Liberia Country Information: Language
Ethnic Populations
The following statistics are taken from Operation World published by OM. Keep in mind that the data comes from the mid 1990's, and much has happened in subsequent years. War fatalities and fleeing population definitely affects the numbers, but this gives an overview of the various local ethnic groups.
Statistics of Ethnic Groups and Languages
- Mande 47%. 12 ethnic groups. Largest: Kpelle 487,000, Gio 200,000, Mano 178,000, Loma 142,000, Mande/Mandingo 98,000, Vai 78,000, Gbandi 71,000.
- Kru 40.5%. Over 18 ethnic groups. Largest: Bassa 348,000, Grebo (7 languages) 223,000, Klao 184,000, Krahn 95,000.
- West Atlantic 7.5%. Kissi 101,000, Gola 99,000.
- Other 2.7%. Lebanese 25,000, other West African Nationals.
- Non-tribal 2.3%. English-speaking.
Capital
The national language of Liberia is English. In most rural areas, the people only know their tribal languages. The educated and business people in Monrovia know English well. The uneducated speak a very broken English, and are very difficult to understand. Their English dialect is not “Krio” as in Sierra Leone, but they call in a “Liberian English.”
English Bibles are prevalent and local missionaries say there are always more needed.