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-
southwest. It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi)
and has a population of around 4,900,000.

Population and Labor Force (1980-2019)

Figure 1

The total population includes all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are
midyear estimates. Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor by producing goods and
services during a specific period. It includes people who are currently employed and unemployed but is
available or looking for work. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers,
and students are often omitted.
Population Growth and Labor Force Growth (1980-2019) (Annual %)

5,000,000
4,937,374
4,500,000

4,000,000

3,500,000
2,848,456
Total

3,000,000

2,500,000 2,075,912
1,853,001
2,000,000

1,500,000
1980 1990 2000 2019

Figure 3

Figure 2
 Liberia’s population has increased and has been continuously increasing from 1980 up to the latest year,
2019. From the population of 1,853,001 in 1980, to 2,075,912 in 1990, to 2,848,456 in 2000, and currently
having 4,937,374 in 2019, it can be seen that the population increased by over 3 million over the past decades.

0 -
0.2371662701
But, as shown in Figure 1 and 2, there are -0.2
12289
consecutive decreases in population from years -0.4 -
-0.6 0.8965373166
1987 to 1993 due to the First Liberian Civil War. 40978

Growth Rate (%)

-0.8 - -
The decrease started in 1987 and the population -1 1.3048560247 1.2530569354
started to increase again in year 1994. Year 1987 5303 - 3414
-1.2 1.4594470949
had a negative population growth of -0.24%, 1988 -1.4 2845 -
1.9059091723
with -0.90%, 1989 with -1.30%, 1990 with - -1.6 - 4906
-1.8 1.7382632405
1.46%, 1991 with -1.74%, 1992 with -1.91, and - 3852
-2
1.25 for year 1993. 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

Figure 4

Based on the data provided, the labor force of Liberia 1,900,000

has been increasing significantly as population rises; but 1,700,000 1,639,258

only about 30% of the total population is in the labor force. 1,500,000
Year 1998 had the highest increase with almost 8%. From 1,300,000
Total

1,100,000 637,750
1980 up to 2019, Liberia’s labor force has already increased
900,000
by over a million. The increases are ranging from 20,000-
700,000
50,000 every year and the totals are still about 30% of the
500,000
population over the years. 1990 2019

Figure 5
Labor Force Participation Rates (1980-2019)

Female Male
64

62

60
Participation Rate (%)

58

56

54

52

50

48

46
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

Figure 6
Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically
active: all people who supply labor by producing goods and services during a specified period, and those who
are actively looking for work.
Figure 6 shows that the labor force participation rate of the male is evidently higher compared to the
female. But over the past decades, it can be viewed that the labor force participation rate of the female has only
been increasing. It continuously increases up to the latest year, 2019. Starting from 2010, the participation rate
of male is decreasing compared to the previous years.

Real GDP and Unemployment Rate (1980-2019)

T h e R e a l G r o s s
GDP Unemployment Rate

120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20

Figure 7

percentage in labor force who are unemployed.

 The GDP growth of Liberia began to accelerate in years 1996 and 2003 upon the end of the First and
Second Liberian Civil War, respectively.
The unemployment rate of Liberia takes about 2% of the total population. This percentage remains
almost constant throughout the years.
From years 2005-2019 in Figure 7, it can be observed that as GDP rises, the unemployment rate
decreases. And as the GDP falls, the unemployment rate increases; thus, the negative relationship.

References:
https://data.worldbank.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/LBR/liberia/unemployment-rate