Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income
Liberia: the economy in numbers
Per person: $915, or $1,981 at purchasing power parity. Population: 5.73 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #165 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +5.5%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $2.08 billion in 1960, $5.25 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $1,821 per person in 1960, $915 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 2.0% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 23 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 12.1 times from 2001 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 27.0% in 2019.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2000: 600.1% of GDP in 2003. IMF forecast for 2031: 50.7%.
Population
1960: 1.14 million · 2025: 5.73 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 2.7% · 2025: 2.9%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 38.1 years · 2024: 62.3 years.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 5.4%f | 4.7%f | 50.7%f | ||||||
| 2030 | 5.6%f | 4.9%f | 52.3%f | ||||||
| 2029 | 5.4%f | 5.0%f | 52.8%f | ||||||
| 2028 | 5.3%f | 5.5%f | 53.6%f | ||||||
| 2027 | 5.1%f | 7.1%f | 55.1%f | ||||||
| 2026 | 5.5%f | 5.9%f | 54.0%f | ||||||
| 2025 | $5.25B | $915 | $1,981 | 5.0% | 8.3% | 55.1% | 5.73M | 2.9% | |
| 2024 | $4.78B | $851 | $1,874 | 4.0% | 8.2% | 56.4% | 5.61M | 2.9% | 62.3 |
| 2023 | $4.39B | $799 | $1,796 | 4.7% | 10.1% | 57.2% | 5.49M | 2.9% | 62.2 |
| 2022 | $4.0B | $745 | $1,691 | 4.8% | 7.6% | 54.4% | 5.37M | 3.0% | 61.9 |
| 2021 | $3.51B | $668 | $1,539 | 5.0% | 7.8% | 53.5% | 5.26M | 3.8% | 61.2 |
| 2020 | $3.18B | $617 | $1,660 | −3.0% | 17.0% | 58.5% | 5.15M | 4.1% | 61.3 |
| 2019 | $3.32B | $658 | $1,900 | −2.5% | 27.0% | 48.1% | 5.04M | 3.1% | 61.2 |
| 2018 | $3.42B | $692 | $1,800 | 1.2% | 23.6% | 36.2% | 4.94M | 3.1% | 61.0 |
| 2017 | $3.39B | $699 | $1,665 | 2.5% | 12.4% | 31.8% | 4.85M | 3.1% | 60.8 |
| 2016 | $3.4B | $715 | $1,490 | −1.6% | 8.8% | 28.0% | 4.76M | 3.1% | 60.5 |
| 2015 | $3.23B | $693 | $1,340 | −0.0% | 7.7% | 24.4% | 4.66M | 2.6% | 59.2 |
| 2014 | $3.23B | $707 | $1,419 | 0.7% | 9.9% | 24.3% | 4.56M | 2.1% | 59.2 |
| 2013 | $3.18B | $711 | $1,360 | 8.7% | 7.6% | 20.6% | 4.47M | 2.1% | 60.0 |
| 2012 | $2.79B | $638 | $1,157 | 8.0% | 6.8% | 20.5% | 4.37M | 2.1% | 59.8 |
| 2011 | $2.4B | $568 | $1,041 | 8.2% | 8.5% | 22.5% | 4.22M | 2.2% | 59.5 |
| 2010 | $2.0B | $492 | $980 | 6.1% | 7.3% | 25.4% | 4.06M | 2.3% | 59.4 |
| 2009 | $1.77B | $448 | $939 | 5.3% | 7.4% | 132.2% | 3.94M | 2.2% | 59.1 |
| 2008 | $1.73B | $452 | $915 | 7.1% | 17.5% | 235.3% | 3.82M | 2.2% | 58.7 |
| 2007 | $1.37B | $374 | $873 | 9.5% | 11.4% | 366.8% | 3.67M | 2.2% | 58.1 |
| 2006 | $1.12B | $321 | $815 | 8.0% | 7.3% | 450.9% | 3.49M | 2.3% | 57.5 |
| 2005 | $949M | $287 | $774 | 5.3% | 10.8% | 488.5% | 3.3M | 2.4% | 56.8 |
| 2004 | $897M | $284 | $745 | 2.6% | 7.8% | 543.4% | 3.16M | 2.4% | 55.9 |
| 2003 | $748M | $240 | $716 | −30.1% | 10.3% | 600.1% | 3.12M | 2.4% | 53.0 |
| 2002 | $927M | $300 | $1,013 | 3.8% | 14.2% | 463.6% | 3.09M | 2.2% | 54.1 |
| 2001 | $906M | $300 | $987 | 2.9% | 12.1% | 465.2% | 3.02M | 2.1% | 53.1 |
| 2000 | $874M | $298 | $965 | 28.6% | 5.3% | 468.1% | 2.93M | 2.0% | 51.9 |
| 1999 | $442M | $157 | $762 | 21.7% | 2.0% | 2.82M | 2.0% | 50.4 | |
| 1998 | $360M | $135 | $652 | 30.2% | 2.67M | 2.1% | 49.4 | ||
| 1997 | $296M | $123 | $548 | 106.3% | 2.41M | 2.2% | 48.3 | ||
| 1996 | $159M | $71 | $282 | 12.1% | 2.23M | 2.4% | 44.9 | ||
| 1995 | $135M | $62 | $254 | −4.3% | 2.17M | 2.6% | 44.6 | ||
| 1994 | $132M | $61 | $263 | −21.8% | 2.15M | 2.7% | 42.6 | ||
| 1993 | $160M | $74 | $328 | −33.0% | 2.16M | 2.7% | 43.0 | ||
| 1992 | $224M | $108 | $497 | −35.1% | 2.07M | 2.7% | 43.6 | ||
| 1991 | $348M | $178 | $793 | −14.2% | 1.96M | 2.7% | 43.6 | ||
| 1990 | $384M | $173 | $787 | −51.0% | 2.22M | 37.6 | |||
| 1989 | $786M | $312 | −26.7% | 2.52M | 43.9 | ||||
| 1988 | $1.04B | $424 | −2.0% | 2.45M | 44.1 | ||||
| 1987 | $973M | $409 | −1.0% | 2.38M | 44.3 | ||||
| 1986 | $841M | $364 | −1.7% | 2.31M | 44.5 | ||||
| 1985 | $851M | $380 | −0.8% | 2.24M | 44.0 | ||||
| 1984 | $848M | $390 | −2.1% | 2.17M | 44.7 | ||||
| 1983 | $823M | $391 | −1.9% | 2.11M | 44.6 | ||||
| 1982 | $864M | $422 | −2.4% | 2.05M | 44.4 | ||||
| 1981 | $847M | $426 | −2.1% | 1.99M | 44.3 | ||||
| 1980 | $855M | $443 | −4.1% | 1.93M | 44.1 | ||||
| 1979 | $814M | $435 | 3.3% | 1.87M | 43.9 | ||||
| 1978 | $717M | $394 | 4.8% | 1.82M | 43.6 | ||||
| 1977 | $673M | $381 | 1.6% | 1.77M | 43.2 | ||||
| 1976 | $597M | $347 | 5.3% | 1.72M | 42.9 | ||||
| 1975 | $578M | $346 | −3.5% | 1.67M | 42.5 | ||||
| 1974 | $487M | $299 | 4.8% | 1.63M | 42.1 | ||||
| 1973 | $387M | $244 | −2.3% | 1.58M | 41.6 | ||||
| 1972 | $368M | $239 | 4.1% | 1.54M | 41.2 | ||||
| 1971 | $342M | $227 | 4.9% | 1.5M | 40.7 | ||||
| 1970 | $323M | $220 | 6.7% | 1.47M | 40.4 | ||||
| 1969 | $307M | $215 | 7.3% | 1.43M | 40.0 | ||||
| 1968 | $277M | $199 | 4.8% | 1.39M | 39.6 | ||||
| 1967 | $261M | $192 | 6.7% | 1.36M | 39.3 | ||||
| 1966 | $244M | $185 | 7.7% | 1.32M | 39.0 | ||||
| 1965 | $229M | $178 | 4.8% | 1.29M | 38.7 | ||||
| 1964 | $219M | $174 | 5.2% | 1.26M | 38.5 | ||||
| 1963 | $200M | $163 | 2.3% | 1.23M | 38.3 | ||||
| 1962 | $192M | $160 | 1.3% | 1.2M | 38.2 | ||||
| 1961 | $184M | $158 | 2.4% | 1.17M | 38.1 | ||||
| 1960 | $190M | $167 | 1.14M | 38.1 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1999–2001, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)