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The U.S. dollar, previously the sole legal tender in Liberia, circulates alongside the Liberian dollar, the official currency minted by the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). Government revenue is derived from income, profits, property, domestic transaction, foreign trade, and maritime taxes. About one-third of economic development funding has generally been derived from foreign sources, both bilateral and multilateral.
Among the several government-sponsored banks are the CBL, the National Housing and Savings Bank, the Agricultural and Cooperative Development Bank, and the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment. In addition there are private banks, insurance companies, and credit unions.
Trade
The United States and countries of the European Union are among the principal markets for Liberian exports. Rubber accounts for the overwhelming majority of Liberian export earnings, followed by gold, diamonds, coffee, and cocoa. Petroleum products and food are primary imports; others include machinery and transport equipment, beverages, tobacco, manufactured goods, lubricants, and chemicals. Côte d’Ivoire, India, and China are among the largest suppliers of imports.
Services
Instability and civil war have held Liberia’s potentially lucrative tourist industry in check. Tourist facilities are concentrated near beaches in Monrovia and Robertsport and near Lake Piso. Many cultural attractions, such as the Monrovia Zoo and the National Cultural Center at Kendeja, were destroyed or looted during the war. Providence Island near Monrovia and the Kpatawee Waterfalls on the Zor River near Suakoko remain popular destinations for Liberia’s emerging tourist trade.
Labour and taxation
About one-fourth of the workforce is employed in agriculture; an equal number work in trade and tourism and the public sector. The rest work in manufacturing, sales, services, and administration and management. Some two-fifths of the total labor force is made up of women. More women than men are employed in agriculture.
Liberia’s economy is mixed and there is no nationalization of industry. The government, which is the largest single employer, operates several public corporations. There is a national Federation of Labour Unions, a federation of trade unions, and several other employees’ unions.
Transportation
Only a small percentage of Liberian roads are paved. Primary roads connect administrative and economic centers and provide access to the road systems of neighboring countries.
Monrovia is the principal commercial port, and it also has facilities for transshipping iron ore and liquid latex. Nimba Range iron ore is shipped from Buchanan, while the ports at Greenville and Harper are used primarily for the shipment of rubber and forest products. All ports are administered by the National Port Authority of Liberia.
Liberia has two major airports, Robertsfield International, and James Spriggs Payne Airport, both near Monrovia. More than 100 airfields and airstrips dot the country’s interior.