Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a 21-month arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) for Liberia in the amount of SDR 193.8 million (about US$266 million, equivalent to 75 percent of quota). The Board also concluded the third review of the 40-month arrangement under Extended Credit Facility (ECF), allowing an immediate disbursement of SDR 19.3 million (about US$26.49 million). Total disbursement under the ECF arrangement have now reached SDR 77.2 million (about US$105.96 million).
Liberia’s ECF arrangement, amounting to SDR 155 million (60 percent of quota), was approved by the IMF Executive Board on September 25, 2024, to support the authorities’ program to restore macroeconomic stability, ensure debt sustainability, safeguard financial stability, and strengthen governance.
Economic growth accelerated in 2025 to 5.1 percent, largely driven by an expansion in mining production. The political environment has remained supportive of reforms under the government’s national development plan—ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
Following the Executive Board discussion, Mr. Bo Li, Acting Chair and Deputy Managing Director, made the following statement:
“The authorities have maintained sound macroeconomic policies and made some progress on structural reforms under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. Economic performance has been robust. At the same time, deteriorating global conditions have increased downside risks, particularly due to elevated oil prices and a decline in bilateral assistance.
“Fiscal adjustment has helped reduce debt vulnerabilities. Expenditure rationalization has supported the reallocation of resources toward priority investment projects and critical social programs, but further progress is needed in this regard.
“To mitigate the impact of elevated oil prices, the authorities have introduced temporary and targeted subsidies to support public transportation. The recently adopted supplementary budget will allow for higher allocation to social spending while preserving fiscal discipline.
“The authorities remain committed to accelerating domestic revenue mobilization, including through: (i) the planned rollout of the VAT in 2027, (ii) mining taxation reform, and (iii) the rationalization of tax exemptions. These measures are essential to finance priority investments under the Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation & Tourism Agenda. In parallel, improvements in the selection, implementation, and monitoring of investment projects will be critical to enhancing public spending quality and raising growth potential.
“The Central Bank of Liberia is committed to remaining vigilant and maintaining a data-dependent monetary policy amid higher global oil prices. It will also continue to ensure a timely and effective implementation of the financial regulatory framework, including enforcement of banks’ restructuring plans. Continued efforts to reduce non-performing loans will further strengthen banks’ balance sheets and support the expansion of credit to the private sector.
“Strengthening the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission will enhance transparency and accountability, including through ensuring the publication of public officials’ asset declarations. Steadfast implementation of the governance diagnostic recommendations will help address key institutional and cross-sectoral weaknesses.
“The Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement will support the implementation of the authorities’ climate adaptation efforts and enhance pandemic preparedness. It will leverage synergies with other development partners and help catalyze external financing. Together with the ECF reforms, it will enhance economic resilience and reduce balance-of-payment risks.”
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Table 1. Liberia: Selected Economic Indicators, 2023–30
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2023
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2024
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2025
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2026
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2027
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2028
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2029
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2030
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Est.
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Est.
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2nd Review
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Est.
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2nd Review
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Proj.
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Proj.
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Proj.
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Proj.
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Proj.
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Real GDP
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4.6
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4.0
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4.6
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5.1
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5.4
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5.1
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5.4
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5.6
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5.6
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5.6
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of which: Mining & panning
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5.7
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2.1
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6.0
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17.0
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11.0
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10.7
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10.8
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11.4
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10.8
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10.6
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Nominal non-mining per capita GDP (U.S. dollars)
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667
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704
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723
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708
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753
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738
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770
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804
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840
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880
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Nominal GDP (millions of U.S. dollars)
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4,390
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4,778
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5,160
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5,216
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5,525
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5,641
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6,048
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6,455
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6,896
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7,383
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Consumer prices (end of period)
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10.1
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8.2
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10.7
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8.3
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8.0
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5.8
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6.2
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5.5
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5.1
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5.0
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Population (millions)
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4.9
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5.1
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5.2
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5.2
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5.3
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5.4
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5.4
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5.6
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5.7
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5.8
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Total revenue and grants
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20.1
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22.3
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20.3
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21.0
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20.2
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20.6
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20.5
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20.4
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20.5
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20.2
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Total revenue
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13.4
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14.5
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15.2
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15.9
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15.8
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16.3
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16.4
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16.7
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17.0
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17.0
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Grants2
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6.7
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7.8
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5.1
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5.1
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4.5
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4.3
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4.1
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3.8
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3.6
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3.2
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Total expenditure2
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28.6
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24.1
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22.1
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22.0
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22.7
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22.3
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21.6
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22.0
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22.9
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21.3
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Current expenditure3
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20.9
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16.1
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16.4
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16.7
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16.8
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16.6
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16.0
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16.2
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16.3
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15.2
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Capital expenditure
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7.7
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8.1
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5.7
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5.4
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5.9
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5.7
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5.6
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5.9
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6.5
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6.1
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Overall balance, including grants2
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-8.5
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-1.8
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-1.8
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-1.1
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-2.5
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-1.7
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-1.1
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-1.6
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-2.3
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-1.1
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Overall balance, excluding grants2
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-15.2
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-9.6
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-6.9
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-6.2
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-7.0
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-6.0
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-5.3
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-5.3
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-5.9
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-4.3
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Total public debt (nominal)
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57.2
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56.4
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55.9
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54.9
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54.9
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54.4
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55.3
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52.7
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50.9
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48.1
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Public external debt4
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35.4
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35.9
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37.2
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35.8
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37.7
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36.8
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39.7
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39.0
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39.5
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38.8
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Public domestic debt5
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21.8
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20.4
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18.7
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19.1
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17.1
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17.6
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15.6
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13.7
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11.4
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9.3
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M2/GDP
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26.8
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28.0
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28.2
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31.0
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28.3
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31.2
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31.7
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31.7
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31.7
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31.9
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Credit to private sector (percent of GDP)
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17.9
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17.8
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17.9
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17.1
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18.2
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17.3
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17.8
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18.5
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19.4
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20.5
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Credit to private sector (annual percent change)
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34.3
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8.4
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8.5
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4.8
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8.9
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9.5
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10.0
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11.0
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12.0
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13.0
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Current account balance, including grants
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-20.1
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-8.1
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-14.2
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-6.5
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-13.4
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-11.0
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-11.3
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-11.7
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-12.2
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-12.6
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Current account balance, excluding grants
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-23.4
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-10.5
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-16.5
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-8.8
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-15.4
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-13.0
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-13.1
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-13.3
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-13.8
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-13.9
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Trade balance
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-18.4
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-4.3
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-5.4
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-5.0
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-4.2
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-5.5
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-5.5
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-5.5
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-5.2
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-5.1
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Exports
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25.8
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27.4
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31.3
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39.3
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31.2
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38.7
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38.9
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39.9
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40.4
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39.8
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Imports
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-43.7
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-31.8
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-36.6
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-44.3
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-35.4
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-44.2
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-44.4
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-45.4
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-45.6
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-44.9
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Grants (donor transfers, net)
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3.3
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2.4
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2.3
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2.3
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2.0
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1.9
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1.8
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1.6
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1.5
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1.4
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Gross official reserves (millions of U.S. dollars)
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487
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475
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595
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572
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679
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744
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1005
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1062
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1150
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1221
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In months of next year's imports
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2.6
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1.9
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2.6
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2.0
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2.9
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2.4
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3.0
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2.9
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3.0
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3.0
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Net international reserves (millions of U.S. dollars)
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221
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234
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280
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283
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345
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324
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369
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458
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578
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681
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Sources: Liberian authorities; and IMF staff estimates and projections.
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1 Central government operation is based on a commitment basis and refers to the budgetary central government operations and off-budget projects.
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2 The total amount of external project grants and loans, along with the associated spending, has been revised down from 2021 onwards to reflect the revised authorities’ database prepared together with donors.
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3 Ratios are calculated using external debt (in U.S. dollars) evaluated at the end of period exchange rate over GDP (in U.S. dollars) evaluated at the period average exchange rate.
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4 Including central government debt owed to the Central Bank of Liberia.
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