Liberia vs Sierra Leone
Liberia vs Sierra Leone: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 55.1% of GDP in Liberia and 51.4% of GDP in Sierra Leone, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Liberia, by 3.7 percentage points, or 1.07 times that in Sierra Leone.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Liberia has been higher since 2019, when it overtook Sierra Leone.
- In 2025, Liberia ranked 67 and Sierra Leone ranked 81 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Liberia at 50.7% of GDP and Sierra Leone at 33.8% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Liberia | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 55.1 | 51.4 |
| 2024 | 56.4 | 47 |
| 2023 | 57.2 | 49.4 |
| 2022 | 54.4 | 54 |
| 2021 | 53.6 | 47.1 |
| 2020 | 58.5 | 46.4 |
| 2019 | 48.1 | 45.3 |
| 2018 | 36.2 | 44.2 |
| 2017 | 31.8 | 44.2 |
| 2016 | 28 | 34.8 |
| 2015 | 24.4 | 28.4 |
| 2014 | 24.3 | 26.9 |
| 2013 | 20.6 | 22.3 |
| 2012 | 20.5 | 24.1 |
| 2011 | 22.5 | 25.8 |
| 2010 | 25.4 | 28.9 |
| 2009 | 132.2 | 31.1 |
| 2008 | 235.3 | 46.1 |
| 2007 | 366.8 | 26.4 |
| 2006 | 450.9 | 61.9 |
| 2005 | 488.5 | 78.9 |
| 2004 | 543.4 | 93.3 |
| 2003 | 600.1 | 99.8 |
| 2002 | 463.6 | 99.8 |
| 2001 | 465.2 | 113.5 |
| 2000 | 468.1 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Liberia | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 54 | 50.1 |
| 2027 | 55.1 | 45.4 |
| 2028 | 53.6 | 41.7 |
| 2029 | 52.9 | 38.8 |
| 2030 | 52.3 | 35.9 |
| 2031 | 50.7 | 33.8 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- 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 149 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