NW,
Washington, DC 20011; telephone (202) 723-0437 through 0440; there is a
Liberian Consulate General in New York
US:
Ambassador Peter J. de VOS; Embassy at 111 United Nations Drive, Monrovia
(mailing address is P. O. Box 98, Monrovia, or APO AE 09813; telephone [231]
222991 through 222994; FAX (231) 223-710
Flag:
11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white;
there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side
corner; the design was based on the US flag

:Liberia Economy

Overview:
Civil war during 1990 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the
infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Expatriate businessmen fled the
country, taking capital and expertise with them. Many will not return.
Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate
favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic
products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in
scope. Political instability threatens prospects for economic reconstruction
and repatriation of some 750,000 Liberian refugees who fled to neighboring
countries. In 1991, the political impasse between the interim government and
the rebel leader Charles Taylor prevented restoration of normal economic
life.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $988 million, per capita $400; real growth rate
1.5% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
43% urban (1988)
Budget:
revenues $242.1 million; expenditures $435.4 million, including capital
expenditures of $29.5 million (1989)
Exports:
$505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.)
commodities:
iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee
partners:
US, EC, Netherlands
Imports:
$394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.)
commodities:
rice, mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, other
foodstuffs
partners:
US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS
External debt:
$1.6 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1.5% in manufacturing (1987); accounts for 22% of GDP
Electricity:
410,000 kW capacity; 750 million kWh produced, 275 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
rubber processing, food processing, construction materials, furniture, palm
oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)
Agriculture:
accounts