Liberia: cost of living

How fast are food and fuel prices rising in Liberia?

Domestic food prices were 10.4% higher in June 2026 than a year earlier, while imported food prices were up 0.3% and imported fuel prices 8.2%, according to the Central Bank of Liberia's Monthly Economic Review for June 2026. Transport inflation was 9.1%. Overall inflation was 5.0%.

The CBL says domestic food inflation jumped from 4.9% in May, while the fall in imported food inflation reflected easing world prices. Imported rice, a staple, is counted in imported food. The split matters because a stronger Liberian dollar lowers the price of imports but does little for locally grown food. The review is published monthly, a few weeks after the month ends.

Official sources: CBL: Monthly Economic Review, June 2026 (PDF)

Does Liberia have VAT?

Liberia will replace its goods and services tax (GST) with a value added tax from 1 January 2027, according to the Liberia Revenue Authority. VAT registration for eligible businesses opened in July 2026 and runs for six months. The LRA says the change is based on the 2024 VAT Law and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning's Regulation No. 136.

Until the switch, GST continues to apply to taxable goods and services. The LRA page does not state the VAT rate, so check the law or the LRA's VAT notices for the rate and the registration threshold. The LRA's domestic tax profile lists the other taxes it collects, including personal income, corporate income and real property tax.

Official sources: LRA: VAT awareness ahead of 2027 rollout · LRA: Domestic tax profile

What is the poverty rate in Liberia?

33.6% of Liberians lived on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity) in 2016, the latest survey year, according to the World Bank poverty indicator. The figure comes from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey run by LISGIS.

The $3.00 line is the World Bank's international extreme poverty line; LISGIS also reports poverty against Liberia's own national line, which gives a different rate. No more recent survey result was available on the World Bank page on 15 October 2026, and the LISGIS site could not be read that day.

Official sources: World Bank: Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day, Liberia

How fast are prices rising in Liberia?

The IMF puts consumer price inflation in Liberia at 8.3% in 2025. Since 2005 it has ranged from 6.8% (2012) to 27.0% (2019). Sub-Saharan Africa median: 3.4%; Liberia is 9th highest of 39. Of 165 countries with 2025 data, 22nd highest.

What share of people in Liberia live in extreme poverty?

The World Bank puts the share of people living on less than $3.00 a day in Liberia at 33.6% in 2016. That compares with 61.1% in 2007. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 60.1%, and Liberia placed 7th highest of 7. Of 81 countries with 2016 data, 7th highest.

How many people in Liberia are poor?

In 2016, the share of people below the national poverty line in Liberia was 50.9%, according to the World Bank. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 51.2%, and Liberia placed 4th highest of 6. Of 56 countries with 2016 data, 6th highest.

What is Liberia's Gini coefficient?

The latest figure from the World Bank, for 2016, is 35.3. In 2007 the figure was 36.4. It is 7th highest of 7 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 43.7. Of 81 countries with 2016 data, 36th highest.

How many people in Liberia go hungry?

The FAO puts moderate or severe food insecurity in Liberia at 79.0% in 2024. That is the lowest since at least 2015. It is 5th highest of 34 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 60.5%. World rank, highest first: 6th of 135.