The share of Liberians living in extreme poverty rose to an estimated 36.1% in 2025 from 34.6% in 2024, even though the economy grew 5.1%, the World Bank said in its seventh Liberia Economic Update, launched on November 3, as reported by FrontPage Africa and the Liberian Observer. Mining output expanded 17% while agriculture grew 2.6%, the Bank said.
Analysis: These estimates are not directly comparable with the Bank's previous update, which put extreme poverty at 26.4% in 2024 and projected 20.9% by 2027. That edition measured poverty at $2.15 a day. The Bank has since raised its international poverty line to $3.00 a day, which likely explains why its new 2024 estimate is 8.2 points higher. On either measure, mining-led growth has not reached most households. Farming, where many poor Liberians work, slowed. The Bank expects poverty to ease to 33.2% in 2026 if farming recovers, FrontPage Africa reported. The 2027 budget's agriculture allocation has not been published.
Source: FrontPage Africa (Monrovia), FrontPage Africa, 'World Bank Says Liberia's Economy Is Growing, But Extreme Poverty Is Rising', November 4, 2026 (citing World Bank Liberia Economic Update, 7th edition), 2025; FrontPage Africa (Monrovia), FrontPage Africa, November 4, 2026, 2024 and latest (2025 report); FrontPage Africa (Monrovia), FrontPage Africa, 'Liberia: Record Billions at the Top, Rising Hunger at the Bottom', November 9, 2026, 2026; World Bank Group, World Bank press release, Liberia Economic Update 7th edition, November 2026, 2025; World Bank Group, World Bank press release, November 2026, 2025; World Bank Group (Open Knowledge Repository), World Bank, Liberia Economic Update No. 6, September 2025, 2024 and 2027; FrontPage Africa (Monrovia), FrontPage Africa, November 6, 2026 (budget article), recent budgets; World Bank Group (Open Knowledge Repository), World Bank Liberia Economic Update No. 6 (September 2025), LEU No. 6 (September 2025)