Population

Liberia is a nation marked by remarkable diversity, shaped by its history and successive migrations. Its population of 5.6 million as of 2024, consists of three main groups : the indigenous peoples, who form the majority and originally migrated from western Sudan in the late Middle Ages; the Americo-Liberians, descendants of freed slaves from the United States and the West Indies; and other Black immigrants from neighboring West African nations, who arrived during the anti-slave trade campaigns and European colonial rule.
Liberia’s indigenous ethnic groups belong to the Niger-Congo language family, classified into three linguistic branches: Mande, Kwa, and Mel (Southern Atlantic). The Mande, found in the northwest and central regions, include the Kpelle, Vai, and Loma. The Kwa, primarily in the south, include the Bassa, Kru, and Grebo.

Foreign Relations

 ‘ Liberia’s Foreign Policy is firmly rooted in its political ideology of liberalism, democracy and capitalism. This foundation is copied after the pattern adopted by the United States of America from where the founding fathers of Liberia had come as ex-slaves and freed men of color. Generally speaking, the guiding principles of Liberia’s foreign policy has been the maintenance of national security and the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, the promotion of peace and harmony based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and unity in the national community based on the virtue of liberal democracy.

The fundamental thrust of Liberia’s foreign policy objective before the Tubman era was predominantly the maintenance of national independence. Since the Tubman administration to date, the foreign policy objective of the country, in addition to the maintenance of national independence has been the devotion to economic, social and political development.
Liberia’s survival as a state in the face of difficult challenges posed by colonial powers like Great Britain and France have been the skill and maturity with which her leaders conducted her foreign policy and foreign relations. Thus, the mastery of the art of diplomacy has remained the hallmark and one of the most credible achievements of Liberia in the comity of nations.

Liberia is a founding member of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and equally a founding member of the Organization for African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS), the Non Aligned Movement, The African Development Bank (AfDB), The Mano River Union (MRU), the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA ) now AfricaRice. Liberia maintains closer friendly relations with all peace-loving states of the World.