@Liberia:Transportation

Railways:
total: 490 km (328 km single track); note - three rail systems owned
and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction
with the Liberian Government; one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed
in 1989 after iron ore production ceased; the other two were shut down
by the civil war; large sections of the rail lines have been
dismantled; approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for
scrap
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge

Highways:
total: 10,600 km (there is major deterioration on all highways due to
heavy rains and lack of maintenance)
paved: 657 km
unpaved: 9,943 km (1996 est.)

Ports and harbors: Buchanan, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia

Merchant marine:
total: 1,593 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 54,513,479
GRT/85,495,576 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 3, bulk 360, cargo 109, chemical tanker
185, combination bulk 22, combination ore/oil 50, container 225,
liquified gas 91, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 40,
petroleum tanker 351, refrigerated cargo 76, roll-on/roll-off 16,
short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 15, vehicle carrier 46 (1999
est.)
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 54 countries
among which are Germany 186, US 161, Norway 142, Greece 144, Japan
124, Hong Kong 100, China 53, UK 32, Singapore 39, and Monaco 38 (1998
est.)

Airports: 45 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 35 (1999 est.)

@Liberia:Military

Military branches: Army, Air Force, Navy

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 703,107 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 378,426 (2000 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1 million (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (FY98)

@Liberia:Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: increasingly a transshipment point for Southeast and
Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and
US markets

______________________________________________________________________

LIBYA

@Libya:Introduction

Background: Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar
Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a
combination of