Liberia Overview: Development news, research, data

Political Overview

The Government of Liberia has established the “Office of a War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia” through an Executive Order on May 2, 2024. The Court will investigate atrocities committed during Liberia’s 14 years of civil war and will aim to hold responsible parties accountable for their crimes. On May 3, 2024, the Liberian Senate and House of Representatives endorsed a joint resolution in support of the mechanisms for the court’s establishment.

In line with a strong focus on accountability and good governance, the Government has also established an Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT) to pursue allegations of illegal acquisition of wealth and property while placing emphasis on transparency and accountability.

According to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), only 26.5% of officials across the three branches of government have fully met asset declaration compliance requirements. As a result, President Joseph N. Boakai suspended over 300 public officials with salaries cut pending declaration of their assets.

The General Auditing Commission has been actively conducting financial audits, some of which have led to arrests and issuance of indictments. The Government has outlined its vision for Liberia’s development through the ARREST agenda – an acronym representing Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism. The Government wants to leverage these key sectors to reverse economic stagnation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive and interconnected development strategies.

Economic Overview

Liberia's economy expanded by 4.8% in 2024, driven by mining, services, and agricultural recovery. The industrial sector expanded by 6.0%, driven by iron ore, gold mining, and construction, while services grew by 4.2%, boosted by finance, hospitality, trade, and transport. Agricultural output rose by 3.5%, up from 1.4%, reflecting higher rubber production. On the demand side, growth was driven by private consumption and increased gold and iron ore exports.

Inflation eased in 2024 but resurfaced late in the year. Headline inflation eased to 8.4% in 2024, down from 10.1% in 2023, driven by the Central Bank of Liberia’s tight monetary policy, stable exchange rates, and lower food and fuel prices. The policy rate remained above inflation, holding at 20% for most of the year before dropping to 17% in the last quarter. The exchange rate depreciated by 8% on average, an improvement from 12% in 2023. Food inflation fell to 9.7% by December 2024, down from 26.9% a year earlier, while imported fuel saw disinflation of 10.4% from a previous inflation of 13%. However, inflationary pressures started building at the end of 2024 and inflation reached 13.1% in February 2025, driven by rising costs in food, healthcare, and the restaurant sector.

Persistent economic challenges—slow growth, high inflation, limited job opportunities, and inadequate social protection—have significantly increased poverty. By 2022, the extreme poverty rate had climbed to 40.9%, up from 24.8% in 2019. However, more favorable economic conditions and easing inflation have helped reverse this trend, with poverty declining to 26.4% in 2024. These estimates, based on the international poverty line of $2.15 per person per day (2017 PPP), use a new methodology that integrates both economic growth and inflation.

Fiscal conditions improved during 2024. The overall fiscal deficit shrank to 2.7% of GDP from 7.1% a year earlier, while the primary deficit declined to 1.5% from 6.1%. This improvement was largely due to a 4% GDP reduction in public spending on goods and services and a modest 0.8% GDP increase in domestic revenue. Public debt stood at 57% of GDP in 2024, slightly lower than 58.8% in 2023.

The current account deficit is substantial but fully financed. Liberia's current account deficit (CAD) remained high at 22.1% of GDP in 2024, though lower than 26.4% in 2023, reflecting a persistent gap between savings and investment. The trade deficit narrowed to 13.7% of GDP, down from 19% in 2023, thanks to a 4 percentage points increase in exports driven by gold and iron ore exports. The CAD is financed by capital and financial account inflows equivalent to 21.6% of GDP, comprising 10% from foreign direct investment, 8.7% from multilateral and private financing, and 3% from capital account inflows..

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2025

Agriculture

The World Bank is funding two projects with the Ministry of Agriculture in Liberia

The $25M World Bank financed Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project (STAR-P), set to close by June 30, 2025. The project has made good progress in the implementation of planned activities and has achieved all its key performance indicators. So far, the project has reached 44,386 beneficiaries (against the target of 38,000) with agricultural assets, of which 32,409 (51 percent) are women. Crop yields of beneficiary farmers have significantly increased.
The $55M Rural Economic Transformation Project (RETRAP) approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on June 4, 2021, is helping to improve productivity and market access for smallholder farmers and Agri-enterprises for selected value chains in Liberia. The World Bank Board also approved the Liberia Rural Economic Transformation Project Additional Financing ($30m) on December 22, 2022, to stimulate domestic food supply response through emergency production support to food crisis affected communities while addressing the underlying vulnerability to such future food security shocks. In December 2023, the World Bank Board of Directors approved a second Additional Financing of $85 million to scale up RETRAP supported investments in establishing basic road connectivity, which is vital to food production, livelihoods strengthening, social inclusion, resilience building, and overall competitiveness of Liberia’s economy. Overall, the project is making steady progress towards achieving many of its key performance indicators. For instance. As of October 2024, the project had reached 64,572 direct beneficiaries (against the target of 96,000) of which 50 percent are women.

Energy

President Boakai signed the Dar-es-Salaam Energy Declaration on providing access to electricity for 300 million people by 2030 (Mission 300). Liberia’s National Energy Compact reflects government’s commitment to doubling electricity access (from 34% to 75%) by providing 100,000 connections per year; expanding the share of renewable energy to 75% through hydropower and solar PV; and transforming the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) into a financially viable organization.

Liberia is developing a 20 MW grid-connected solar plant and planning a 40 MW hydropower expansion at Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant (MCHPP), both supported through the World Bank-financed RESPITE Project. These pave the way for the 190 MW St. Paul 2 HPP. Liberia is working to attract private investment in power generation. Negotiations are ongoing for a containerized solar PV project with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), supported by IFC. LEC received expressions of interest for transaction advisory services under the ESMAP Grant through LESSAP Phase 2 (P180498). A Steering Committee, chaired by the Vice President, was established to accelerate Solar IPP bidding by January 2026.

Electricity access increased to 32.7% in 2024, up from 144,947 connections in 2021 to 312,622. Commercial losses dropped from 47.7% in 2021 to 27.5% in 2024. These efforts are supported by the Bank-financed LESSAP Multiphase Programmatic Approach. Phase 1 began in July 2021; Phase 2 became effective in January 2025. The program aims to provide access to 1.25 million people by 2030, including 494,000 through Phase 2.

Liberia has launched key policy reforms through the Liberia Resilient and Inclusive Growth DPF series. Reforms include installation of pre-paid meters, disclosure of key data and audited financials, implementation of multi-year tariffs, adoption of a corporate governance code, and preparation of a power system master plan.

Social Protection

Liberia's REALISE Project: A Beacon of Hope for the Informal Sector

The Recovery of Economic Activity for Liberian Informal Sector Employment (REALISE) Project benefitted approximately 53,000 households or 265,000 individuals across 14 of Liberia’s 15 counties. It aims to increase income-earning opportunities for vulnerable informal sector workers, support poor and food-insecure households, and improve the efficiency of social protection programs. Community development grants have been disbursed to 432 rural communities, significantly improving small-scale infrastructure and livelihoods.

The project created income opportunities for over 29,000 households, including 10,000 temporary jobs for urban informal workers, 4,000 sustained jobs through support to small businesses, and 14,000 jobs through communal farming and community subprojects.

It offered low-cost mobile phones and helped set up mobile money accounts for beneficiaries. REALISE facilitated digital and financial inclusion, particularly in rural areas. Over 2,800 small businesses were supported to gain formal status with the Liberia Business Registry and the Liberia Revenue Authority. With over 80% female participation in the Support to Small Businesses program and 90% in the Social Cash Transfer program, more than 50% of total beneficiaries are women, strengthening economic activity and women’s roles in communities.

Health and Nutrition

There are currently two IDA-financed operations in the health sector in Liberia. The projects focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH-N) and health security respectively. The total value of the projects is $103.00 million, and the implementation timelines range from May 2020 to June 2029. In the area of RMNCAH-N, the World Bank is currently supporting the Government of Liberia in the implementation of proven, cost-effective interventions on community and adolescent health; a performance-based financing scheme; provision of specialized training in nursing and midwifery; strengthening systems to improve the availability of core health workers; construction and equipping of a 155-bed capacity hospital for the provision of maternal and child health services; rehabilitation of primary health centers; and procurement of essential medicines, routine vaccines for children, RMNCAH-N products, and medical supplies.

Through the new Health Security Program, approved in December 2023, the World Bank is maintaining its legacy of enhancing health sector performance in Liberia – including through pandemic preparedness as well as disease surveillance and response. The World Bank is also providing context-specific analytical and capacity building support in health financing, systems strengthening, health service delivery, and monitoring and evaluation.

The World Bank’s financial and technical support through previous and ongoing projects has enabled Liberia to increase access to RMNCAH-N services and reduce diseases and deaths among women and children. It has also supported the prevention, control, and management of infectious illnesses such as Ebola, COVID-19, malaria, typhoid, and Lassa fever.

Despite these achievements, Liberia still faces insufficient health infrastructure and human resources, and health sector funding remains low. The country also faces challenges in stunting and acute malnutrition due to a lack of nutrition-specific commodities and rising food and fuel prices, as well as regular disease outbreaks. The ongoing multi-country Mpox outbreak, declared a public health emergency by WHO in August 2024, illustrates this. Liberia has reported 12 confirmed cases in six counties. The World Bank, with the Ministry of Health, mobilized funds from the recently closed COVID-19 Emergency Response Project to support the Mpox response. The Bank-financed Health Security Program is positioned to further respond and help mobilize additional resources.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2025