Liberia vs Sierra Leone
Liberia vs Sierra Leone: GDP growth
GDP growth in 2025: 5.1% a year in Liberia and 4.8% a year in Sierra Leone, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Liberia, by 0.4 percentage points, or 1.08 times that in Sierra Leone.
% a year · IMF
What the numbers say
- Liberia has been higher since 2025, when it overtook Sierra Leone.
- In 2025, Liberia ranked 30 and Sierra Leone ranked 40 of 143 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Liberia at 5.4% a year and Sierra Leone at 4.6% a year in 2031.
Every year
% a year · IMF
| Year | Liberia | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4.6 |
| 2023 | 4.6 | 5.7 |
| 2022 | 4.8 | 5.3 |
| 2021 | 5 | 5.9 |
| 2020 | -3 | -1.3 |
| 2019 | -2.5 | 5.5 |
| 2018 | 1.2 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| 2016 | -1.6 | 4.7 |
| 2015 | 0 | -3.1 |
| 2014 | 0.7 | -0.6 |
| 2013 | 8.8 | 9.4 |
| 2012 | 8.4 | 6.7 |
| 2011 | 7.7 | 7.1 |
| 2010 | 6.4 | 10.1 |
| 2009 | 5.2 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | 6.1 | 3.8 |
| 2007 | 13.1 | 3.7 |
| 2006 | 8.5 | 4.6 |
| 2005 | 5.9 | 6.7 |
| 2004 | 4 | 7.8 |
| 2003 | -29 | 10.3 |
| 2002 | 4.4 | 26.4 |
| 2001 | 2.8 | 18.2 |
| 2000 | – | 3.8 |
| 1999 | – | -8.1 |
| 1998 | – | -0.8 |
| 1997 | – | -17.6 |
| 1996 | – | -24.8 |
| 1995 | – | -10 |
| 1994 | – | 3.5 |
| 1993 | – | 0.1 |
| 1992 | – | -9.6 |
| 1991 | – | -8 |
| 1990 | – | 1.6 |
| 1989 | – | 5 |
| 1988 | – | 2.1 |
| 1987 | – | 2.4 |
| 1986 | – | 0.1 |
| 1985 | – | -6.7 |
| 1984 | – | 1.7 |
| 1983 | – | -1.6 |
| 1982 | – | 1.8 |
| 1981 | – | 1.9 |
| 1980 | – | -0.6 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Liberia | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5.5 | 4 |
| 2027 | 5.1 | 4.4 |
| 2028 | 5.3 | 4.6 |
| 2029 | 5.4 | 4.6 |
| 2030 | 5.6 | 4.6 |
| 2031 | 5.4 | 4.6 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- How much the economy grew or shrank in a year, after inflation.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 143 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Liberia vs Sierra Leone
Health
- Life expectancyLiberia: 62.2 years in 2023Sierra Leone: 61.8 years in 2023
- Child mortalityLiberia: 8.6 per 100 live births in 2024Sierra Leone: 9.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityLiberia: 55.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Sierra Leone: 71.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionLiberia: 3.8% in 2017Sierra Leone: 3.58% in 2017
- Suicide rateLiberia: 13.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Sierra Leone: 9.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationLiberia: 5.49 million people in 2023Sierra Leone: 8.46 million people in 2023
- Population growthLiberia: 2.2% a year in 2023Sierra Leone: 2.18% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateLiberia: 3.95 births per woman in 2023Sierra Leone: 3.79 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationLiberia: 56.1% in 2025Sierra Leone: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageLiberia: 18.4 years in 2023Sierra Leone: 19.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overLiberia: 3.3% in 2023Sierra Leone: 3.2% in 2023
- Net migration rateLiberia: -0.9 per 1,000 people in 2023Sierra Leone: -0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingLiberia: 0.85% of GDP in 2025Sierra Leone: 0.37% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsLiberia: $40.3M in 2025Sierra Leone: $29.5M in 2025
- Military spending per personLiberia: $8 in 2025Sierra Leone: $4 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingLiberia: 3.9% of government spending in 2025Sierra Leone: 2.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelLiberia: 2,000 people in 2020Sierra Leone: 9,000 people in 2020
- National powerLiberia: 0.03% of world capability in 2022Sierra Leone: 0.04% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersLiberia: 0.09% of the labour force in 2020Sierra Leone: 0.35% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsLiberia: 0 TIV in 2025Sierra Leone: 2 million TIV in 2016