Liberia Environment - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; hunting of endangered species for bushmeat; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage; pollution of rivers from industrial run-off; burning and dumping of household waste

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 17.19 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 1.39 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 6.56 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 80.2 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 53.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 12.3 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

232 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers

Land use

agricultural land: 28.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 5.2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20.8% (2018 est.)

forest: 44.6% (2018 est.)

other: 27.3% (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 13.27% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 52.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.41% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever

Food insecurity

Severe localized food insecurity: due to high food prices: about 550,000 people were estimated to be in “Crisis” in the June‑August 2021 period due high food prices, including rice, which is mostly imported, and a significant increase in overall inflation (2021)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 564,467 tons (2007 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Liberia on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Liberia 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Liberia 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.