Liberia is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. Liberia, which means "Land of the Free", was founded as an independent nation by free-born and formerly enslaved blacks from the United States.

Indigenous peoples comprise about 95% of the population, the largest of which are the Kpelle in central and western Liberia. Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of freed slaves that arrived in Liberia as of 1821, make up an estimated 5% of the population, of whom half from US origin and half from the Caribbean.

The landscape is characterised by mostly flat to rolling coastal plains, which rise to rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast. The climate is hot and humid with a lot of rain fall. Winters are dry with hot days and cool to cold nights. Summers are wet and cloudy with frequent heavy showers.