Chocolate City, Liberia

Suburb in Greater Monrovia, Montserrado County, Liberia

Chocolate City

Suburb

Chocolate City

Location in Liberia

Coordinates: 6°19′57″N 10°45′26″W﻿ / ﻿6.33250°N 10.75722°W﻿ / 6.33250; -10.75722
Country|  Liberia
County| Montserrado County
District| Greater Monrovia
Population

(2014)[1]

• Total

| 11,986
Time zone| UTC+0 (GMT)

Chocolate City is a central-northern suburb of Monrovia, the administrative capital and largest city in Liberia. It is located in the New Georgia Township.[2] The suburb can be found on the outskirts of Monrovia, approximately 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) away from the city itself.[3] The area has a total population of just under 12,000.

## Name

[edit]

There are a number of theories as to how Chocolate City got its name. One is that Chocolate City got its name from a chocolate factory that was due to be built in the area that never was completed.[4] Another local tale is that the area regularly smelled of faeces, and rather than name the source of the smell, the locals started calling it Chocolate City to make light of it.[5]

## History

[edit]

During the Second Liberian Civil War between the years of 1999–2003, the area was war-torn,[6] and "rape, murder and plunder" happened every night in Chocolate City at the hands of soldiers, with the civilian population suffering greatly. Hundreds of thousands of refugees hid in churches, schools and houses and many thousands died.[7]

The area was badly affected by the ebola epidemic in 2014.[8]

## Population

[edit]

Chocolate City contains two communities, Chocolate City A and Chocolate City B. As of 2014 the population of Chocolate City A was estimated at 5,961 and the population of Chocolate City B at 6,025.[1] Chocolate City A and Chocolate City B are part of the Montserrado-13 electoral district.[2] The area is known to contain slum settlements.[9]

Chocolate City contains the Elizabeth Blunt School and Francis Freeman Elementary School.[10][11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services. Population 2008, 2014 by County, District, Clan and Households, Liberia Archived 13 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ a b National Electoral Commission. Montserrado County Electoral District No.13 2017 Retrieved 1 July 2025
3. ^ "Chocolate City in Liberia | Facts and Information about Chocolate City - Places-in-the-World.com". places-in-the-world.com. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
4. ^ "In Liberia's capital, residents call Chickensoup Factory home". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
5. ^ "The Story Behind the Name". Stereotype Liberia. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
6. ^ Gbowee, Leymah; Mithers, Carol (13 September 2011). Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War. Beast Books. p. 170\. ISBN 978-0-9842951-5-9. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
7. ^ "A year after Liberia". www.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
8. ^ "Monrovia in Times of Ebola". Doctors of the World. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
9. ^ "Monrovia City Corporation's Slum Initiative" (PDF). Cities Alliance. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
10. ^ "A school named after me". BBC. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
11. ^ "Liberian Journal No 11". Society of African Missions. 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2012.