Liberia

The land that is now Liberia was home for centuries to many African peoples, among them the Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano and Vai, whose trade networks reached far inland and along the coast. From the fifteenth c…

Grand Kru County was organised in 1984 by merging the territories of Sasstown and Kru Coast. Kru Coast had previously been part of Maryland County, while Sasstown belonged to Sinoe County. The county's capital is Barcla…

Sinoe County has long been home to indigenous peoples, and in 1835 more than 300 formerly enslaved African Americans from Prospect Hill Plantation in Mississippi settled here. The colony was first called Mississippi-in-…

Rivercess County lies in south-central Liberia, where the Cestos River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital, River Cess, is a small coastal town whose life has long been shaped by the river and the sea, which prov…

Grand Bassa County, in west-central Liberia, is home to the port city of Buchanan, its capital. In the 20th century the port was built by the mining company LAMCO to export iron ore brought by railway from Nimba, and Bu…

Margibi County is one of Liberia's newer counties. It was created by a decree of the Interim National Assembly on 13 December 1985, merging the territories of Marshall and Gibi – which is also where its name comes from.…

Montserrado County's history as a settlement began on 7 January 1822, when free people of colour arrived under the auspices of the American Colonization Society and settled on Providence Island in the Mesurado River. A …

The history of the region around Bomi is linked to the settlement of Liberia in the 19th century. Between 1822 and 1847, some 3,198 free people of colour from the United States and the Lesser Antilles came to Liberia. T…

Bong County was created in 1964, together with Nimba, Lofa and Grand Gedeh, when Liberia's administrative divisions were increased to thirteen. Its capital, Gbarnga, is named after an old farm that once stood at the sit…

Maryland County began as a colony of the Maryland State Colonization Society in 1834. After a referendum in 1853, it declared independence from the society and in 1854 became the Republic of Maryland, holding the coast …

River Gee County lies in the southern part of Liberia and takes its name from the river that flows through its forests and farmland. Rivers have long been central to life here, providing water, fish and routes for trave…

Grand Gedeh County was established in 1964, during the presidency of William Tubman, when the Liberian government reorganised its interior provinces into new counties as part of the Unification Policy. This reform aimed…

Nimba County, in northeastern Liberia, takes its name from the Nimba Mountains, which rise along the borders with Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea. The mountains are known for their rich biodiversity and for their iron ore, whi…

Lofa County was established in 1964 from the former Western Province and lies in the northernmost part of Liberia, bordering Guinea and Sierra Leone. Its capital is Voinjama, and Foya is its second-largest town. The cou…

Gbarpolu County lies in the forested north of Liberia, with the town of Bopulu as its capital. For generations, the region's dense rainforests, rivers and hills have been home to farming and hunting communities, whose v…

Grand Cape Mount takes its name from the 300-foot-tall Cape Mount, which Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra reached in 1461 and which became a landmark for seafarers and settlers in the region. A settlement was establi…

Grand Kru was created in 1984 by the merger of the territories of Sasstown and Kru Coast. Kru Coast territory had previously been part of Maryland County, and Sasstown territory had previously been part of Sinoe county.…

Grand Kru County is a county in the southeastern portion of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eighteen districts. Organized in 1984, its capital i…

Long settled by indigenous peoples, this area became colonized by more than 300 formerly enslaved African-Americans from Prospect Hill Plantation, Mississippi in 1835. The colony was originally called Mississippi-in-Afr…

Sinoe is one of Liberia's 15 counties and it has 17 districts. Greenville is the county's capital. As of the 2022 Census, it had a population of 151,149, making it one of the least populous counties in Liberia. Sinoe ha…