David George, age 11, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, for his question:
WHERE IS LIBERIA?
Liberia is a country that lies just north of the equator where the west coast of Africa bulges out into the Atlantic Ocean. In area, the country is about the size of the state of Tennessee.
Liberia is the oldest Negro republic in Africa and the second oldest black republic in the world. Only Haiti is older.
The country of Liberia was founded in 1822 by an American charitable society to give a home for freed black slaves from America. Aid from the United States helped the first settlers resist both European colonial powers and threatening African tribes.
Liberia became a free nation more than 110 years before any other country in tropical Africa. It issued a Declaration of Independence in 1847.
The word Liberia comes from the Latin word liber, which means free.
Liberia has a population just a bit under 2 million. Only 12 percent of the people live in cities while 88 percent are rural residents. The capital and largest city is Monrovia where about 100,000 people live.
Chief agriculture products are bananas, cassava, coffee, rice and rubber. Forest products include kola nuts, palm oil and piassava. There is mining for diamonds, gold and iron ore.
It is hot and rainy in Liberia. Swamps can be found along its coast and thick, green rain forests cover much of the interior. Unfortunately, hunters have killed most of the big game in the country but herds of gazelle and deer remain.
In Liberia you'll find the rare pygmy hippopotamus along with some leopards, otters, monkeys and snakes.
Only about five out of 100 persons today are Americo Liberians, the descendants of American slaves who settled in the country during the 1800s.
About 90 out of every 100 Liberians are descendants from African tribesmen who came to the area in the 1400s. They are members of about 20 different tribes that still practice tribal customs and speak different languages.
Liberia's government is much like that of the United States. There is a president and vice president as well as a senate and a house of representatives. The court system is headed by a Supreme Court.
The people elect the president who appoints a 16 member Cabinet to help him govern the country. The national government appoints commissioners, mayors and other local officials for the cities, counties and districts.
Only people of black ancestry can become citizens and own land in Liberia.
Most of the country's social and political leaders are Americo Liberians. Most are English speaking Protestants.