Liberia is an English-speaking country on the Pepper Coast of West Africa. It borders Guinea to the north, Cote D’Ivoire to the east, and Sierra Leone to the northwest. It also borders the Atlantic Ocean to the south and southwest. As of 2025, Liberia has a population of 5.5 million people within 43,000 square miles of land. Monrovia is Liberia’s capital and largest city.
History
In 1822, the American Colonization Society (ACS) sent 4,571 African Americans to the Pepper Coast, an area in West Africa. This was done so that recently-freed black slaves would not be discriminated in the United States. Among the colonies that were founded included Kentucky-in-Africa; Maryland-in-Africa; and Mississippi-in-Africa.
The African-American settlers did not relate with the Native Africans. The settlers’ descendants, known as American-Liberians, would go on to rule the country for the next century.
In 1847, Liberia declared independence from the ACS. However, the United States did not recognize it as a country. The first ever Liberian president was Joseph Jenkins Roberts. The country also adopted a flag with 11 stripes, which was based off the American flag.
In 1862, Liberia was recognized by the United States. Five years later in 1867, 13,000 African-Americans immigrated to Liberia following their emancipation.
In 1877, the True Whig Party (TWP) was elected into government. The TWP would remain Liberia’s sole political party for the next century.
During the early 20th century, Liberia, along side Ethiopia, were the only countries in Africa that were not European colonies. Liberia was now aligned with both the United States and United Kingdom.
During the presidency of William Tubman, which began in 1944, Liberia was now prospering. However, the prosperity only applied to the American-Liberian population. After Tubman died in 1971, Liberia would now go downhill fast.
In 1980, William Tolbert, the president of Liberia, was deposed during a coup d’état, led by Samuel Doe. After taking over, Doe became the first Indigenous African president in Liberian history.
In 1989, Liberia would collapse into civil war. The following, president Samuel Doe was tortured to death by Prince Yormie Johnson, which result in the office of president becoming vacant.
In 1997, Charles Taylor arrived in Liberia after escaping prison in Massachusetts. That same year, Taylor became president of Liberia and began using child soldiers in the military. This resulted in Nigeria invading Liberia in order to remove Taylor from power.
In 2003, Taylor was captured by Nigerian forces, ending the Liberian Civil War after 14 years. By now, Liberia was a failed state as its economy was destroyed and 8% of its population was dead. Since then, Liberia has been trying to rebuild.
In 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president, becoming the first female president of an African country. During her presidency, Johnson-Sirleaf restored democracy in Liberia. She also had former president Charles Taylor extradited to the Netherlands, where he was tried as a war criminal.
In 2014, Liberia, alongside Sierra Leone and Guinea, were stricken with an Ebola epidemic, which killed 4,809 Liberian citizens.
In the 2017 presidential election, former soccer player George Weah was elected president. Weah was then defeated in the 2023 election by Joseph Boakai, who has been president of Liberia ever since.