Liberia: Economy#
Liberia is a low income country that relies heavily on foreign assistance. It is richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture. Its principal exports are iron ore, rubber, gold and timber. The government has attempted to revive raw timber extraction and is encouraging oil exploration.In the 1990s and early 2000s, civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially infrastructure in and around the capital. With the conclusion of fighting and the installation of a democratically elected government in 2006, businesses that had fled the country began to return. The country achieved high growth during 2010-13 due to favorable world prices for its commodities. However, in 2014 as the Ebolavirus began to spread, the economy declined and many businesses departed, taking capital and expertise with them. The epidemic forced the government to divert scarce resources to combat the spread of the virus, reducing funds available for needed public investment. The cost of addressing the Ebola epidemic will weigh heavily on public finances at the same time decreased economic activity reduces government revenue, although higher donor support will partly offset this loss.
Revitalizing the economy in the future will depend on increasing investment and trade, higher global commodity prices, sustained foreign aid and remittances, development of infrastructure and institutions, and maintaining political stability and security.
Economic Facts#
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $3.881 billion (2016 est.) $3.806 billion (2015 est.) $3.806 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
|---|---|
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $2.168 billion (2015 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2016 est.) 0% (2015 est.) 0.7% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $900 (2016 est.) $900 (2015 est.) $900 (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
| Gross national saving | NA% (2016 est.) -41% of GDP (2015 est.) -2.3% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 134.1% government consumption: 16.3% investment in fixed capital: 19.5% investment in inventories: -5.2% exports of goods and services: 25% imports of goods and services: -94.9% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by sector of origin | agriculture: 35.4% industry: 14.4% services: 50.2% (2016 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber |
| Industries | mining (iron ore), rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2016 est.) |
| Labor force | 1.654 million (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 70% industry: 8% services: 22% (2000 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 85% (2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 63.8% (2007 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 30.1% (2007) |
| Budget | revenues: $613 million expenditures: $743 million (2016 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 28.3% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -6% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Public debt | 11.8% of GDP (2016 est.) 5.7% of GDP (2015 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.3% (2016 est.) 7.7% (2015 est.) |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 13.6% (31 December 2016 est.) 13.61% (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $457.2 million (31 December 2016 est.) $458.4 million (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $738.7 million (31 December 2014 est.) $656 million (31 December 2013 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $745.1 million (31 December 2016 est.) $824.1 million (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $NA |
| Current account balance | -$661 million (2016 est.) -$707 million (2015 est.) |
| Exports | $363.9 million (2016 est.) $330.8 million (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
| Exports - partners | Poland 32.9%, China 20.7%, India 9.3%, US 5.1%, Greece 4.7%, France 4.3% (2015) |
| Imports | $1.25 billion (2016 est.) $2.232 billion (2015 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | Singapore 28.7%, China 16%, South Korea 15.3%, Japan 10.3%, Philippines 6.6% (2015) |
| Debt - external | $1.111 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $968 million (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | $17.01 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $16.56 billion (31 December 2014 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | $201 million (31 December 2013 est.) $201 million (31 December 2012 est.) |
| Exchange rates | Liberian dollars (LRD) per US dollar - 92.33 (2016 est.) 85.3 (2015 est.) 85.3 (2014 est.) 83.893 (2013 est.) 73.52 (2012 est.) |