Demographics of Liberia

As of 2006, Liberia had the highest population growth rate in the world (4.50% per annum).^[1] This has declined since, however, and stood at 2.37 percent in 2023.^[2]

Demographics of Liberia
Population pyramid of Liberia in 2020
Population	5,358,483 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	2.73% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	36.64 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net migration rate	-2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	43.35%
65 and over	2.83%
Nationality
Nationality	Liberian
Language
Official	English

Population

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[3][4], Liberia's total population was 5,193,416 in 2021. This is compared to 911,000 in 1950.^[5]

43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.^[5] 53.7% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.8% were 65 years or older.^[5]

Estimates of Liberia's population prior to the 20th century are unreliable due to the lack of historical censuses.^[6] Estimates by scholars of pre-World War II demographics in Liberia differ wildly.^[6]

	Total population	Population Age (%)
		0–14	15–64	65+
1950	911 000	41.0	55.9	3.0
1955	997 000	41.1	56.1	2.8
1960	1 116 000	41.4	55.9	2.7
1965	1 262 000	43.0	54.3	2.6
1970	1 440 000	44.1	53.3	2.6
1975	1 658 000	44.8	52.6	2.6
1980	1 923 000	45.5	51.9	2.6
1985	2 212 000	45.9	51.5	2.6
1990	2 127 000	45.6	52.8	2.6
1995	2 095 000	44.5	52.8	2.6
2000	2 847 000	43.6	53.8	2.6
2005	3 183 000	43.3	54.0	2.7
2010	3 994 000	43.5	53.7	2.8

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 21.III.2008):^[7]

Liberia's population from 1961-2013.^[8] Liberia's population tripled in 40 years.^[8]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 739 945	1 736 663	3 476 608	100
0–14	736 834	721 238	1 458 072	41.94
0–4	270 564	263 911	534 475	15.37
5–9	251 411	250 520	501 931	14.44
10–14	214 859	206 807	421 666	12.13
15–64	945 641	954 784	1 900 425	54.66
15–19	189 407	186 288	375 695	10.81
20–24	161 951	180 979	342 930	9.86
25–29	141 006	150 852	291 858	8.39
30–34	107 326	112 306	219 632	6.32
35–39	99 136	104 400	203 536	5.85
40–44	81 670	74 067	155 737	4.48
45–49	63 827	54 980	118 807	3.42
50–54	44 870	38 070	82 940	2.39
55–59	30 975	25 485	56 460	1.62
60–64	25 473	27 357	52 830	1.52
65-85+	57 470	60 641	118 111	3.40
65-69	19 250	20 557	39 807	1.14
70-74	12 343	13 403	25 746	0.74
75-79	11 580	11 333	22 913	0.66
80-84	5 408	6 599	12 007	0.35
85+	8 889	8 749	17 638	0.51

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Liberia not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[9]

Year	Mid-year population*	Live births per year*	Deaths per year*	Natural change per year*	CBR**	CDR**	NC**	TFR**	IMR**	Life expectancy (years)
1950	916	40	22	18	43.1	24.0	19.1	6.00	199.3	38.5
1951	933	41	23	18	43.7	24.2	19.6	6.04	198.8	38.6
1952	952	42	23	19	44.3	24.2	20.2	6.09	198.0	38.7
1953	971	44	24	20	44.9	24.2	20.6	6.12	197.3	38.8
1954	992	45	24	21	45.4	24.3	21.1	6.16	196.6	39.0
1955	1 014	46	25	22	45.8	24.5	21.3	6.19	197.2	38.8
1956	1 037	48	26	22	46.4	24.7	21.6	6.24	198.0	38.8
1957	1 061	50	26	23	46.8	24.9	21.9	6.28	198.7	38.7
1958	1 085	51	27	24	47.2	25.2	22.1	6.31	199.4	38.5
1959	1 110	53	28	25	47.7	25.4	22.3	6.35	200.1	38.4
1960	1 137	55	29	26	48.0	25.6	22.5	6.39	200.6	38.3
1961	1 165	56	30	26	48.4	25.7	22.7	6.45	200.7	38.3
1962	1 194	58	31	27	48.7	25.7	23.0	6.50	200.5	38.4
1963	1 224	60	31	28	48.9	25.7	23.2	6.56	200.0	38.5
1964	1 255	61	32	29	49.0	25.7	23.4	6.59	199.0	38.6
1965	1 287	63	33	30	49.1	25.5	23.6	6.62	197.5	38.8
1966	1 320	65	33	31	49.0	25.3	23.7	6.63	195.8	39.1
1967	1 354	66	34	33	49.0	25.0	24.0	6.65	193.7	39.4
1968	1 389	68	34	34	49.0	24.7	24.2	6.66	191.3	39.8
1969	1 426	70	35	35	49.1	24.4	24.7	6.64	188.5	40.2
1970	1 464	71	35	36	48.5	24.0	24.5	6.58	185.6	40.6
1971	1 502	72	35	37	48.0	23.6	24.5	6.54	183.1	40.9
1972	1 541	74	36	39	48.2	23.1	25.1	6.60	180.3	41.5
1973	1 583	77	36	40	48.4	22.8	25.6	6.65	177.7	41.9
1974	1 626	79	36	42	48.5	22.4	26.0	6.69	175.1	42.4
1975	1 672	81	37	44	48.6	22.1	26.5	6.74	172.4	42.8
1976	1 718	84	37	46	48.7	21.8	26.9	6.79	169.9	43.2
1977	1 768	86	38	48	48.7	21.4	27.3	6.84	167.6	43.6
1978	1 821	88	38	50	48.6	21.0	27.6	6.88	165.4	44.0
1979	1 876	91	39	52	48.5	20.7	27.8	6.92	163.4	44.3
1980	1 932	93	39	54	48.0	20.3	27.7	6.87	161.6	44.6
1981	1 990	94	40	55	47.5	19.9	27.5	6.83	159.9	45.0
1982	2 048	96	40	56	46.9	19.6	27.3	6.79	158.6	45.2
1983	2 109	98	41	57	46.5	19.4	27.0	6.76	157.8	45.4
1984	2 174	100	42	58	45.9	19.3	26.6	6.73	157.8	45.4
1985	2 240	102	44	58	45.7	19.7	26.1	6.69	159.9	44.7
1986	2 306	105	45	60	45.5	19.4	26.0	6.64	161.0	45.0
1987	2 372	107	47	60	45.0	19.7	25.3	6.57	164.0	44.5
1988	2 440	109	49	60	44.7	20.1	24.6	6.51	167.4	44.0
1989	2 508	111	51	60	44.5	20.5	24.0	6.43	170.6	43.5
1990	2 210	114	65	49	44.4	25.5	18.9	6.37	173.2	36.7
1991	1 939	85	40	45	44.6	21.0	23.6	6.32	175.0	42.8
1992	2 053	90	43	48	44.5	21.0	23.5	6.28	173.9	42.7
1993	2 133	95	46	49	44.6	21.5	23.1	6.25	174.8	42.2
1994	2 125	97	48	50	44.6	21.8	22.8	6.21	172.9	41.8
1995	2 142	94	43	52	44.7	20.2	24.4	6.17	166.1	43.9
1996	2 204	99	44	55	44.6	19.9	24.7	6.13	161.2	44.4
1997	2 383	100	39	60	44.4	17.6	26.8	6.08	151.5	47.8
1998	2 639	115	44	71	44.3	16.9	27.4	6.02	144.6	48.9
1999	2 790	122	45	77	44.1	16.1	27.9	5.95	137.3	50.0
2000	2 895	126	44	82	43.6	15.2	28.4	5.88	129.8	51.4
2001	2 982	128	43	86	43.0	14.3	28.7	5.77	122.0	52.8
2002	3 061	130	42	88	42.3	13.6	28.7	5.65	114.2	53.8
2003	3 085	131	43	88	41.7	13.9	27.9	5.55	108.9	53.0
2004	3 122	129	38	92	41.5	12.1	29.3	5.51	99.5	56.0
2005	3 266	133	37	96	41.5	11.6	29.9	5.52	93.2	56.9
2006	3 455	141	38	103	41.3	11.2	30.2	5.53	87.8	57.6
2007	3 633	147	39	108	40.9	10.8	30.1	5.46	83.3	58.3
2008	3 784	151	39	111	39.9	10.4	29.5	5.33	79.6	58.8
2009	3 905	152	39	113	38.9	10.1	28.8	5.17	76.5	59.2
2010	4 020	153	40	113	38.1	9.9	28.2	5.06	74.0	59.4
2011	4 181	155	40	114	37.4	9.7	27.7	4.97	72.0	59.6
2012	4 332	162	42	121	37.3	9.6	27.7	4.88	70.3	59.9
2013	4 427	160	42	118	36.1	9.5	26.7	4.75	68.8	59.9
2014	4 519	159	44	115	35.1	9.8	25.3	4.62	68.7	59.1
2015	4 612	158	45	113	34.2	9.7	24.5	4.52	67.7	59.1
2016	4 706	159	43	116	33.7	9.1	24.7	4.46	65.0	60.4
2017	4 797	159	43	116	33.2	9.0	24.2	4.40	63.7	60.6
2018	4 889	160	43	117	32.7	8.8	23.9	4.34	62.4	60.9
2019	4 985	161	43	118	32.2	8.7	23.5	4.26	61.1	61.1
2020	5 088	161	45	117	31.7	8.8	23.0	4.17	59.6	60.9
2021	5 193	163	46	117	31.3	8.8	22.4	4.09	58.0	60.7
* In thousands ** CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[10][11]

Year	CBR			TFR
	Total	Urban	Rural	Total	Urban	(Rural)
2007	37.6	32.5	40.4	5.2 (4.6)	3.8 (3.3)	6.2 (5.6)
2013	34.4	31.1	38.5	4.7 (4.0)	3.8 (3.3)	6.1 (5.1)
2019-20	30.1	27.5	33.6	4.2 (3.7)	3.4 (3.1)	5.5 (4.8)

Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):^[12]

Region	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
North Western	5.8	10.3	7.1
South Central	3.8	6.7	5.8
South Eastern A	6.5	9.6	6.7
South Eastern B	5.9	9.2	7.1
North Central	5.6	10.2	6.2

Ethnic communities of Liberia

Indigenous

The indigenous ethnic groups of Liberia can be linguistically divided into three groups who speak;

• The isolate Gola language and the
• Mel languages (particularly Kissi) in the east and
• Kru languages (particularly Bassa) in the southeast

to which must be added the immigrant communities;

• Mande-Fu (Kpelle, Gio, Mano, Loma)
• Mande-Tan (Vai, Mende, Mandingo)
• Repatriated (Americo-Liberians, Congo, Caribbean)

The Gola ethnic group originated somewhere in central Africa. During the Empire of Ancient Ghana they were involved in the land-surveying and jurisprudence of the empire.

The other ethnic groups that fall under the Mande-Tan, Mande-Fu were also members of Ancient Ghana. Because of their influence in the judicial aspects of the Ghana, the Gola's social structure dominated through the Poro.

With the influx of Islam many groups adopted it while others resisted. The Golas fought three wars with pro-Islamic elements in a changing Ghana. These wars were known as the Kumba Wars. The Golas lost the third of these wars and were forced to retreat toward Sierra Leone. They were pursued by the Mende, Gbandi and Loma. Their battles with the Mende in Sierra Leone forced them to retreat yet again and settle finally in Liberia where they encountered the Dei.

Immigrants from Mali

The Kpelle, Gio, Mano, Mandingo and Vai groups migrated from the Empire of Mali for various reasons, some escaping political intrigue, others looking for a better life. The Vais, settled in Grand Cape Mount county in the west of Liberia, were the first to invent a form of writing in 1833 or 1834. The reported inventor was Dwalu Bukele of Bandakor along the Robertsport (provincial capital) highway.

Immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire

In the 16th century; Kru (Tajuasohn), Bassa, Belleh, Krahn, Grebo.

19th century immigrants

• Americo-Liberians: Free black people and emancipated slaves, and their descendants, from the U.S. and the Caribbean
• Congos is an eponymic term for "recaptives," people rescued from slave ships after the slave trade, not slavery itself, was abolished by Great Britain and the United States. These people were "repatriated" to Liberia (and Sierra Leone if rescued by the British) and their descendants. The term was used because many of these rescued Africans were thought to be from the Congo River Basin.^[13][14][15]

Immigrants from Lebanon

In the late 19th century to early 20th century Lebanese merchants, families and businessmen began arriving in Liberia. Lebanese currently own many major businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants, textiles, construction works, factories and other production based companies across the country.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Liberia

Religion in Liberia (2008)^[16]

  Christianity (85.6%)

  Islam (12.2%)

  None (1.4%)

  Traditional (0.6%)

  Others (0.2%)

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of Liberia's population practices Christianity.^[17] Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups.^[17] The vast majority of Muslims are Malikite Sunni, with sizeable Shia and Ahmadiyya minorities.^[18] Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by 0.5% of the population, while 1.8% subscribe to no religion.^[17]

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.^[19]

• One birth every 3 minutes
• One death every 14 minutes
• One net migrant every 103 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 4 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook^[2] unless otherwise indicated.

Population

5,358,483 (2022 est.)

4,809,768 (July 2018 est.)

Religions

Christian 84.9%, Muslim 12%, Traditional 0.5%, other 0.1%, none 2.6% (2022 est.)

Christian 85.6% (primarily Baptist), Muslim 12.2%, Traditional 0.6%, other 0.2%, none 1.5% (2008 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Liberia in 2020

0-14 years: 43.35% (male 1,111,479/female 1,087,871)

15-24 years: 20.35% (male 516,136/female 516,137)

25-54 years: 30.01% (male 747,983/female 774,615)

55-64 years: 3.46% (male 89,150/female 86,231)

65 years and over: 2.83% (male 70,252/female 73,442) (2020 est.)

0-14 years: 43.72% (male 1,062,766 /female 1,040,211)

15-24 years: 19.9% (male 478,041 /female 478,999)

25-54 years: 30.1% (male 711,963 /female 735,878)

55-64 years: 3.43% (male 84,474 /female 80,410)

65 years and over: 2.85% (male 67,229 /female 69,797) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

36.64 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 11th

37.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 10th

Death rate

6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 131st

7.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 116th

Total fertility rate

4.03 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 25th

4.79 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 13th

5 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 13th

Median age

total: 18 years. Country comparison to the world: 215th

male: 17.7 years

female: 18.2 years (2020 est.)

total: 17.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 217th

male: 17.6 years

female: 18.1 years (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

2.73% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 16th

2.59% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 19th

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.1 years (2019/20 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

19.2 years (2013 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

24.9% (2019/20)

31% (2016)

Net migration rate

-2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 176th

-4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 192nd

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 83.2 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 77.6 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 5.5 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 18.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 53.1% of total population (2022)

urban population: 51.2% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 3.41% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
total population:1 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Development of life expectancy

total population: 65.45 years. Country comparison to the world: 201st

male: 63.19 years

female: 67.78 years (2022 est.)

total population: 63.8 years (2018 est.)

male: 61.6 years (2018 est.)

female: 66 years (2018 est.)

total population: 57 years (2011 est.)

male: 55.44 years

female: 58.6 years

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vector borne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

aerosolized dust or soil contact diseases: Lassa fever

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Liberia is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups in Liberia (2008)[16]
Ethnic groups
Kpelle			20.3%
Other			20.1%
Bassa			13.4%
Grebo			10%
Gio			8%
Mano			7.9%
Kru			6%
Lorma			5.1%
Gola			5.1%
Kissi			4.8%

There are officially 17^[20] ethnic groups that make up Liberia's indigenous African population, making up maybe 95% of the total: Kpelle, the largest group; Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mandingo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Sapo, Belleh (Kuwaa), Mende and Dey.

There are also more or less nomadic groups like the Fula, who engage mostly in trade, and the Fanti, who are often fishermen or traders of fish, usually from Ghana, living seasonally and more and more often permanently in Liberia.

Then there are Americo-Liberians, who are descendants of free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans who arrived in Liberia from 1822 onward and Congo People (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean), making up an estimated 5% of the population. They used to dominate political life in Liberia and still have a lot of influence.

There are about 5,000 people of European descent, many of them having settled down as miners, missionaries, business people, and so on. There also is a sizeable number of Lebanese, Indians, and other people with Asian roots who make up a significant part of Liberia's business community. Because of the civil war and its accompanying problem of insecurity, the number of non-Africans in Liberia is low and confined largely to Monrovia and its immediate surroundings.

The Liberian Constitution restricts citizenship of Liberia only to people who are either 'Negroes or of Negro descent' wherein the Liberian Constitution / Chapter 4 / Article 27b states: "In order to preserve, foster and maintain the positive Liberian culture, values and character, only persons who are Negroes or of Negro descent shall qualify by birth or by naturalization to be citizens of Liberia."^[21]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Liberia

English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence.

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 48.3%

male: 62.7%

female: 34.1% (2017)

total population: 47.6% (2015 est.)

male: 62.4% (2015 est.)

female: 32.8% (2015 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 2.3% (2016 est.)

male: 2.4% (2016 est.)

female: 2.2% (2016 est.)

See also

• Liberia
• List of countries by population growth rate

References

1. "United Nations World Population Prospects: 2006 revision : Table A.8" (PDF). Un.org. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
2.  This article incorporates public domain material from "Liberia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2022 edition.)
3. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
4. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
5. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
6. Gardner, Leigh A., ed. (2022), "Reconstructing the Fragments: Liberia's Economic History, 1847–1980", Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the Age of Empires, 1822–1980, Cambridge Studies in Economic History - Second Series, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–30, doi:10.1017/9781009181082.002, ISBN 978-1-009-18110-5
7. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
8. Data of FAO, year 2005
9. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
10. "Liberia Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
11. "Demographic and Health Survey 2007" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
12. "Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
13. Clegg 2004
14. Ciment 2013
15. Sundiata 2003
16. "Africa :: LIBERIA". CIA The World Factbook. 19 April 2022.
17. "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia". United States Department of State. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
18. "The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity" (PDF). Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
19. "Liberia Population 2022", World Population Review
20. "2008 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS" (PDF). Lisgis.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
21. http://judiciary.gov.lr/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CONSTITUTION-OF-THE-REPUBLIC-OF-LIBERIA.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

Bibliography

• Ciment, J. (2013) Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-9542-1
• Clegg, C. (2004). The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia. Chapel Hill: UNC Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-2845-8
• Sundiata, I. (2003) Brothers and Strangers: Black Zion, Black Slavery, 1914-1940. Durham: Duke University Press ISBN 0-8223-3233-7

External links

• Liberia: Nation & People without identity^{[moved resource?]}
• The Indigenous & Americo Liberians' Palva
• Liberia, "America's step child" searches for own identity
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