Liberia

Life in Liberia

In Liberia, like many poor countries, survival often takes priority over education – unless there is the incentive of a meal being provided at school.

Currently ranked 178 out of 191 countries and territories in the Human Development Index (HDI), Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world.  The World Food Program estimates that 16% of families are food insecure and around 27% of the population live below the international poverty line ($2.15 USD a day).

Liberia, known officially as the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Guinea to the north, Sierra Leone to the north-west, Ivory Coast to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south/south-east.

Liberia is considered to be one of the most ethnically diverse nations on the planet, with more than 30 native Liberian languages in regular use. English is commonly spoken as a means of connecting people from different regions.

Liberia’s children suffered greatly as a result of a brutal 14-year civil war, which destroyed the majority of schools and forced most of the country’s children out of education.

Despite a decade of unbroken peace, Liberia still faces huge challenges to re-establishing its education system. It is estimated that 210,622 children of primary school age are out of school, and more than half of all students do not complete primary school.

The country is also still dealing with the legacy of the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak, when the disease closed schools, crippled economies and wiped-out livelihoods. It is likely Covid-19 will leave a similarly debilitating legacy.