Polity · 1848 CE – present
Republic of Liberia
Liberia
Also recorded as Liberia
- Peak recorded area
- 101,997 km²
- 1848 CE
- Rulers on record
- 64
- from 1848 CE
- Data series
- 348
- 1848 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around 5.5 million and covers an area of 43,000 square miles (111,369 km2). The official language is English. Over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
6 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 56 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 5.7Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 62.47years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -9,870persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.06% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 63.8years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 61.14years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 133 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 1,090int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita178 obs · 1845 CE–2022 CE | 811.222011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Total Exports95 obs · 1920 CE–2014 CE | 877.31million USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports95 obs · 1920 CE–2014 CE | 12.8Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance95 obs · 1920 CE–2014 CE | -11.9Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness95 obs · 1920 CE–2014 CE | 13.7Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 25 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP98 obs · 1965 CE–2024 CE | 0.7112% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score97 obs · 1920 CE–2016 CE | 0.0002CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption97 obs · 1920 CE–2016 CE | 2.7Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production97 obs · 1920 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel92 obs · 1920 CE–2016 CE | 2,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure59 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 13Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 52 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 5.19% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 78.14% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 19.97%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.091hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.9Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 500Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 31 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index204 obs · 1821 CE–2024 CE | 0.613index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index204 obs · 1821 CE–2024 CE | 0.334index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index204 obs · 1821 CE–2024 CE | 0.342index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index186 obs · 1839 CE–2024 CE | 0.404index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2166 obs · 1847 CE–2012 CE | 6index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 51 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index204 obs · 1821 CE–2024 CE | 0.839index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Radios142 obs · 1847 CE–1999 CE | 964count1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production62 obs · 1936 CE–1998 CE | 507MGWh1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Newspaper Circulation54 obs · 1946 CE–1999 CE | 50.7Kcirculation1999 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10050 obs · 1960 CE–2022 CE | 32.06per_1002022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage45 obs · 1948 CE–1992 CE | 55.2Kgross tons1992 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
64 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Joseph Jenkins RobertsPresident of Liberia1848 CE – 1856 CE
- Nathaniel BranderVice President of Liberia1848 CE – 1850 CE
- Anthony D. WilliamsVice President of Liberia1850 CE – 1854 CE
- Stephen Allen BensonVice President of Liberia1854 CE – 1856 CE
- Beverly Page YatesVice President of Liberia1856 CE – 1860 CE
- Stephen Allen BensonPresident of Liberia1856 CE – 1864 CE
- Daniel Bashiel WarnerVice President of Liberia1860 CE – 1864 CE
- Daniel Bashiel WarnerPresident of Liberia1864 CE – 1868 CE
- James M. PriestVice President of Liberia1864 CE – 1868 CE
- James Spriggs PaynePresident of Liberia1868 CE – 1870 CE
- Joseph GibsonVice President of Liberia1868 CE – 1870 CE
- Edward James RoyePresident of Liberia1870 CE – 1871 CE
- James Skivring SmithVice President of Liberia1870 CE – 1871 CE
- Amos HerringPresident of Liberia1871 CE
- Charles DunbarPresident of Liberia1871 CE
- James Skivring SmithPresident of Liberia1871 CE – 1872 CE
- Reginald ShermanPresident of Liberia1871 CE
- Anthony W. GardinerVice President of Liberia1872 CE – 1876 CE
- Charles HarmonVice President of Liberia1876 CE – 1878 CE
- Alfred Francis RussellVice President of Liberia1878 CE – 1883 CE
- Anthony W. GardinerPresident of Liberia1878 CE – 1883 CE
- Alfred Francis RussellPresident of Liberia1883 CE – 1884 CE
- Hilary R. W. JohnsonPresident of Liberia1884 CE – 1892 CE
- James ThompsonVice President of Liberia1884 CE – 1892 CE
- Joseph James CheesemanPresident of Liberia1892 CE – 1896 CE
- William D. ColemanVice President of Liberia1892 CE – 1896 CE
- William D. ColemanPresident of Liberia1896 CE – 1900 CE
- Joseph J. RossVice President of Liberia1898 CE – 1899 CE
- Garretson W. GibsonPresident of Liberia1900 CE – 1904 CE
- Joseph D. SummervilleVice President of Liberia1902 CE – 1905 CE
- Arthur BarclayPresident of Liberia1904 CE – 1912 CE
- J. J. DossenVice President of Liberia1906 CE – 1912 CE
- Daniel Edward HowardPresident of Liberia1912 CE – 1920 CE
- Samuel George HarmonVice President of Liberia1912 CE – 1920 CE
- Charles D. B. KingPresident of Liberia1920 CE – 1930 CE
- Samuel Alfred RossVice President of Liberia1920 CE – 1924 CE
- Henry Too WesleyVice President of Liberia1924 CE – 1928 CE
- Allen YancyVice President of Liberia1928 CE – 1930 CE
- Edwin BarclayPresident of Liberia1930 CE – 1944 CE
- James Skivring Smith, Jr.Vice President of Liberia1930 CE – 1944 CE
- Clarence Lorenzo SimpsonVice President of Liberia1944 CE – 1952 CE
- William TubmanPresident of Liberia1944 CE – 1971 CE
- William Richard TolbertVice President of Liberia1952 CE – 1971 CE
- William Richard TolbertPresident of Liberia1971 CE – 1980 CE
- James Edward GreeneVice President of Liberia1972 CE – 1977 CE
- Bennie Dee WarnerVice President of Liberia1977 CE – 1980 CE
- Harry MonibaVice President of Liberia1986 CE – 1990 CE
- Samuel DoePresident of Liberia1986 CE – 1990 CE
- Amos SawyerPresident of Liberia1990 CE – 1994 CE
- David NimleyPresident of Liberia1990 CE
- David D. KpormakporPresident of Liberia1994 CE – 1995 CE
- Wilton G. S. SankawuloPresident of Liberia1995 CE – 1996 CE
- Ruth PerryPresident of Liberia1996 CE – 1997 CE
- Charles TaylorPresident of Liberia1997 CE – 2003 CE
- Enoch DogoleaVice President of Liberia1997 CE – 2000 CE
- Moses BlahVice President of Liberia2000 CE – 2003 CE
- Gyude BryantPresident of Liberia2003 CE – 2006 CE
- Moses BlahPresident of Liberia2003 CE
- Ellen Johnson SirleafPresident of Liberia2006 CE – 2018 CE
- Joseph BoakaiVice President of Liberia2006 CE – 2018 CE
- George WeahPresident2018 CE – 2024 CE
- Jewel TaylorVice President of Liberia2018 CE –
- Jeremiah KoungVice President of Liberia2024 CE –
- Joseph BoakaiHead of State2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Joseph BOAKAI (since 22 January 2024); head of government: President Joseph BOAKAI (since 22 January 2024); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate;
- Ethnic groups
- Kpelle 20.2%, Bassa 13.6%, Grebo 9.9%, Gio 7.9%, Mano 7.2%, Kru 5.5%, Lorma 4.8%, Krahn 4.5%, Kissi, 4.3%, Mandingo 4.2%, Vai 3.8%, Gola 3.8%, Gbandi 2.9%, Mende 1.7%, Sapo 1%, Belle 0.7%, Dey 0.3%, other Liberian ethnic group 0.4%, other African 3%, non-African 0.2% (2022 est.)
- Natural resources
- iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
- Economy
- low-income West African economy; food scarcity, especially in rural areas; high poverty and inflation; bad recession prior to COVID-19 due to Ebola crisis; growing government debt; longest continuously operated rubber plantation; large informal economy
Language & currency
- Currency
- Liberian dollars (LRD)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- United States of America–Liberia Entente (1959)Historical alliance · member1959 CE –
- ECOWASECOWASEconomic bloc · founding member1975 CE –
- 16-member Non-Aggression Pact (1977)Historical alliance · member1978 CE – 1981 CE
- 4-member Non-Aggression Pact (1979)Historical alliance · member1979 CE – 1991 CE
- 16-member Defense Pact (1981)Military alliance · member1981 CE –
- Guinea–Liberia–Sierra Leone Non-Aggression Pact (1986)Historical alliance · member1986 CE – 1991 CE
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
- 4-member Non-Aggression Pact (1979)Historical alliance · member2004 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Liberia is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.