Guinea–Liberia border

The Guinea–Liberia border is 590 km (367 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Sierra Leone in the west to the tripoint with the Ivory Coast in the east.^[1]

The boundary starts in the west at the tripoint with Sierra Leone on the Makona river, following this river eastwards before running overland to the southeast via a series of very irregular lines.^[2] Upon reaching the Diani/Nianda it then follows this river southwards, before turning eastwards. It then proceeds in this direction via a series of overland and riverine (such as the Djoule and Mani) sections, turning to the northeast and then finally southeast to the Ivorian tripoint on Mount Nuon in the Nimba Range.^[2]

Liberia was founded as a colony for freed American slaves in 1822; various settlements were founded along the coast in the following years, with the bulk of them uniting to create the Republic of Liberia in 1847 (the Republic of Maryland joined later in 1857).^[3][4] France had also taken an interest in the West African coast, settling in the region of modern Senegal in the 17th century and later annexing the coast of what is now Guinea in the late 19th century as the Rivières du Sud colony.^[5] The area was renamed French Guinea 1893, and was later included within the French West Africa colony.^[4]

As the African interior began to be carved up during the Scramble for Africa in the 1880s, France and Liberia signed a boundary treaty on 8 December 1892 outlining their respective territorial limits (for France, this treaty covered what would later become the Ivory Coast as well as Guinea).^[4][2] The treaty utilised straight-line boundaries and placed the frontier further north than the current alignment. Difficulties in demarcating this boundary on the ground led France and Liberia to conclude another treaty on 18 September 1907, confirmed in January 1911, which moved the boundary south to its present position.^[4][2] Meanwhile, an Anglo-Liberian treaty concluded at the same time shifted Sierra Leone's territory slightly eastward, thereby also moving the Guinea tripoint.^[4] The Guinea–Liberia border was later demarcated on the ground from 1926 to 1929.^[4][2]

French Guinea gained independence in 1958, and the boundary then became one between two sovereign states. Both states confirmed that they recognised and respected the existing boundary in 1960.^[2] The boundary region became unstable in the 1990s-early 2000s due to the Liberian Civil Wars.

Despite the formal delimitation and demarcation of the frontier in the early twentieth century, disagreements over the precise alignment of some sections of the boundary have occasionally led to tensions between Liberia and Guinea.^[4]

• Guéckédou
• Boboueloua

• Voinjama
• Gbangoi
• Golu
• Gbalatuai
• Shankpalai
• Gahnoa
• Ganta
• Yekepa

In March 2026, tensions rose along the Guinea–Liberia border after reports that Guinean soldiers crossed into Liberian territory near Sorlumba in Foya District, Lofa County. Local officials stated that Guinean troops halted road construction work near the Makona River, seized equipment being used in the area, and removed a Liberian flag from the disputed location.^[6]

The incident prompted diplomatic engagement between the governments of Liberia and Guinea. Liberian President Joseph Boakai traveled to Conakry in March 2026 for emergency talks with Guinean officials and regional leaders aimed at easing tensions and resolving the dispute peacefully.^[7][8]

Regional organizations including the Economic Community of West African States called for restraint while diplomatic efforts continued to address the situation along the frontier.^[9]