Liberia declared independence on July 26, 1847, making it Africa's first republic. The country emerged from a settlement established in 1822 by the American Colonization Society, which transported freed slaves and freeborn African Americans to West Africa. Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a freeborn African American from Virginia, became the first president in 1848. This origin distinguishes Liberia from all other African nations, which were European colonies until the mid-twentieth century. The settlement began at Providence Island on the Mesurado River, where approximately one hundred settlers landed. Monrovia, the capital, takes its name from James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president who supported colonization efforts while in office.
The settler population, known as Americo-Liberians, established political dominance that lasted until 1980. William Tubman served as president from 1944 to 1971, the longest tenure in Liberian history. He opened the country to foreign investment, most notably through the 1926 Firestone rubber concession agreement that granted the American company control over one million acres. William Tolbert succeeded Tubman in 1971 and governed until April 12, 1980, when Master Sergeant Samuel Doe led a military coup. Doe's forces executed Tolbert and thirteen cabinet members on a Monrovia beach. This coup ended 133 years of Americo-Liberian political control and marked the first time an indigenous Liberian held executive power.
Doe governed as military head of state until 1985, when he won a disputed presidential election. On December 24, 1989, Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia crossed from Côte d'Ivoire into Nimba County, beginning the First Liberian Civil War. The conflict fractured into multiple factions. Prince Johnson's Independent National Patriotic Front captured and executed Doe in September 1990, an event recorded on video that circulated internationally. The war continued until 1996, killing an estimated 200,000 people. Taylor won the 1997 presidential election with 75 percent of votes, a result observers attributed partly to fear he would resume fighting if defeated.
A second civil war began in 1999 when Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy attacked from Guinea. By 2003, multiple armed groups controlled territory outside Monrovia. Taylor resigned on August 11, 2003, and accepted exile in Nigeria. A transitional government led to elections in 2005. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the presidency, becoming Africa's first elected female head of state on January 16, 2006. She served two terms until 2018. The Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted Taylor in 2012 on eleven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Sierra Leone's civil war. He is serving a 50-year sentence in a British prison.
Liberia's population exceeds five million, with approximately 1.5 million residing in Monrovia and its metropolitan area. The country recognizes sixteen ethnic groups, with no group constituting a majority. The Kpelle, concentrated in Bong and Gbarpolu counties, form the largest group at roughly 20 percent of the population. The Bassa inhabit Grand Bassa, Rivercess, and Margibi counties. The Gio and Mano populations concentrate in Nimba County near the Guinean border. The Grebo live primarily in Maryland and Grand Kru counties in the southeast. Americo-Liberian descendants constitute less than five percent of the population but historically controlled government, education, and commerce until 1980.
English serves as the official language, a legacy of the American settlement. Liberians speak approximately thirty indigenous languages across the country. Kpelle has the most native speakers. Liberian English contains distinct vocabulary and grammatical structures that differ from American English, including terms like "country woman" for a traditional rural wife and "carry me" meaning transport me. Many urban Liberians grow up speaking both English and an ethnic language.
Christianity claims approximately 85 percent of Liberians, with Protestantism dominant among both Americo-Liberian descendants and indigenous converts. The United Methodist Church maintains the strongest institutional presence, operating schools and health facilities since the nineteenth century. The Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian denominations established missions during the settler era. Roman Catholicism grew significantly during the twentieth century. Islam accounts for roughly 12 percent of the population, concentrated in Lofa and Gbarpolu counties near the Guinea and Sierra Leone borders. Muslims are predominantly Mandingo and Vai, ethnic groups with historical trade connections to Islamic regions north of Liberia.
Traditional religious practices persist alongside Christianity and Islam. The Poro society for men and the Sande society for women function as initiation systems that transmit cultural knowledge and mark adulthood. These societies operate in sacred groves, forested areas restricted to initiated members. The societies enforce social norms and historically exercised judicial functions. Initiation involves weeks or months in bush schools where elders teach ethnic history, agricultural techniques, medicinal plant knowledge, and behavioral codes. The societies use masks during ceremonies, with the Sande mask being the only mask in Africa traditionally worn by women. Multiple ethnic groups including the Kpelle, Mano, Gio, and Gola practice these initiation systems.