People: Liberia's indigenous population is made up of 16 ethnic groups. The Kpelle in central and western is Liberia’s largest ethnic group.  Americo-Liberians who are descendants of freed slaves that arrived in Liberia early in 1821 make up an estimated 5% of the population.
There are nationals from other West African countries who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community, followed by a large number of Lebanese, and Indians.  The Liberian constitution restricts citizenship only to people of African descent; also, land ownership is restricted by law to citizens.

Liberia, which means "land of the free," was founded by free African Americans slaves from the United States.  An initial group of 86 immigrants, who came to be called Americo-Liberians, first arrived in Liberia and established a settlement in Christopolis (now Monrovia, named after U.S. President James Monroe) on February 6, 1820.

Thousands of freed African American slaves arrived during the following years, leading to the formation of more settlements and culminating in a declaration of independence of the Republic of Liberia on July 26, 1847.  The drive to resettle freed slaves in Africa was promoted by the American Colonization Society (ACS), an organization of white clergymen, abolitionists, and slave owners founded in 1816 by Robert Finley, a Presbyterian minister.  Between 1821 and 1867 the ACS resettled some 10,000 African Americans and several thousand Africans from interdicted slave ships; it governed the Commonwealth of Liberia until independence in 1847.

Liberia is a founding member of the United Nations and its specialized agencies, also a member of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Development Bank (ADB), the Mano River Union (MRU), and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Liberia's business sector is largely controlled by foreigners, mainly of Lebanese and Indian descent. There also are limited numbers of Chinese engaged in agriculture.and significant numbers of West Africans engaged in cross-border trade.

Iron mining accounted for more than half of Liberia's export earnings in the 1970s and 1980s.  Following the coup d'etat of 1980, the country's economic growth rate slowed down because of a decline in the demand for iron ore on the world market and political upheavals in Liberia.  Liberia's foreign debt amounts to about $3.5 billion.

Liberia is the second-largest maritime licenser in the world; with more than 1,800 vessels registered under its flag, including 35% of the world's tanker fleet.  Liberia earns some $14 million annually from the flag registry. There is increasing interest in the possibility of commercially exploitable offshore crude oil deposits along Liberia's Atlantic Coast.

Liberia is a member of ECOWAS. With Guinea and Sierra Leone, it formed the Mano River Union (MRU) for development and the promotion of regional economic integration.  The MRU became all but defunct because of the Liberian civil war, which spilled over into neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea.  There was some revival of MRU political and security cooperation discussions in 2002.

The Governance and Economic Management Program (GEMAP), which started under the 2003-2006 transitional government, is designed to help the Liberian Government raise and spend revenues in an efficient, transparent way. Success under GEMAP and solid economic performance should result in Liberia being able to attract investment and begin rebuilding its economy.

Runway Liberia seeks to support the duly elected government of Liberia in its efforts rebuild its shattered economy of Liberia, promote its rich history, culture and raise Liberia’s presence as a tourist destination worldwide.

To learn more about Liberia visit: http://www.liberianembassyus.org