GDP per capita (1999 estimate): US $1,000

studded Atlantic coastline. The hinterland is made up of ill-defined and dissected plateaux. The climate is humid/tropical with high rainfall, and high temperatures. The export economy of Liberia was, until recently, dominated by sales of agricultural products (timber, rubber and coffee), iron ore, diamonds and gold. But agricultural production and mining activities have been adversely affected by the civil war that started in 1989. Artisanal miners continued with the extraction of diamonds during the civil unrest. Agriculture in Liberia is primarily subsistence in nature and, in time of peace, contributed up to 50 % of the GDP. Approximately 70 % of the labour force was engaged in agricultural activities. The main food crops are rice, cassava, sugarcane and bananas. Historically, the main export crops were rubber, palm oil and cocoa beans. Geological outline The geology of Liberia is dominated by Precambrian rock formations of the West African Craton. Metamorphosed rocks of the Liberian Province underlie the western two-thirds of Liberia (Hurley et al. 1971), metamorphites and granites of the Paleoproterozoic Eburnian Province dominate the eastern part of Liberia. The iron ore deposits of the Bong Range occur in the Liberian Province. A narrow belt of supracrustal rocks affected by the Neoproterozoic to lower Cambrian Pan-African event strike parallel to the coastline. Unmetamorphosed Paleozoic to Recent sediments occur along the coast. AGROMINERAL