葛路克

賴比瑞亞(Liberia)

正式名稱賴比瑞亞共和國（Republic of Liberia）

非洲西部共和國。面積99,067平方公里。人口約3,226,000（2001）。首都︰蒙羅維亞。民族群體包括美洲－賴比瑞亞人，19世紀從美國移居該地的自由黑人的後裔；還有原住民，包括曼德人（Mande）、克瓦人（Kwa）和梅爾人（Mel）。語言︰英語（官方語）和土語。宗教：基督教、伊斯蘭教、傳統信仰。貨幣︰賴比瑞亞元（L$）。賴比瑞亞的大西洋沿岸地帶延伸近560公里，內陸為丘陵和低山。約1/5的地區為熱帶雨林，可耕地不到4%，但境內鐵礦儲量豐富，為主要出口來源。主要經濟作物有橡膠、咖啡和可可，主要農作物為水稻和木薯。政府形式為共和國，兩院制。國家元首暨政府首腦為總統，由國務委員會輔助。

賴比瑞亞是非洲歷史最長的共和國。在美國殖民地協會支援下，設為安頓被釋放的美國奴隸的地方。1821年該協會在梅蘇拉多角（Cape Mesurado）建立了一塊殖民地，翌年衛理公會牧師阿什蒙（J. Ashmun）成為該移民地總督。1824年這塊移民地被命名為賴比瑞亞，其最主要的移民區被命名為蒙羅維亞。1847年賴比瑞亞第一位黑人總督羅伯次（J. J. Roberts）宣佈賴比瑞亞獨立，將該國版圖擴大。該國與法國及英國的邊疆爭端一直持續到1892年才正式確立疆界。1980年由杜（S. K. Doe）主導的政變，標誌著美洲－賴比瑞亞人對內陸非洲原住民長期政治統治的結束。1989年的一場叛亂，在1990年代逐步升級為破壞性內戰，1996年達成和平協定，1997年舉行選舉。

English version：

Liberia

Republic,western Africa. Area: 38,250 sq mi (99,067 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 2,602.000. Capital: Monrovia. Liberia's ethnic groups include the Americo-Liberians,descendants of the black freedmen who emigrated from the U.S. in the 19th century; and indigenous peoples,including the Mande,Kwa,and Mel. Languages: English (official),native languages. Religions: Christianity,Islam,traditional beliefs. Currency: Liberian dollar. Liberia has coastal lowlands extending 350 mi (560 km) along the Atlantic; farther inland are hills and low mountains. Roughly one-fifth of Liberia consists of tropical rain forest. Less than 4 percent of Liberia is considered arable,but the country has rich iron-ore reserves,which are a major source of exports. The principal cash crops are rubber,coffee,and cacao; the staple crops are rice and cassava. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president,assisted by the state minister for presidential affairs. Africa's oldest republic,Liberia was established on land bought from local tribes as a home for freed U.S. slaves under the American Colonization Society,which founded a colony at Cape Mesurado in 1821. In 1822 Jehudi Ashmun,a Methodist minister,became the director of the settlement and Liberia's real founder. In 1824 it was named Liberia,and its main settlement was named Monrovia. Joseph Jenkins Roberts,Liberia's first nonwhite governor,proclaimed Liberian independence in 1847 and expanded its boundaries. Border disputes with the French and British lasted until 1892,when its boundaries were officially established. In 1980 a coup led by Gen. Samuel K. Doe marked the end of the Americo-Liberians' long political dominance over the indigenous Africans. A rebellion in 1989 escalated into a destructive civil war in the 1990s. A peace agreement was reached in 1996,and elections were held in 1997.