa
n nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. Because of the civil war and its accompanying problem of insecurity, the number of Westerners in Liberia is low and confined largely to Monrovia and its immediate surroundings. The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship only to people of African descent.
Liberia was traditionally noted for its hospitality and academic institutions, iron mining and rubber industry booms, cultural skills and arts and craft works. But political upheavals beginning in the 1980s and the two civil wars (1989–96 and 1999–2003) brought about a steep decline in the living standards of the country, including its education and infrastructure.
20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence.
in Liberia, as defined as age 15 and over and can read and write, is:
total population:
38.3%
male:
53.9%
female:
22.4%
note:
these figures are increasing because of the improving school system
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The demographics of Liberia Liberia's history
History of Liberia
Liberia was set up by citizens of the United States as a colony for former African-American slaves. It is one of only two sovereign states in the world that were started by citizens of a political power as a colony for former slaves of the same political power: Sierra Leone was begun as a colony...
as a place set up in 1821 as a colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
for free slaves from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The noun for a person from Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
is Liberian(s). The adjective is Liberian. Despite the recent war's divisions along ethnic lines, Liberia remains a multiethnic and multicultural country. Diversity has always been celebrated in Liberian culture, cuisine, music, fashion, language and people themselves. This diversity has often been overlooked in post war years.
Tribes of Liberia
Many consider the GolaGola (ethnic group)
The Gola or Gula are a tribal people living in western Liberia. The Gola language is part of the Southern branch of the West Atlantic language family; , it is spoken by approximately 107,000 people....
to be earliest tribe to inhabit Liberia, but the Gola themselves claim they met the Dei ethnic group there when they arrived. The Dei ethnic group are a vanguard group of Bassa that settled Liberia in waves. The ethnic groups of Liberia can be divided into five major groups:
- Mel (Gola, Kissi)
- Kwa (Dei, Bassa, Kru, Krahn, Grebo)
- Mande-Fu (KpelleKpelleThe Kpelle people are located primarily in an area of central Liberia extending into Guinea. They speak the Kpelle language, which belongs to the Mande language family....
, Gio, Mano, Loma) - Mande-Tan (Vai, Mende, Mandingo)
- Repatriated (Americo-Liberians, Congo, Caribbean)
The Dei settled first, and were later joined by the Gola ethnic group before any of the other Bassa groups arrived. The chintus (a Bassa group) was later established north of the Dei.
The Gola ethnic group originated somewhere in central Africa. During the Empire of Ancient Ghana they were heavily involved in the land-surveying and judicial aspects of the empire.
The other ethnic groups that fall under the Mande-Tan, Mande-Fu were also members of Ancient Ghana. Because of the their influence in the judicial aspects of the Ghana, the Gola's social structure dominated through the Poro.
With the influx of Islam many groups adopted it while others resisted. The Golas fought three wars with pro-Islamic elements in a changing Ghana. These wars were known as the Kumba Wars. The Golas lost the third of these wars and were forced to retreat toward Sierra Leone. They were pursued by the Mende, Gbandi and Loma. Their battles with the Mende in Sierra Leone forced them to retreat yet again and settle finally in Liberia where they encountered the Dei.
Emigrants from Mali
The Kpelle, Gio, Mano, Mandingo and Vai groups migrated from the Empire of Mali for various reasons. Some escaping political intrigue others looking for a better life. The vais are settled in grand cape Mount county in the west of Liberia. They were the first to invent a form of writing in 1833 or 1834. The reported inventor was Dwalu Bukele of Bandakor along the Robertsport(provincial capital) Highway. Of course there are others who participated in this invention.Repatriates
The Repatriates were resettled from the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and the Congo
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
.
Immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire
In the 16th century: KruKru
The Kru are an ethnic group who live in interior of Liberia. Their history is one marked by a strong sense of ethnicity and resistance to occupation. In 1856 when part of Liberia was still known as the independent Republic of Maryland, the Kru along with the Grebo resisted Maryland settlers'...
(Tajuasohn), Bassa, Dei, Mamba, Grebo.
From the Sudan
IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
tribes immigrating from Sudan from the 16th through 17th centuries: Vai, Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
(see LURD)
19th century
- Americo-LiberianAmerico-LiberianAmerico-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
s: Freed slaveSlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
s and descendants of freed slaves from the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north... - CongoDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
people from the Congo RiverCongo RiverThe Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
Basin who were captured for the slave trade but sent to Liberia when slavery was abolished without ever being exposed to non-African cultures. The word Congo is also used to refer to anyone from the countryside or rural Liberia regardless of their ancestors came from Congo River Basin.
Gio, Krahn
Krahn
Krahn is an ethnic group of Liberia; it is also the language traditionally spoken by these people.- History :The Krahn Arrived in the area known as Ivory Coast and Liberia from Northern Africa shortly before the slaves trade. Most of these people were taken as slaves to the United States and the...
(see Samuel Doe
Samuel Doe
Samuel Kanyon Doe was the 21st President of Liberia, serving from 1986 until his assassination in 1990. He had previously served as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council from 1980 to 1986. He was the first indigenous head of state in Liberian history.Doe was a part of a rural tribe in inland...
, and MODEL
Model
- Physical :* Physical model, a physical representation of an object* Scale model, a replica or prototype of an object* 3D modelling, a 3D polygonal representation of an object, usually displayed with a computer* Model aircraft* Car model...
), Kissi, Bella
Immigrants from Lebanon
In the late 19th century to early 20th century Lebanese merchants, families and businessmen began arriving in Liberia. Lebanese currently own many major businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants, textiles, construction works, factories and other production based companies across the country. Despite living in the country, Lebanese are denied citizenship rights due to Liberia's naturality law and are seen in a political view as foreigners.CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.Population
As of 2008, Liberia has the 3rd highest population growth rate in the world (3.66%). The current populationPopulation
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
is 3,042,004.
The death rate is 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.). The infant mortality rate is 149.73 deaths/1,000 live births.
The net migration rate is 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population.
Age structure
0–14 years:44.3% (male 843,182; female 834,922)
15–64 years:
52.7% (male 989,623; female 1,007,577)
65 years and over:
2.9% (male 56,189; female 55,271)(2011 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth:1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15–64 years:
0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
1.03 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population:57 years
male:
55.44 years
female:
58.6 years (2011 est.)
Ethnic groups
There are 16 ethnic groups that make up LiberiaLiberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
's indigenous population: indigenous Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n tribes 95% (including Kpelle
Kpelle
The Kpelle people are located primarily in an area of central Liberia extending into Guinea. They speak the Kpelle language, which belongs to the Mande language family....
, Bassa, Gio
Gio Tribe
The Gio or Dan people is an ethnic group in north-eastern Liberia and in Côte d'Ivoire. The Dan are an ethnic group located in the West African countries of Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. There are approximately 350,000 members of the group, united by the Dan language, a Mande language...
, Kru
Kru
The Kru are an ethnic group who live in interior of Liberia. Their history is one marked by a strong sense of ethnicity and resistance to occupation. In 1856 when part of Liberia was still known as the independent Republic of Maryland, the Kru along with the Grebo resisted Maryland settlers'...
, Grebo
Grebo (ethnic group)
The name Grebo is used to refer to an ethnic group or subgroup within the larger Kru group of West Africa, to certain of its constituent elements, or to the Grebo language. Within Liberia members of this group are found primarily in Maryland County and Grand Kru County in the southeastern portion...
, Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
, Mano, Krahn
Krahn
Krahn is an ethnic group of Liberia; it is also the language traditionally spoken by these people.- History :The Krahn Arrived in the area known as Ivory Coast and Liberia from Northern Africa shortly before the slaves trade. Most of these people were taken as slaves to the United States and the...
, Gola
Gola (ethnic group)
The Gola or Gula are a tribal people living in western Liberia. The Gola language is part of the Southern branch of the West Atlantic language family; , it is spoken by approximately 107,000 people....
, Gbandi
Gbandi
Gbandi is an ethnic group of Liberia. It is also the language traditionally spoken by these people.-People:Population is estimated at 107,000 people; of which many have fled to Guinea during the Liberian Civil War. Traditional religions are Muslim and Christian.-Language:Gbandi is a Southwestern...
, Loma
Loma (ethnic group)
The Loma are a Manden ethnic group living primarily in the mountainous, sparsely populated border region between Guinea and Liberia. In 1991, their population was estimated in 250,000 Loma between both countries....
, Kissi, Vai
Vai (ethnic group)
The Vai are a Manden ethnic group that live mostly in Liberia and small minority live in south-eastern Sierra Leone. The Vai are known for their indigenous syllabic writing system, developed in the 1820s by Duala Bukele and other tribal elders. Over the course of the 19th century, literacy in the...
, and Bella), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the U.S. who had not been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had not been slaves); About 5,000 persons of European descent.
The Kpelle
Kpelle
The Kpelle people are located primarily in an area of central Liberia extending into Guinea. They speak the Kpelle language, which belongs to the Mande language family....
in central and western Liberia is the largest ethnic group. Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
s, who are descendants of free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans that arrived in Liberia from 1822 onward, make up an estimated 5% of the population. There also is a sizable number of Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns, and other West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n nationals who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. Because of the civil war and its accompanying problem of insecurity, the number of Westerners in Liberia is low and confined largely to Monrovia and its immediate surroundings. The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship only to people of African descent.
Liberia was traditionally noted for its hospitality and academic institutions, iron mining and rubber industry booms, cultural skills and arts and craft works. But political upheavals beginning in the 1980s and the two civil wars (1989–96 and 1999–2003) brought about a steep decline in the living standards of the country, including its education and infrastructure.
Languages
EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence.
Literacy
LiteracyLiteracy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
in Liberia, as defined as age 15 and over and can read and write, is:
total population:
38.3%
male:
53.9%
female:
22.4%
note:
these figures are increasing because of the improving school system
External links
- Liberia: Nation & People without identity
- The Indigenous & Americo Liberians' Palva
- Global Impacts of White racism: The Americo Liberians
- Liberia, "America's step child" searches for own identity
- Words Matter: Terms of Global Conflicts debated, NPR
- Contemporary Africa & Legacy of late colonialism
- How the word ‘tribe’ stereotypes Africa