Liberia Population
Liberia had an estimated population of 5,731,206 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 116th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.07% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.09% a year.
Liberia at a glance
How Liberia's population is changing
Liberia's population is growing fast: +2.09% a year, which works out to about +119,629 people per year, or +328 a day. Births (30.6 per 1,000) and deaths (8.0 per 1,000) alone would give +2.26% a year; net migration removes about 9,870 people a year (−0.17%). Roughly one in every 1,433 people on Earth lives in Liberia.
Population of Liberia since 1960
In 1960, Liberia had 1,139,522 people. By 2025 that was 5,731,206 — 5.0× larger. The fastest growth came between 1996 and 2006, when the population rose by 56%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,139,522 | — |
| 1970 | 1,466,676 | +28.7% |
| 1980 | 1,929,253 | +31.5% |
| 1990 | 2,223,667 | +15.3% |
| 2000 | 2,928,117 | +31.7% |
| 2010 | 4,058,890 | +38.6% |
| 2020 | 5,149,463 | +26.9% |
| 2025 | 5,731,206 | +11.3% |
Liberia from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Liberia at about 313,543 people in 1800; the UN estimates 5,731,206 in 2025 (18× 1800) and projects 12,665,398 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 121% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 313,543 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 330,726 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 490,243 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 918,912 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 2,928,117 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 5,731,206 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 8,910,534 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 11,491,639 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 12,665,398 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Liberia
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 5,731,206. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monrovia | 1,879,092 | UN urban centre | 32.79% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Gbarnga | 85,923 | UN urban centre | 1.50% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Kakata | 83,189 | UN urban centre | 1.45% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Buchanan | 82,383 | UN urban centre | 1.44% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Ganta | 76,093 | UN urban centre | 1.33% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Zwedru | 38,269 | GeoNames settlement | 0.67% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Harbel | 38,208 | GeoNames settlement | 0.67% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Harper | 35,503 | GeoNames settlement | 0.62% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Pleebo City | 35,423 | GeoNames settlement | 0.62% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Foya Kamara | 31,052 | GeoNames settlement | 0.54% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Liberia compares
Liberia has almost the same population as Finland (5,646,436).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Liberia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #114 |  Denmark | 6,009,169 | +5% | compare → |
| #115 |  Lebanon | 5,849,421 | +2% | compare → |
| #117 |  Finland | 5,646,436 | −1% | compare → |
| #118 |  Norway | 5,610,870 | −2% | compare → |
Compare Liberia with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Liberia
Land neighbours (3)
Ivory Coast 32,711,547 · 5.7× the population · compare
Guinea 15,099,727 · 2.6× the population · compare
Sierra Leone 8,819,794 · 1.5× the population · compare
Liberia's 3 neighbours together hold 56,631,068 people — 9.9× Liberia's population. The most populous is Ivory Coast (32,711,547).
In its region
Liberia is the 32nd most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 0.4% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Monrovia, Gbarnga, Kakata, Buchanan, Ganta, Zwedru, Harbel, Harper — all Liberia's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Liberia when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.