Observatory of Economic Complexity

Flag Liberia

Econ Complexity (2018): -1.04, Rank 114 of 137

Product Exports (2018): $1.3B, Rank 140 of 222

Exports Per Capita (2018): $271, Rank 24 of 219

Product Imports (2018): $4.3B, Rank 137 of 221

Imports Per Capita (2018): $892, Rank 13 of 219

Service Exports (2018): $10.4M, Rank 88 of 88

Service Imports (2018): $181M, Rank 85 of 88

GDP (2018): $3.26B, CURRENT US$
Rank 162 of 196

GDP growth (2008 - 2018): 89.1%, CURRENT US$
Rank 40 of 196

GDP PC (2018): $677, CURRENT US$
Rank 185 of 196

GDP PC GROWTH (2008 - 2018): 41.6%, CURRENT US$
Rank 58 of 196

About

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Overview: In 2018 Liberia was the number 162 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 140 in total exports, the number 137 in total imports, and the number 114 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). In 2018, Liberia exported $1.3B and imported $4.3B, resulting in a negative trade balance of -$3B. In 2018, Liberia's exports per capita were $271 and its imports per capita were $892.

Trade: The top exports of Liberia are Gold ($359M), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($309M), Crude Petroleum ($190M), Iron Ore ($147M), and Rubber ($118M). The top imports of Liberia are Passenger and Cargo Ships ($1.79B), Refined Petroleum ($1.05B), Rice ($132M), Iron Structures ($102M), and Boat Propellers ($66.3M).

Destinations: Liberia exports mostly to Switzerland ($246M), Germany ($140M), India ($119M), United Kingdom ($87.1M), and China ($81.9M), and imports mostly from South Korea ($1.4B), China ($1.21B), Germany ($298M), Greece ($207M), and India ($181M).

Location: Liberia borders Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Sierra Leone by land.

Product Trade

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Product Exports

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Depth
Value

Top Export (2018): Gold, $359M

Top Destination (2018): Switzerland, $246M

In 2018 Liberia exported a total of $1.3B, making it the number 140 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Liberia have changed by $152M from $1.15B in 2013 to $1.3B in 2018.

The most recent exports are led by Gold ($359M), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($309M), Crude Petroleum ($190M), Iron Ore ($147M), and Rubber ($118M). The most common destination for the exports of Liberia are Switzerland ($246M), Germany ($140M), India ($119M), United Kingdom ($87.1M), and China ($81.9M).

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Product Imports

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Depth
Value

Top Import (2018): Passenger and Cargo Ships, $1.79B

Top Origin (2018): South Korea, $1.4B

In 2018 Liberia imported $4.3B, making it the number 137 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Liberia changed by -$5.21B from $9.51B in 2013 to $4.3B in 2018.

The most recent imports of Liberia are led by Passenger and Cargo Ships ($1.79B), Refined Petroleum ($1.05B), Rice ($132M), Iron Structures ($102M), and Boat Propellers ($66.3M). The most common import partners for Liberia are South Korea ($1.4B), China ($1.21B), Germany ($298M), Greece ($207M), and India ($181M).

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Market Growth

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Flow

Fastest Growing Export Markets (2017 - 2018)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2017 - 2018)

Service Trade

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Service Trade

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Liberia Exports Services (2018): $10.4M

Liberia Imports Services (2018): $181M

In 2018, Liberia exported $10.4M worth of services. The top services exported by Liberia in 2018 were Insurance services ($10M) and Government services, n.i.e. ($382k).

The top services imported by Liberia in 2018 were Transportation ($87.9M), Insurance services ($65.8M), Other business services ($15.8M), Business travel ($7.66M), and Government services, n.i.e. ($4.23M).

Forecasts

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Trade Forecasts

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This section shows forecasts for total product exports and imports for Liberia. The forecast is based in a long short-term memory model or LSTM constructed using yearly trade data.

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Tariffs

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Tariffs by Product

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The top product import tariffs by their MFN Ad Valorem value for Liberia are Firearms: parts and accessories, of firearms other than the military weapons of heading 9301 (50%) and Firearms: parts and accessories, of shotguns or rifles of heading 9303 (50%).

Click any of the products in the bar chart to see the specific Ad Valorem Duty Rates by partner country.

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*The tariffs applied to imports for Liberia are:
136: Most Favoured Nation duty rate treatement
204: Preferential tariff for Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Economic Complexity

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Economic Complexity Ranking

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Scale

During the last 12 years Liberia's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨85th to the 114th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Liberia has a high level of specialization in Rubber (119), Scrap Vessels (96.9), Passenger and Cargo Ships (89.7), Rough Wood (44.7), and Cocoa Beans (27.8). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Liberia observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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The highest complexity exports of Liberia according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Petroleum resins, polyterpenes, polysulphides etc nes (1.12), Paintings, drawings, pastels, collages etc, hand made (0.84), Play, fair-ground equipment, travellng circus, theatre (0.8), Sewing thread of manmade filaments (-0.11), and Passenger and goods transport ships, boats (-0.31). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Liberia according to the relatedness index, are Coconut Oil (0.051), Petroleum Gas (0.05), Non-fillet Frozen Fish (0.046), Scrap Lead (0.046), and Tropical Fruits (0.045). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Liberia is not specialized in.

Product Space

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The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products it is currently specialized in.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth
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The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk and the strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is a predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower emissions.

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