Liberia's economic growth accelerates to 5.1 per cent
The economy expanded from 4.0 per cent in 2024, with the government projecting 5.5 per cent for 2026.
Liberia's economy recorded stronger growth in 2025, expanding by 5.1 per cent against 4.0 per cent the previous year, with the government projecting a further acceleration to 5.5 per cent in 2026.
A gain of just over a percentage point matters more in a small economy than the figure suggests. Liberia's output base is narrow and concentrated in mining, rubber and forestry, which means growth is closely tied to commodity prices and to the operating decisions of a limited number of large producers.
That concentration cuts both ways. It allows a single project reaching production to move the national aggregate, and it leaves the same aggregate exposed when a price cycle turns. Projections built on this structure carry wider error bands than those for more diversified economies.
Liberia's economy recorded stronger growth in 2025, expanding by 5.1 per cent against 4.0 per cent the previous year, with the government projecting a further acceleration to 5.5 per cent in 2026.
The more consequential question is composition rather than headline rate. Growth driven by extraction generates export earnings and government revenue but relatively little employment, since modern mining is capital-intensive. Growth in agriculture, services or construction reaches a larger share of the workforce.
Liberia's fiscal position also depends heavily on concession agreements negotiated with foreign operators, so the share of any expansion that is retained domestically is determined by terms set well before the growth appears.
The government's projection for 2026 implies that the drivers of last year's performance are expected to hold.
Based on reporting by AllAfrica.
