Unemployment rate in Liberia
Liberia: Unemployment rate was 2.88 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment rate in Liberia, 1991–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment rate in Liberia stood at 2.88.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and up 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate in Liberia peaked at 4.1 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.01, in 1999.
That places Liberia 151st out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment rate in Liberia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2.73 | — |
| 1992 | 2.72 | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 2.71 | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 2.65 | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 2.59 | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 2.4 | -7.4% |
| 1997 | 2.19 | -8.4% |
| 1998 | 2.06 | -6.1% |
| 1999 | 2.01 | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 2.02 | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 2.1 | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 2.22 | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 2.42 | +8.9% |
| 2004 | 2.42 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 2.41 | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 2.28 | -5.5% |
| 2007 | 2.23 | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 2.22 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 2.24 | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 2.27 | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 2.21 | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 2.15 | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 2.08 | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 2.08 | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.56 | +23.0% |
| 2016 | 3.08 | +20.5% |
| 2017 | 3.07 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 3.06 | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 3.07 | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 4.1 | +33.6% |
| 2021 | 3.84 | -6.3% |
| 2022 | 2.96 | -23.1% |
| 2023 | 2.9 | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 2.91 | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 2.88 | -1.0% |
Liberia compared with similar countries
- Liberia's 2.88 is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.43, 65% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Liberia's 2.88 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.45, 53% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment rate in Liberia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +33.6% | 3.07 | 4.1 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.45 | 2.01 | 2.73 | 9 |
| 2000s | 2.26 | 2.02 | 2.42 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.56 | 2.08 | 3.08 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.27 | 2.88 | 4.1 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Liberia
More work & labour data for Liberia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.1439 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.1155 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.1716 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.202 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.59 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 6,689 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 3,115 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 6,410 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 6,256 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 12,665 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate in Liberia?
- Unemployment rate in Liberia was 2.88 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rate recorded in Liberia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.1 in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate recorded in Liberia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.01 in 1999.
- How does Liberia rank for unemployment rate?
- Liberia ranks 151st out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rate rising or falling in Liberia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Liberia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Unemployment rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).