A Brief History of Liberia

Liberia, a small country on the west coast of Africa covers an area of 43,000 square miles and is home to about 4.5 million people. English is the official language but over thirty indigenous languages are also spoken within the country.

Beginning in 1820, the region that is now Liberia was settled by freed slaves from the United States. These immigrants established a new country with the help of the American Colonization Society.

In 1847, this new country became the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States. The colonists and their descendants, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political, social, cultural and economic sectors of the country and ruled the nation for over 130 years.

In 1980 a military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian leadership, marking the start of political and economic instability that led to two successive civil wars beginning in 1989. The wars resulted in the deaths of more than 250,000 people and devastated the country's economy. The wars finally came to an end in 2003.

And in 2014-2015 Liberia was at the center of the largest Ebola Virus outbreak in history when more than 4,100 Liberians lost their lives to the disease.

About 85% of the population currently live below the international poverty line.