Administrative divisions of Liberia

Last updated December 13, 2024

A map of Liberia, showing Liberian counties and major cities Un-liberia.png — A map of Liberia, showing Liberian counties and major cities

Liberia is divided into fifteen first-level administrative divisions called counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into a total of 136 second-level administrative divisions called districts and further subdivided into third-level administrative divisions called clans .

After its independence in 1847, and over the course of the nineteenth century, Liberia's administrative divisions grew from the original three counties — Montserrado, Grand Bassa, and Sinoe — to the addition of Maryland and Grand Cape Mount, extending along the windward coast between Cape Mount and Cape Palmas.^[1] Under President Arthur Barclay's administration (1904–1912), a new system was established in response to British and French demands that the Liberian government effectively occupy the territory Liberia had claimed. Three inland provinces were created — Western, Central, and Eastern — and each province was divided into several districts. The administrative districts were further sub-divided into clans. The districts were administered by the newly created office of district commissioner and the clans by the newly created office of paramount chief, all appointed by the president. In 1964, under President William Tubman's 'Unification' policy, the three inland provinces were disestablished, and the inland administrative divisions were reconstituted into four new counties: Grand Gedeh, Nimba, Bong, and Lofa, administered by superintendents who were appointed by the president.

In 1984, under President Samuel Doe, Grand Kru and Bomi counties were established. In 1985, two more counties were created: Margibi and Rivercess. The last two current counties were created under President Charles Taylor: River Gee in 2000 and Gbarpolu in 2001.

Governance

The fifteen counties are administered by superintendents, and the districts by commissioners, all appointed by the president. The cabinet office with responsibility for the management of the superintendents, commissioners and chiefs is the Minister of Internal Affairs. The 1985 Constitution calls for the election of various chiefs at the county and local level. These elections have not taken place since 1985 due to war and financial constraints.^[2]

Counties

There are 15 counties in Liberia.

Map #	County	Date Created	Capital	Area (mi²)^[3]	Population (2022 Census)^[4]
1	Bomi	1984	Tubmanburg	749 sq mi (1,940 km²)	133,668
2	Bong	1964	Gbarnga	3,386 sq mi (8,770 km²)	467,502
3	Gbarpolu	2001	Bopolu	3,740 sq mi (9,700 km²)	95,995
4	Grand Bassa	1839	Buchanan	3,064 sq mi (7,940 km²)	293,557
5	Grand Cape Mount	1844	Robertsport	1,993 sq mi (5,160 km²)	178,798
6	Grand Gedeh	1964	Zwedru	4,047 sq mi (10,480 km²)	216,692
7	Grand Kru	1984	Barclayville	1,503 sq mi (3,890 km²)	109,342
8	Lofa	1964	Voinjama	3,854 sq mi (9,980 km²)	367,376
9	Margibi	1985	Kakata	1,010 sq mi (2,600 km²)	304,946
10	Maryland	1857	Harper	886 sq mi (2,290 km²)	172,202
11	Montserrado	1839	Bensonville	737 sq mi (1,910 km²)	1,920,914
12	Nimba	1964	Sanniquellie	4,459 sq mi (11,550 km²)	621,841
13	Rivercess	1985	River Cess	2,159 sq mi (5,590 km²)	90,777
14	River Gee	2000	Fish Town	1,974 sq mi (5,110 km²)	124,653
15	Sinoe	1843	Greenville	3,913 sq mi (10,130 km²)	150,358

Districts

^[5]^[6]

Clans

The Clans of Liberia were local political units created by the central government as part of its efforts to extend its authority and influence into the interior of the country. ^[7]As the tier of administrative government beneath the districts of Liberia, the clan structure only loosely corresponded to historic local political entities. Clans were legally recognized through legislation in 1905 and 1912. ^[8] In a number of cases the clans, each under a chief, were combined under larger units called chiefdoms and headed by a paramount chief. ^[7] Clans and chiefdoms were in some cases parts of a limited number of officially-recognized tribes. ^[7] Under that system, indigenous Africans were regarded as corporate members of their respective groups rather than as individual citizens of Liberia. Clan land was owned communally and could be alienated only with the agreement of the chiefs. ^[7] Over time, the units of clans and chiefdoms gradually merged into the state. The County Council, affirmed in the Budget Act of 2012, has now replaced informal town hall meetings and includes a broad representation of citizen groups, districts, chiefdoms and clans.^[8]

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References

↑ "Decentralization Of Political & Administrative Power In Liberia". www.theperspective.org. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
↑ "Liberia cannot afford local polls". BBC News. January 14, 2008.
↑ "2008 National Population and Housing Census: Preliminary Results" (PDF). Government of the Republic of Liberia. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
↑ "Liberia: Counties, Major Cities, Towns & Urban Areas - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
↑ "Liberia: Administrative Divisions" (PDF). gov.uk. March 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
↑ "Liberia Districts". www.statoids.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
1 2 3 4 "Indirect Rule in the Hinterland". GlobalSecurity.org. February 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
1 2 Nyei, Ibrahim (2014). "Decentralizing the State in Liberia: The Issues, Progress and Challenges". Stability: International Journal of Security & Development. 3. doi: 10.5334/sta.eg .

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[:0-1] "Decentralization Of Political & Administrative Power In Liberia". www.theperspective.org. Retrieved 2017-01-03.

[polls-2] "Liberia cannot afford local polls". BBC News. January 14, 2008.

[census2008-3] "2008 National Population and Housing Census: Preliminary Results" (PDF). Government of the Republic of Liberia. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2008.

[4] "Liberia: Counties, Major Cities, Towns & Urban Areas - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-01-16.

[5] "Liberia: Administrative Divisions" (PDF). gov.uk. March 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[6] "Liberia Districts". www.statoids.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.

[GlobalSecurity-7] 1 2 3 4 "Indirect Rule in the Hinterland". GlobalSecurity.org. February 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

[Stability-8] 1 2 Nyei, Ibrahim (2014). "Decentralizing the State in Liberia: The Issues, Progress and Challenges". Stability: International Journal of Security & Development. 3. doi: 10.5334/sta.eg .

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