257 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
257 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
LIBERIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 111,370 km2; land area: 96,320 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
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Land boundaries: 1,585 km total; Guinea 563 km, Ivory Coast 716 km,
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Sierra Leone 306 km
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Coastline: 579 km
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Maritime claims:
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Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
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Territorial sea: 200 nm
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Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool
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to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
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Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling
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plateau and low mountains in northeast
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Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold
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Land use: arable land 1%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures
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2%; forest and woodland 39%; other 55%; includes irrigated NEGL%
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Environment: West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to
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deforestation
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PEOPLE
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Population: 2,730,446 (July 1991), growth rate 3.4% (1991)
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Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 124 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 59 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Liberian(s); adjective--Liberian
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Ethnic divisions: indigenous African tribes, including Kpelle,
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Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and
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Bella 95%; descendants of repatriated slaves known as Americo-Liberians
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5%
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Religion: traditional 70%, Muslim 20%, Christian 10%
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Language: English (official); more than 20 local languages of the
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Niger-Congo language group; English used by about 20%
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Literacy: 40% (male 50%, female 29%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 510,000, including 220,000 in the monetary economy;
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agriculture 70.5%, services 10.8%, industry and commerce 4.5%, other
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14.2%; non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management
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and engineering jobs; 52% of population of working age
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Organized labor: 2% of labor force
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of Liberia
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Type: republic
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Capital: Monrovia
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Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa,
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Grand Cape Mount, Grand Jide, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland,
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Montserrado, Nimba, Rivercess, Sino
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Independence: 26 July 1847
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Constitution: 6 January 1986
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Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American
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common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten
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tribal practices for indigenous sector
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National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
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Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an
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upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
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Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State and Head of Government--interim President Dr.
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Amos SAWYER (since 15 November 1990); interim Vice President Ronald DIGGS
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(since 15 November 1990); note--this is an interim government appointed
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by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that will be
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replaced after elections are held under a West African-brokered
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peace plan; rival rebel factions led by Prince Y. JOHNSON and Charles
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TAYLOR are challenging the Sawyer government's legitimacy while
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observing a tenuous cease fire; the former president, Gen. Dr. Samuel
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Kanyon DOE, was ousted and killed on 9 September 1990 in a coup led by
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Prince Y. JOHNSON
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Political parties and leaders:
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National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), Augustus CAINE, chairman;
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Liberian Action Party (LAP), Emmanuel KOROMAH, chairman;
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Unity Party (UP), Carlos SMITH, chairman;
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United People's Party (UPP), Gabriel Baccus MATTHEWS, chairman
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held NA);
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results--Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon DOE (NDPL) 50.9%, Jackson DOE (LAP)
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26.4%, other 22.7%; note--President Doe was killed by rebel forces
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on 9 September 1990;
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Senate--last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held NA);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(26 total) NDPL 21, LAP 3, UP 1, LUP 1;
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House of Representatives--last held on 15 October 1985 (next
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to be held NA); results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(64 total) NDPL 51, LAP 8, UP 3, LUP 2
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Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
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ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
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LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Eugenia A.
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WORDSWORTH-STEVENSON; Chancery at 5201 16th Street NW, Washington DC
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20011; telephone (202) 723-0437 through 0440; there is a Liberian
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Consulate General in New York;
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US--Ambassador Peter J. de VOS; Embassy at 111 United Nations
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Drive, Monrovia (mailing address is P. O. Box 98, Monrovia, or APO New
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York 09155); telephone 231 222991 through 222994
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Flag: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom)
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alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue
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square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US
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flag
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Civil war during 1990 destroyed much of Liberia's
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economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Expatriate
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businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them.
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Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources,
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forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a
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producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing,
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mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. Political instability
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threatens prospects for economic reconstruction and repatriation of
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some 750,000 Liberian refugees who fled to neighboring countries.
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GDP: $988 million, per capita $400; real growth rate 1.5% (1988)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1989)
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Unemployment rate: 43% urban (1988)
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Budget: revenues $242.1 million; expenditures $435.4 million,
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including capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989)
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Exports: $505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
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commodities--iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee;
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partners--US, EC, Netherlands
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Imports: $394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
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commodities--rice, mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery,
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transportation equipment, other foodstuffs;
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partners--US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS
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External debt: $1.6 billion (December 1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 1.5% in manufacturing (1987);
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accounts for 22% of GDP
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Electricity: 400,000 kW capacity; 730 million kWh produced,
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290 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: rubber processing, food processing, construction
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materials, furniture, palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)
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Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and
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forestry); principal products--rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice,
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cassava, palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, and goats; not
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self-sufficient in food, imports 25% of rice consumption
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $665
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million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $853 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $25 million;
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Communist countries (1970-89), $77 million
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Currency: Liberian dollar (plural--dollars);
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1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents
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Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate
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since 1940); unofficial parallel exchange rate of L$2.5 = US$1, January
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1989
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 480 km total; 328 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 152 km
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1.067-meter narrow gauge; all lines single track; rail systems owned and
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operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with
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Liberian Government
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Highways: 10,087 km total; 603 km bituminous treated, 2,848 km
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all weather, 4,313 km dry weather; there are also 2,323 km of private,
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laterite-surfaced roads open to public use, owned by rubber and timber
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companies
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Ports: Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville, Harper (or Cape Palmas)
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Merchant marine: 1,563 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
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53,053,254 DWT/94,597,871 DWT; includes 18 passenger, 1 short-sea
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passenger, 156 cargo, 47 refrigerated cargo, 15 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
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67 vehicle carrier, 74 container, 5 barge carrier, 450 petroleum, oils,
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and lubricants (POL) tanker, 104 chemical, 60 combination ore/oil, 44
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liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 485 bulk, 1 multifunction large-load
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carrier, 30 combination bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry; all
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ships are foreign owned; the top four owning flags are US 19%, Japan 17%,
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Hong Kong 12%, and Norway 10%; China owns at least 28 ships, Bulgaria
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owns 3, and Poland owns 1
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Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 75 total, 58 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: telephone and telegraph service via radio relay
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network; main center is Monrovia; 8,500 telephones; stations--3 AM, 4 FM,
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5 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Armed Forces of Liberia (includes Army, Navy, Air Force),
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Coast Guard, National Police Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 648,636; 346,349 fit for
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military service; no conscription
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Defense expenditures: $NA, 2.4% of GDP (1987)
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