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Demographics of Liberia

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As of 2006, Liberia had the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum).[1] This has declined since, however, and stood at 2.37 percent in 2023.[2]

Demographics of Liberia
Population pyramid of Liberia in 2020
Population5,358,483 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.73% (2022 est.)
Birth rate36.64 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net migration rate-2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years43.35%
65 and over2.83%
Nationality
NationalityLiberian
Language
OfficialEnglish

Population

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Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[3][4], Liberia's total population was 5,193,416 in 2021. This is compared to 911,000 in 1950.[5]

43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.[5] 53.7% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.8% were 65 years or older.[5]

Estimates of Liberia's population prior to the 20th century are unreliable due to the lack of historical censuses.[6] Estimates by scholars of pre-World War II demographics in Liberia differ wildly.[6]

Total population Population Age (%)
0–14 15–64 65+
1950 911 000 41.0 55.9 3.0
1955 997 000 41.1 56.1 2.8
1960 1 116 000 41.4 55.9 2.7
1965 1 262 000 43.0 54.3 2.6
1970 1 440 000 44.1 53.3 2.6
1975 1 658 000 44.8 52.6 2.6
1980 1 923 000 45.5 51.9 2.6
1985 2 212 000 45.9 51.5 2.6
1990 2 127 000 45.6 52.8 2.6
1995 2 095 000 44.5 52.8 2.6
2000 2 847 000 43.6 53.8 2.6
2005 3 183 000 43.3 54.0 2.7
2010 3 994 000 43.5 53.7 2.8

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 21.III.2008):[7]

 
Liberia's population from 1961-2013.[8] Liberia's population tripled in 40 years.[8]
Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 1 739 945 1 736 663 3 476 608 100
0–14 736 834 721 238 1 458 072 41.94
0–4 270 564 263 911 534 475 15.37
5–9 251 411 250 520 501 931 14.44
10–14 214 859 206 807 421 666 12.13
15–64 945 641 954 784 1 900 425 54.66
15–19 189 407 186 288 375 695 10.81
20–24 161 951 180 979 342 930 9.86
25–29 141 006 150 852 291 858 8.39
30–34 107 326 112 306 219 632 6.32
35–39 99 136 104 400 203 536 5.85
40–44 81 670 74 067 155 737 4.48
45–49 63 827 54 980 118 807 3.42
50–54 44 870 38 070 82 940 2.39
55–59 30 975 25 485 56 460 1.62
60–64 25 473 27 357 52 830 1.52
65-85+ 57 470 60 641 118 111 3.40
65-69 19 250 20 557 39 807 1.14
70-74 12 343 13 403 25 746 0.74
75-79 11 580 11 333 22 913 0.66
80-84 5 408 6 599 12 007 0.35
85+ 8 889 8 749 17 638 0.51

Vital statistics

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Registration of vital events is in Liberia not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [9]

Year Mid-year population* Live births per year* Deaths per year* Natural change per year* CBR** CDR** NC** TFR** IMR** Life expectancy (years)
1950   916   40   22   18 43.1 24.0 19.1 6.00 199.3 38.5
1951   933   41   23   18 43.7 24.2 19.6 6.04 198.8 38.6
1952   952   42   23   19 44.3 24.2 20.2 6.09 198.0 38.7
1953   971   44   24   20 44.9 24.2 20.6 6.12 197.3 38.8
1954   992   45   24   21 45.4 24.3 21.1 6.16 196.6 39.0
1955   1 014   46   25   22 45.8 24.5 21.3 6.19 197.2 38.8
1956   1 037   48   26   22 46.4 24.7 21.6 6.24 198.0 38.8
1957   1 061   50   26   23 46.8 24.9 21.9 6.28 198.7 38.7
1958   1 085   51   27   24 47.2 25.2 22.1 6.31 199.4 38.5
1959   1 110   53   28   25 47.7 25.4 22.3 6.35 200.1 38.4
1960   1 137   55   29   26 48.0 25.6 22.5 6.39 200.6 38.3
1961   1 165   56   30   26 48.4 25.7 22.7 6.45 200.7 38.3
1962   1 194   58   31   27 48.7 25.7 23.0 6.50 200.5 38.4
1963   1 224   60   31   28 48.9 25.7 23.2 6.56 200.0 38.5
1964   1 255   61   32   29 49.0 25.7 23.4 6.59 199.0 38.6
1965   1 287   63   33   30 49.1 25.5 23.6 6.62 197.5 38.8
1966   1 320   65   33   31 49.0 25.3 23.7 6.63 195.8 39.1
1967   1 354   66   34   33 49.0 25.0 24.0 6.65 193.7 39.4
1968   1 389   68   34   34 49.0 24.7 24.2 6.66 191.3 39.8
1969   1 426   70   35   35 49.1 24.4 24.7 6.64 188.5 40.2
1970   1 464   71   35   36 48.5 24.0 24.5 6.58 185.6 40.6
1971   1 502   72   35   37 48.0 23.6 24.5 6.54 183.1 40.9
1972   1 541   74   36   39 48.2 23.1 25.1 6.60 180.3 41.5
1973   1 583   77   36   40 48.4 22.8 25.6 6.65 177.7 41.9
1974   1 626   79   36   42 48.5 22.4 26.0 6.69 175.1 42.4
1975   1 672   81   37   44 48.6 22.1 26.5 6.74 172.4 42.8
1976   1 718   84   37   46 48.7 21.8 26.9 6.79 169.9 43.2
1977   1 768   86   38   48 48.7 21.4 27.3 6.84 167.6 43.6
1978   1 821   88   38   50 48.6 21.0 27.6 6.88 165.4 44.0
1979   1 876   91   39   52 48.5 20.7 27.8 6.92 163.4 44.3
1980   1 932   93   39   54 48.0 20.3 27.7 6.87 161.6 44.6
1981   1 990   94   40   55 47.5 19.9 27.5 6.83 159.9 45.0
1982   2 048   96   40   56 46.9 19.6 27.3 6.79 158.6 45.2
1983   2 109   98   41   57 46.5 19.4 27.0 6.76 157.8 45.4
1984   2 174   100   42   58 45.9 19.3 26.6 6.73 157.8 45.4
1985   2 240   102   44   58 45.7 19.7 26.1 6.69 159.9 44.7
1986   2 306   105   45   60 45.5 19.4 26.0 6.64 161.0 45.0
1987   2 372   107   47   60 45.0 19.7 25.3 6.57 164.0 44.5
1988   2 440   109   49   60 44.7 20.1 24.6 6.51 167.4 44.0
1989   2 508   111   51   60 44.5 20.5 24.0 6.43 170.6 43.5
1990   2 210   114 65   49 44.4 25.5 18.9 6.37 173.2 36.7
1991   1 939   85   40   45 44.6 21.0 23.6 6.32 175.0 42.8
1992   2 053   90   43   48 44.5 21.0 23.5 6.28 173.9 42.7
1993   2 133   95   46   49 44.6 21.5 23.1 6.25 174.8 42.2
1994   2 125   97   48   50 44.6 21.8 22.8 6.21 172.9 41.8
1995   2 142   94   43   52 44.7 20.2 24.4 6.17 166.1 43.9
1996   2 204   99   44   55 44.6 19.9 24.7 6.13 161.2 44.4
1997   2 383   100   39   60 44.4 17.6 26.8 6.08 151.5 47.8
1998   2 639   115   44   71 44.3 16.9 27.4 6.02 144.6 48.9
1999   2 790   122   45   77 44.1 16.1 27.9 5.95 137.3 50.0
2000   2 895   126   44   82 43.6 15.2 28.4 5.88 129.8 51.4
2001   2 982   128   43   86 43.0 14.3 28.7 5.77 122.0 52.8
2002   3 061   130   42   88 42.3 13.6 28.7 5.65 114.2 53.8
2003   3 085   131   43   88 41.7 13.9 27.9 5.55 108.9 53.0
2004   3 122   129   38   92 41.5 12.1 29.3 5.51 99.5 56.0
2005   3 266   133   37   96 41.5 11.6 29.9 5.52 93.2 56.9
2006   3 455   141   38   103 41.3 11.2 30.2 5.53 87.8 57.6
2007   3 633   147   39   108 40.9 10.8 30.1 5.46 83.3 58.3
2008   3 784   151   39   111 39.9 10.4 29.5 5.33 79.6 58.8
2009   3 905   152   39   113 38.9 10.1 28.8 5.17 76.5 59.2
2010   4 020   153   40   113 38.1 9.9 28.2 5.06 74.0 59.4
2011   4 181   155   40   114 37.4 9.7 27.7 4.97 72.0 59.6
2012   4 332   162   42   121 37.3 9.6 27.7 4.88 70.3 59.9
2013   4 427   160   42   118 36.1 9.5 26.7 4.75 68.8 59.9
2014   4 519   159   44   115 35.1 9.8 25.3 4.62 68.7 59.1
2015   4 612   158   45   113 34.2 9.7 24.5 4.52 67.7 59.1
2016   4 706   159   43   116 33.7 9.1 24.7 4.46 65.0 60.4
2017   4 797   159   43   116 33.2 9.0 24.2 4.40 63.7 60.6
2018   4 889   160   43   117 32.7 8.8 23.9 4.34 62.4 60.9
2019   4 985   161   43   118 32.2 8.7 23.5 4.26 61.1 61.1
2020   5 088   161   45   117 31.7 8.8 23.0 4.17 59.6 60.9
2021   5 193   163   46   117 31.3 8.8 22.4 4.09 58.0 60.7
* In thousands

** CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and births

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Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[10][11]

Year CBR TFR
Total Urban Rural Total Urban (Rural)
2007 37.6 32.5 40.4 5.2 (4.6) 3.8 (3.3) 6.2 (5.6)
2013 34.4 31.1 38.5 4.7 (4.0) 3.8 (3.3) 6.1 (5.1)
2019-20 30.1 27.5 33.6 4.2 (3.7) 3.4 (3.1) 5.5 (4.8)

Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):[12]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women

age 40-49

North Western 5.8 10.3 7.1
South Central 3.8 6.7 5.8
South Eastern A 6.5 9.6 6.7
South Eastern B 5.9 9.2 7.1
North Central 5.6 10.2 6.2

Ethnic communities of Liberia

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Indigenous

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The indigenous ethnic groups of Liberia can be linguistically divided into three groups who speak;

to which must be added the immigrant communities;

The Gola ethnic group originated somewhere in central Africa. During the Empire of Ancient Ghana they were involved in the land-surveying and jurisprudence of the empire.

The other ethnic groups that fall under the Mande-Tan, Mande-Fu were also members of Ancient Ghana. Because of 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.

Immigrants from Mali

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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, settled in Grand Cape Mount county in the west of Liberia, 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.

Immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire

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In the 16th century; Kru (Tajuasohn), Bassa, Belleh, Krahn, Grebo.

19th century immigrants

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  • Americo-Liberians: Free black people and emancipated slaves, and their descendants, from the U.S. and the Caribbean
  • Congos is an eponymic term for "recaptives," people rescued from slave ships after the slave trade, not slavery itself, was abolished by Great Britain and the United States. These people were "repatriated" to Liberia (and Sierra Leone if rescued by the British) and their descendants. The term was used because many of these rescued Africans were thought to be from the Congo River Basin.[13][14][15]

Immigrants from Lebanon

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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.

Religion

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Main article: Religion in Liberia

Religion in Liberia (2008)[16]

  Christianity (85.6%)
  Islam (12.2%)
  None (1.4%)
  Traditional (0.6%)
  Others (0.2%)

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of Liberia's population practices Christianity.[17] Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups.[17] The vast majority of Muslims are Malikite Sunni, with sizeable Shia and Ahmadiyya minorities.[18] Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by 0.5% of the population, while 1.8% subscribe to no religion.[17]

Other demographic statistics

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Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[19]

  • One birth every 3 minutes
  • One death every 14 minutes
  • One net migrant every 103 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 4 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[2] unless otherwise indicated.

Population

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5,358,483 (2022 est.)
4,809,768 (July 2018 est.)

Religions

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Christian 84.9%, Muslim 12%, Traditional 0.5%, other 0.1%, none 2.6% (2022 est.)
Christian 85.6% (primarily Baptist), Muslim 12.2%, Traditional 0.6%, other 0.2%, none 1.5% (2008 est.)

Age structure

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Population pyramid of Liberia in 2020
0-14 years: 43.35% (male 1,111,479/female 1,087,871)
15-24 years: 20.35% (male 516,136/female 516,137)
25-54 years: 30.01% (male 747,983/female 774,615)
55-64 years: 3.46% (male 89,150/female 86,231)
65 years and over: 2.83% (male 70,252/female 73,442) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 43.72% (male 1,062,766 /female 1,040,211)
15-24 years: 19.9% (male 478,041 /female 478,999)
25-54 years: 30.1% (male 711,963 /female 735,878)
55-64 years: 3.43% (male 84,474 /female 80,410)
65 years and over: 2.85% (male 67,229 /female 69,797) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

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36.64 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 11th
37.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 10th

Death rate

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6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 131st
7.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 116th

Total fertility rate

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4.03 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 25th
4.79 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 13th
5 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 13th

Median age

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total: 18 years. Country comparison to the world: 215th
male: 17.7 years
female: 18.2 years (2020 est.)
total: 17.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 217th
male: 17.6 years
female: 18.1 years (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

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2.73% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 16th
2.59% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 19th

Mother's mean age at first birth

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19.1 years (2019/20 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
19.2 years (2013 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

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24.9% (2019/20)
31% (2016)

Net migration rate

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-2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 176th
-4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 192nd

Dependency ratios

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total dependency ratio: 83.2 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 77.6 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 5.5 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 18.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

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urban population: 53.1% of total population (2022)
urban population: 51.2% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.41% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

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at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
total population:1 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

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Development of life expectancy
total population: 65.45 years. Country comparison to the world: 201st
male: 63.19 years
female: 67.78 years (2022 est.)
total population: 63.8 years (2018 est.)
male: 61.6 years (2018 est.)
female: 66 years (2018 est.)
total population: 57 years (2011 est.)
male: 55.44 years
female: 58.6 years

Major infectious diseases

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degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vector borne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Liberia is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Ethnic groups

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Ethnic groups in Liberia (2008)[16]
Ethnic groups
Kpelle
 
 20.3%
Other
 
 20.1%
Bassa
 
 13.4%
Grebo
 
 10%
Gio
 
 8%
Mano
 
 7.9%
Kru
 
 6%
Lorma
 
 5.1%
Gola
 
 5.1%
Kissi
 
 4.8%

There are officially 17[20] ethnic groups that make up Liberia's indigenous African population, making up maybe 95% of the total: Kpelle, the largest group; Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mandingo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Sapo, Belleh (Kuwaa), Mende and Dey.

There are also more or less nomadic groups like the Fula, who engage mostly in trade, and the Fanti, who are often fishermen or traders of fish, usually from Ghana, living seasonally and more and more often permanently in Liberia.

Then there are Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans who arrived in Liberia from 1822 onward and Congo People (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean), making up an estimated 5% of the population. They used to dominate political life in Liberia and still have a lot of influence.

There are about 5,000 people of European descent, many of them having settled down as miners, missionaries, business people, and so on. There also is a sizeable number of Lebanese, Indians, and other people with Asian roots 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 non-Africans in Liberia is low and confined largely to Monrovia and its immediate surroundings.

The Liberian Constitution restricts citizenship of Liberia only to people who are either 'Negroes or of Negro descent' wherein the Liberian Constitution / Chapter 4 / Article 27b states: "In order to preserve, foster and maintain the positive Liberian culture, values and character, only persons who are Negroes or of Negro descent shall qualify by birth or by naturalization to be citizens of Liberia."[21]

Languages

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Main article: Languages of Liberia

English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence.

Literacy

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definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 48.3%
male: 62.7%
female: 34.1% (2017)
total population: 47.6% (2015 est.)
male: 62.4% (2015 est.)
female: 32.8% (2015 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

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total: 2.3% (2016 est.)
male: 2.4% (2016 est.)
female: 2.2% (2016 est.)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision : Table A.8" (PDF). Un.org. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b   This article incorporates public domain material from "Liberia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2022 edition.)
  3. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Gardner, Leigh A., ed. (2022), "Reconstructing the Fragments: Liberia's Economic History, 1847–1980", Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the Age of Empires, 1822–1980, Cambridge Studies in Economic History - Second Series, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–30, doi:10.1017/9781009181082.002, ISBN 978-1-009-18110-5
  7. ^ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  8. ^ a b Data of FAO, year 2005
  9. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  10. ^ "Liberia Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Demographic and Health Survey 2007" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  13. ^ Clegg 2004
  14. ^ Ciment 2013
  15. ^ Sundiata 2003
  16. ^ a b "Africa :: LIBERIA". CIA The World Factbook. 19 April 2022.
  17. ^ a b c "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia". United States Department of State. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  18. ^ "The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity" (PDF). Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  19. ^ "Liberia Population 2022", World Population Review
  20. ^ "2008 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS" (PDF). Lisgis.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  21. ^ http://judiciary.gov.lr/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CONSTITUTION-OF-THE-REPUBLIC-OF-LIBERIA.pdf [bare URL PDF]

Bibliography

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  • Ciment, J. (2013) Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-9542-1
  • Clegg, C. (2004). The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia. Chapel Hill: UNC Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-2845-8
  • Sundiata, I. (2003) Brothers and Strangers: Black Zion, Black Slavery, 1914-1940. Durham: Duke University Press ISBN 0-8223-3233-7
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