Liberia Counties

Liberia is a small country on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, and the county is the unit that tells you where on its map you are. There are fifteen of them, which makes this one of the quicker national maps to learn.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: The five regions the national census uses
In the game: 15 counties

Start

What you are looking at

The counties of Liberia, the first tier of the country. Each is run by a superintendent appointed from Monrovia, and each is split into districts, which are the Liberia Districts game. Most of the counties date from the 1980s or earlier: Bomi, Grand Kru, Margibi and Rivercess were cut from older counties then, and the newest two, Gbarpolu (from Lofa) and River Gee (from Grand Gedeh), were created in 2001.

The map is a rough rectangle with a long diagonal coast, and the counties fall into two bands. Along the sea run Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Montserrado, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Sinoe, Grand Kru and Maryland, in that order from the Sierra Leone border to the Ivorian one. Behind them, against Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, sit Lofa, Gbarpolu, Bong, Nimba, Grand Gedeh and River Gee. Rivercess is the one in between, on the coast but pushed back from it by its neighbours.

Size is no guide to importance. Montserrado is the smallest county on this map and holds the capital and about a third of the population, while Nimba, the largest, is mostly forest and the iron-ore mountains on the Guinean border.

The groups are the five regions the national census cuts the counties into. They are a statistical grouping rather than an administrative tier, so use them to drill the map a piece at a time.

How to place one

Start with the capital. Montserrado is the small county on the coast, with Margibi behind it and Bomi to the north west.
Run the coast. From Montserrado south east it is Grand Bassa, then Sinoe, then Grand Kru and Maryland at the far corner by the Ivorian border.
Find the three northern giants. Lofa is the northern tip, with Bong below it in the middle and Nimba to the east, along the Ivorian border.
Fill the south east. Grand Gedeh is the big inland county, with River Gee between it and the sea counties and Rivercess squeezed in beside Grand Bassa.

Every county, by group

North Western3 counties: Bomi, Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount
South Central3 counties: Grand Bassa, Margibi, Montserrado
North Central3 counties: Bong, Lofa, Nimba
South Eastern A3 counties: Grand Gedeh, Rivercess, Sinoe
South Eastern B3 counties: Grand Kru, Maryland, River Gee

Worked examples

Montserrado

The small one with the capital

Montserrado is the smallest county and holds Monrovia, so it is the one every round seems to show a piece of. It is a thin wedge on the coast between Bomi and Margibi, and easier to find from those two than by itself.

Nimba

The long eastern arm

Nimba is the largest county and the most recognisable shape on the map: a long arm reaching down the Ivorian border from the north east. Its southern tip squeezes between Grand Gedeh and Rivercess.

Rivercess

The coast you cannot see

Rivercess is the awkward one, between Grand Bassa and Sinoe, with a short shoreline and an outline that leans inland. Find Grand Bassa and Sinoe first and it is the gap between them.

Frequently asked questions

How many counties does Liberia have?

Fifteen. The last two, Gbarpolu and River Gee, were created in 2001 out of Lofa and Grand Gedeh.

Which county is Monrovia in?

Montserrado, the smallest county on this map. The city of Monrovia and its suburbs make up most of it.

Are the five groups official?

They are the regions the national census uses to report the counties in fives, not an administrative tier. Liberia has nothing between the county and the country.

The tier below this one is Liberia Districts. For another country on the same coast, see Ghana Regions.

Sources

geoBoundaries, Liberia ADM2 and ADM1, the boundaries; each county is its districts joined together
Counties of Liberia, the fifteen counties and when each was created

Loading game...