Liberia

Liberia is a country in West Africa, bordering Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d\'Ivoire with a land mass of 111,370km² and a total coastline of 579km. It has a population of 5.193 million (2021) and GDP is estimated at US$9bn at the end of 2024 and the economy of Liberia has grown at an average annual growth rate of 3.8% in the last four years and achieved 4.7% growth in 2023. \r\n\r\nThe new Liberian Government was inaugured into office on January 22, 2024. President Joseph N. Boakai’s full cabinet was confirmed within weeks of the inauguration and the new administration has outlined its vision for Liberia’s development through the ARREST agenda – an acronym representing Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism. \r\nGDP growth is driven mainly by mining, specifically gold production. Growth in the primary sector was sluggish – 1.4% as output of key agricultural products such as rubber and crude palm oil declined during the year. Output in the secondary sector expanded by 13.9% led by mining largely driven by increased gold production. Growth in services picked up slightly from 2.8% in 2022 to 3.8% in 2023..\r\n\r\nLiberia has the third-largest ship registry after Panama and the Marshall Islands, where boatowners who register under their liberal flags of convenience Liberia claims to have 4,400 vessels, or 12% of the world\'s oceangoing fleet, in its registry, which is headquartered in Virginia, in the US. However, few benefits flow through to the Liberian people or the economy, which continues to be vulnerable to external shocks, and whose infrastructure deficit continues to constrain development.\r\n

Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF.