Census

MONROVIA, June 28 (Reuters) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf launched the country's first census in 23 years on Thursday to assist reconstruction after a devastating 14-year civil war and improve future elections.

The last census, in 1984, registered 2.5 million people in Liberia. Up to 250,000 people were killed in the civil war that began five years later and hundreds of thousands of others fled abroad, many never to return.

"For more than 23 years, there has been no accurate data on the demographic variables of the country," Johnson-Sirleaf said.