We take pride in our Liberian team members in Nobel and we were more than happy to be able to celebrate together the Independence Day of Liberia on July 26^th.

We realized there is still so much we don’t know about Liberia, so this was the perfect opportunity to discover fun and interesting facts about this beautiful African country.

Did you know that?

• The country of Liberia in Africa originates from an American colony created in 1816 where freed American slaves lived.
• On July 26^th, 1847, the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence and promulgated a constitution, which means that today marks 175^th years since Liberia is a sovereign state and has 100 percent control over its own affairs.
• Liberia’s name comes from the Latin word “liber” meaning “free” as the country was created as a homeland for liberated African-American slaves.
• The festivities surrounding this day include thunderous explosions of fireworks, public displays of the national flag and donning attires that reflect national pride. Liberians at home and throughout the world celebrate with picnic-like feasts, formal programs with guest speakers, fundraising activities, and a dinner climaxed with a “Grand March” (dance).
• The Liberian flag is very reminiscent of the American one since the United States contributed to the creation of the state of Liberia. The eleven stripes represent the eleven states that signed Liberia’s declaration of independence. The star in white is a symbol of freedom and will illuminate Africa, the dark continent. The flag reminds Liberians of the sacrifices and struggle of our great leaders to build the nation.
• The Liberian flag was adopted on July 26^th, 1847, in connection with the declaration of independence. The flag before that had a white cross where the star of the current flag is located.
• Liberia is the only Black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule and it is Africa’s oldest republic.
• The area where current Liberia is situated was known as the Grain Coast or Pepper Coast to Europeans because the valuable grain of Melegueta pepper was the principal item of trade in the region.
• The world’s largest rubber plantation is located in Liberia. The Firestone Rubber Plantation, a subsidiary of tire-maker Bridgestone, has operated in Liberia since 1926.
• From 1989 to 2003, a ruthless civil war killed 250,000 people and injured thousands others.
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia’s President from 2006 to 2018) was the first woman to be elected head of state of an African country. She was one of three recipients of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Peace for her efforts to further women’s rights.
• The country’s capital city, Monrovia, was named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the USA and supporter of the colonization of Liberia by freed slaves.
• Former professional footballer George Weah became Liberia’s president in 2018. Weah played for Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Chelsea before entering politics in 2002. He was named African, European, and World Player of the Year in 1995, an unprecedented achievement.
• Liberia’s beautiful natural landscapes include amazing beaches and lagoons, like CeCe Beach, Silver Beach or Thinker’s Beach.
• The town Robertsport, named after Liberia’s first African-American President Joseph Jenkins Roberts dates back over 170 years and it’s worth visiting for its Liberian historical and cultural ties with the United States.
• The non-functional Cape Palmas Lighthouse in Harper gives tourists a bird’s eye view of the coastal town.
• The Monkey Island is an archipelago of six islands on the Farmington River in Marshall inhabited by chimpanzees. The chimps were subjects of a hepatitis research for 30 years by a New York lab. When the research ended in 2005, the chimps were freed on the islands. While you won’t be able to land on the island, you can pay a fisherman to take you around in a canoe to catch a glimpse of the monkeys.
• Liberia offers many more attractions, such as the Gola National Forest; Sapo National Park, home to elephants, antelopes, chimpanzees, African civet, giant forest hog, crocodiles, leopards; West Africa’s last remaining rainforest; Kpatawee Waterfall; Gbedin Waterfall; the Waterside Market in Monrovia and other beautiful places.

Our colleague, David Monlonpolor (Nobel Country Ambassador from Liberia) was kind enough to send us valuable insight about his home country along with a few personal words:

“I am proud to possess some of the intricate qualities of an average Liberian, the “can do spirit “, I always see light at the end of the tunnel. I know that I can survive anywhere in the world and that is only because I am a Liberian.

I love Liberia, I am a Liberian and I am proud.

It is an understatement to say that we have closely knitted families in Liberia. We love family. We love to come together at least once in a year to enjoy a family time together.

I am also proud of Liberian music. I’ll agree that the lyrical content of our hip-hop may be below par, but that is not to say we do not have beautiful music. Some of our artistes even finish up albums in 48 hours (can you beat that) and we invent our own dance steps.

We can boast of being 1 of the few 3rd world countries with super intelligent-minded individuals capable of competing with the developed worlds’ minds. We have very rich cultures and languages. I don’t know if I’m the only person who swoons to my language. I like it when our men go back to our roots when communicating with me.”