City of Monrovia

Liberia

The City of Monrovia, founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society as Christopolis, is the capital and largest city of Liberia. Monrovia serves as Liberia’s economic and political hub and is home to approximately 1.1 million residents, accounting for nearly a third of the national population. The Greater Monrovia Urban Area includes six townships—Congo Town, West Point, Barnesville, New Georgia, Garworlon, and Gardnersville—and one borough, New Kru Town. With its dynamic urban growth, deep historical significance, and ongoing resilience efforts, Monrovia stands as a vital center of Liberia’s development.

Monrovia’s diversity is reflected in its vibrant ethnic, linguistic, and religious composition. Home to more than 16 ethnic groups Monrovia blends traditional practices with modern influences. English is the official language, but local languages such as Kpelle and Bassa are widely spoken, alongside Liberian English (“Colloquia”), which serves as a unifying informal language spoken across communities. The city also features strong interfaith coexistence, youthful demographics, and a growing presence of diaspora Liberians and international communities.

Monrovia is advancing sustainability and equity through community-centered and internationally supported initiatives. The “Go Green for Inclusive City Resilience and Adaptation” project trains migrant and internally displaced youth to plant 20,000 mangrove and coconut trees, helping reduce coastal erosion and flooding while providing income-generating opportunities.

Through the Liberia Urban Resilience Program (LURP), the city promotes climate risk profiling and adaptation planning in informal settlements, enhancing adaptive capacity and resilience. In addition, the Cities Alliance Country Programme supports community mapping, savings groups, and local capacity building to drive inclusive urban development. These efforts are guided by Liberia’s National Policy and Response Strategy on Climate Change and enhanced through partnerships with global institutions such as the Global Center on Adaptation, the UNDP, and the UN Network on Migration. Monrovia’s approach reflects an integrated vision of climate resilience, environmental restoration, and social inclusion tailored to local needs and capacities.

Equity challenges

Monrovia faces interconnected equity challenges that affect the everyday lives and long-term prospects of its residents.

Inequitable and unsustainable waste management
Rapid urban expansion has overwhelmed the city’s waste collection and disposal systems, particularly in underserved communities. Informal dumping and burning of waste are common, leading to environmental pollution, blocked drainage, and increased health risks. Access to organized waste services remains limited, especially in informal settlements, and recycling infrastructure is nearly nonexistent. Compounding this issue, the tariffs charged by local Community-Based Enterprises (CBEs) which range from LD$10 to LD$100 (approximately USD $0.05 to $0.50) per week, are unaffordable for many households, particularly those experiencing poverty or insecure income.
Expansion of informal settlements and climate-related urban vulnerability
According to the 2020 World Bank Greater Monrovia Urban Review, informal settlements cover approximately 70% of the built-up area in Greater Monrovia and house around two-thirds of the city’s population. Many of these 113 settlements are situated in environmentally sensitive wetlands and flood-prone coastal zones, placing residents at heightened risk from climate-related hazards such as sea level rise, erratic rainfall, and coastal erosion. Since 2013, more than 6,500 people have been displaced and over 800 homes destroyed in West Point, one of Monrovia’s most exposed coastal settlements.
Housing conditions and socio-economic dimensions of informality
Housing conditions in Monrovia reflect the deep intersection between informality, poverty, and vulnerability. Overcrowding is common, with nearly 23% of households residing in cramped conditions. Unlike many cities where informal housing is limited to peripheral zones, in Monrovia it is evenly distributed throughout the city and consistently represents 60% to 70% of the housing stock, regardless of proximity to the city center (World Bank 2020). These housing challenges mirror the geographic distribution of poverty: areas with the highest levels of housing informality also tend to be home to the greatest proportion of people living below the national poverty line.
Family and financial barriers to education
Many children and adolescents in Monrovia face significant barriers to education, rooted in both financial constraints and social norms. Individuals over the age of 14 commonly report economic hardship as a key reason for disrupted or incomplete education. Additionally, many families share the belief that children between the ages of 6 and 14 are too young to begin formal schooling, contributing to delayed school entry and long-term educational disadvantages (World Bank 2020). These combined financial, cultural, and familial challenges limit access to education for a large portion of Monrovia’s youth, reinforcing cycles of poverty and social exclusion.

Looking ahead, Monrovia is committed to ensuring that its climate resilience and development strategies are inclusive and equitable, placing people in vulnerability at the center of decision-making. With strong community engagement and international cooperation, the city is building a more sustainable and just urban future.

City of Monrovia

City of Monrovia

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