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Liberia

Liberia Economy Stats

Overview:

Liberia is a low income country heavily reliant on foreign assistance for revenue. Civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around the capital, Monrovia. Many businesses fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them, but with the conclusion of fighting and the installation of a democratically-elected government in 2006, several have returned. Liberia has the distinction of having the highest ratio of direct foreign investment to GDP in the world. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, primarily raw timber and rubber and is reviving those sectors. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. President JOHNSON SIRLEAF, a Harvard-trained banker and administrator, has taken steps to reduce corruption, build support from international donors, and encourage private investment. Embargos on timber and diamond exports have been lifted, opening new sources of revenue for the government and Liberia shipped its first major timber exports to Europe in 2010. The country reached its Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative completion point in 2010 and nearly $5 billion of international debt was permanently eliminated. This new status will enable Liberia to estabilish a sovereign credit rating and issue bonds. Liberia's Paris Club creditors agreed to cancel Liberia's debt as well. Rebuilding infrastructure and raising incomes will depend on generous financial and technical assistance from donor countries and foreign investment in key sectors, such as infrastructure and power generation.

Definitions

  • Budget > Revenues: Revenues calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms
  • Budget surplus > + or deficit > -: This entry records the difference between national government revenues and expenditures, expressed as a percent of GDP. A positive (+) number indicates that revenues exceeded expenditures (a budget surplus), while a negative (-) number indicates the reverse (a budget deficit). Normalizing the data, by dividing the budget balance by GDP, enables easy comparisons across countries and indicates whether a national government saves or borrows money. Countries with high budget deficits (relative to their GDPs) generally have more difficulty raising funds to finance expenditures, than those with lower deficits.
  • Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP: Public debt as % of GDP (CIA).

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Exports: This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
  • GDP: GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used.
  • GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services: This entry is derived from Economy > GDP > Composition, by sector of origin, which shows where production takes place in an economy. The distribution gives the percentage contribution of agriculture, industry, and services to total GDP, and will total 100 percent of GDP if the data are complete. Agriculture includes farming, fishing, and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, energy production, and construction. Services cover government activities, communications, transportation, finance, and all other private economic activities that do not produce material goods.
  • GDP > Per capita: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Per capita figures expressed per 1 population.
  • GDP > Per capita > PPP: This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.
  • GDP > Purchasing power parity per capita: This entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries. The measure is difficult to compute, as a US dollar value has to be assigned to all goods and services in the country regardless of whether these goods and services have a direct equivalent in the United States (for example, the value of an ox-cart or non-US military equipment); as a result, PPP estimates for some countries are based on a small and sometimes different set of goods and services. In addition, many countries do not formally participate in the World Bank's PPP project that calculates these measures, so the resulting GDP estimates for these countries may lack precision. For many developing countries, PPP-based GDP measures are multiples of the official exchange rate (OER) measure. The difference between the OER- and PPP-denominated GDP values for most of the weathly industrialized countries are generally much smaller. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • GDP per capita: GDP at purchaser's prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources. Data are in current U.S. dollars. Dollar figures for GDP are converted from domestic currencies using single year official exchange rates. For a few countries where the official exchange rate does not reflect the rate effectively applied to actual foreign exchange transactions, an alternative conversion factor is used. Figures expressed per capita for the same year.
  • Gross National Income: GNI, Atlas method (current US$). GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and prop).
  • Inflation rate > Consumer prices: This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's consumer prices.
  • Population below poverty line: National estimates of the percentage of the population lying below the poverty line are based on surveys of sub-groups, with the results weighted by the number of people in each group. Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations. For example, rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations.
  • Public debt: This entry records the cumulatiive total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.
  • Unemployment rate: This entry contains the percent of the labor force that is without jobs. Substantial underemployment might be noted.
STAT AMOUNT DATE RANK HISTORY
Budget > Revenues $380.90 million 2013 189th out of 223
Budget surplus > + or deficit > - -2.7% of GDP 2012 90th out of 182
Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP 4.4 CIA 2014 149th out of 153
Exports $774.80 million 2012 156th out of 189
GDP $1.77 billion 2012 156th out of 177
GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services 17.7% 2002 3rd out of 3
GDP > Per capita $440.66 per capita 2010 115th out of 118
GDP > Per capita > PPP $700.00 2012 182nd out of 188
GDP > Purchasing power parity per capita $444.67 2010 178th out of 181
GDP per capita $421.70 2012 173th out of 177
Gross National Income $459.13 million 2001 143th out of 158
Inflation rate > Consumer prices 6.8% 2012 49th out of 199
Population below poverty line 80% 2000 1st out of 18
Public debt 0.4% of GDP 2012 149th out of 149
Unemployment rate 85% 2003 1st out of 5

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; Wikipedia: List of countries by public debt (List) (Public debt , The World Factbook , United States Central Intelligence Agency , accessed on March 21, 2013.); World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.; CIA World Factbook 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011

Citation

NationMaster

Liberia Economy Profiles (Subcategories)

Adjusted savings 3 Inflation 8
Aid 4 Innovation 10
Balance of payments 34 Labor force 3
Bank and trade-related lending 4 Long-term debt 4
Budget 10 Merchandise 4
Changes in net 4 Merchandise imports 4
Commercial service 4 National accounts 66
Commercial service imports 4 Natural gas 8
Companies 24 Net capital account 4
Currency 10 Net current transfers 4
Current account balance 5 Net current transfers from abroad 6
Current transfers 4 Net errors and omissions 4
Debt 90 Net financial flows 28
Economic aid 3 Net income 4
Electricity 8 Net income from abroad 6
Exports 3 Net trade in goods 4
External balance on goods and services 6 Net trade in goods and services 4
External debt 215 Official development assistance and official aid 4
Final 11 Oil 10
Financial sector 24 Portfolio investment 4
Foreign aid 42 Poverty 11
Foreign direct investment 9 Poverty and inequality 15
GDP 33 Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 6
GNI 9 Public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) debt 3
Goods 4 Purchasing power parity 11
Goods imports 4 Reserves 6
Government 7 Savings 44
Government spending 5 Service 4
Gross capital formation 5 Service imports 4
Gross domestic savings 5 Services 5
Gross fixed capital formation 5 Spending 73
Gross national expenditure 5 Stock of direct foreign investment 4
Gross savings 6 Tax 43
Gross value added at factor cost 5 Total 9
Household final 11 Total debt service 6
IBRD loans and IDA credits 4 Tourism 14
Income 24 Trade 435
Income payments 4 Trademark applications 4
Income receipts 4 Use of IMF credit 4
Inequality 8
  • Liberia ranked first for GDP > composition by sector > agriculture amongst Hot countries in 2012.
  • Liberia ranked first for GDP > composition, by end use > household consumption amongst Christian countries in 2013.
  • Liberia ranked second for GDP > composition, by sector of origin > agriculture globally in 2013.
  • Liberia ranked first for trade > exports > per $ GDP amongst Sub-Saharan Africa in 2006.
  • Liberia has ranked last for public debt since 2011.

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