Jump to content

Demographics of Liberia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Demographics of Liberia
Population pyramid of Liberia in 2020
PopulationIncrease 5,250,187 (2022)[1]
Growth rateIncrease 2.99% (2022)[1]
Birth rate36.64 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate6.62 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Fertility rate3.9 children born/woman (2022)
Net migration rate-2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years43.35%
65 and over2.83%
Nationality
NationalityLiberian
Language
OfficialEnglish
SpokenLanguages of Liberia

Population

[edit]

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[2][3], Liberia's total population was 5,193,416 in 2021. This is compared to 911,000 in 1950.[4]

43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010.[4] 53.7% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.8% were 65 years or older.[4]

Estimates of Liberia's population prior to the 20th century are unreliable due to the lack of historical censuses.[5] Estimates by scholars of pre-World War II demographics in Liberia differ wildly.[5]

Total population Population Age (%)
0–14 15–64 65+
1950 911 00041.055.93.0
1955 997 00041.156.12.8
1960 1 116 00041.455.92.7
1965 1 262 00043.054.32.6
1970 1 440 00044.153.32.6
1975 1 658 00044.852.62.6
1980 1 923 00045.551.92.6
1985 2 212 00045.951.52.6
1990 2 127 00045.652.82.6
1995 2 095 00044.552.82.6
2000 2 847 00043.653.82.6
2005 3 183 00043.354.02.7
2010 3 994 00043.553.72.8

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 21.III.2008):[6]

Liberia's population from 1961-2013.[7] Liberia's population tripled in 40 years.[7]
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
19842,101,628—    
20083,476,608+2.12%
20225,250,187+2.99%
Sources: Liberian censuses (1984–2022).[1]
Age group Male Female Total %
Total 1 739 945 1 736 663 3 476 608 100
0–14 736 834 721 238 1 458 072 41.94
0–4 270 564 263 911 534 475 15.37
5–9 251 411 250 520 501 931 14.44
10–14 214 859 206 807 421 666 12.13
15–64 945 641 954 784 1 900 425 54.66
15–19 189 407 186 288 375 695 10.81
20–24 161 951 180 979 342 930 9.86
25–29 141 006 150 852 291 858 8.39
30–34 107 326 112 306 219 632 6.32
35–39 99 136 104 400 203 536 5.85
40–44 81 670 74 067 155 737 4.48
45–49 63 827 54 980 118 807 3.42
50–54 44 870 38 070 82 940 2.39
55–59 30 975 25 485 56 460 1.62
60–64 25 473 27 357 52 830 1.52
65-85+ 57 470 60 641 118 111 3.40
65-69 19 250 20 557 39 807 1.14
70-74 12 343 13 403 25 746 0.74
75-79 11 580 11 333 22 913 0.66
80-84 5 408 6 599 12 007 0.35
85+ 8 889 8 749 17 638 0.51

Vital statistics

[edit]
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Registration of vital events is in Liberia not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.[8]

Year Mid-year population* Live births per year* Deaths per year* Natural change per year* CBR** CDR** NC** TFR** IMR** Life expectancy (years)
1950 916,000 40,000 22,000 18,000 43.1 24.0 19.1 6.00 199.3 38.5
1951 933,000 41,000 23,000 18,000 43.7 24.2 19.6 6.04 198.8 38.6
1952 952,000 42,000 23,000 19,000 44.3 24.2 20.2 6.09 198.0 38.7
1953 971,000 44,000 24,000 20,000 44.9 24.2 20.6 6.12 197.3 38.8
1954 992,000 45,000 24,000 21,000 45.4 24.3 21.1 6.16 196.6 39.0
1955 1,014,000 46,000 25,000 22,000 45.8 24.5 21.3 6.19 197.2 38.8
1956 1,037,000 48,000 26,000 22,000 46.4 24.7 21.6 6.24 198.0 38.8
1957 1,061,000 50,000 26,000 23,000 46.8 24.9 21.9 6.28 198.7 38.7
1958 1,085,000 51,000 27,000 24,000 47.2 25.2 22.1 6.31 199.4 38.5
1959 1,110,000 53,000 28,000 25,000 47.7 25.4 22.3 6.35 200.1 38.4
1960 1,137,000 55,000 29,000 26,000 48.0 25.6 22.5 6.39 200.6 38.3
1961 1,165,000 56,000 30,000 26,000 48.4 25.7 22.7 6.45 200.7 38.3
1962 1,194,000 58,000 31,000 27,000 48.7 25.7 23.0 6.50 200.5 38.4
1963 1,224,000 60,000 31,000 28,000 48.9 25.7 23.2 6.56 200.0 38.5
1964 1,255,000 61,000 32,000 29,000 49.0 25.7 23.4 6.59 199.0 38.6
1965 1,287,000 63,000 33,000 30,000 49.1 25.5 23.6 6.62 197.5 38.8
1966 1,320,000 65,000 33,000 31,000 49.0 25.3 23.7 6.63 195.8 39.1
1967 1,354,000 66,000 34,000 33,000 49.0 25.0 24.0 6.65 193.7 39.4
1968 1,389,000 68,000 34,000 34,000 49.0 24.7 24.2 6.66 191.3 39.8
1969 1,426,000 70,000 35,000 35,000 49.1 24.4 24.7 6.64 188.5 40.2
1970 1,464,000 71,000 35,000 36,000 48.5 24.0 24.5 6.58 185.6 40.6
1971 1,502,000 72,000 35,000 37,000 48.0 23.6 24.5 6.54 183.1 40.9
1972 1,541,000 74,000 36,000 39,000 48.2 23.1 25.1 6.60 180.3 41.5
1973 1,583,000 77,000 36,000 40,000 48.4 22.8 25.6 6.65 177.7 41.9
1974 1,626,000 79,000 36,000 42,000 48.5 22.4 26.0 6.69 175.1 42.4
1975 1,672,000 81,000 37,000 44,000 48.6 22.1 26.5 6.74 172.4 42.8
1976 1,718,000 84,000 37,000 46,000 48.7 21.8 26.9 6.79 169.9 43.2
1977 1,768,000 86,000 38,000 48,000 48.7 21.4 27.3 6.84 167.6 43.6
1978 1,821,000 88,000 38,000 50,000 48.6 21.0 27.6 6.88 165.4 44.0
1979 1,876,000 91,000 39,000 52,000 48.5 20.7 27.8 6.92 163.4 44.3
1980 1,932,000 93,000 39,000 54,000 48.0 20.3 27.7 6.87 161.6 44.6
1981 1,990,000 94,000 40,000 55,000 47.5 19.9 27.5 6.83 159.9 45.0
1982 2,048,000 96,000 40,000 56,000 46.9 19.6 27.3 6.79 158.6 45.2
1983 2,109,000 98,000 41,000 57,000 46.5 19.4 27.0 6.76 157.8 45.4
1984 2,174,000 100,000 42,000 58,000 45.9 19.3 26.6 6.73 157.8 45.4
1985 2,240,000 102,000 44,000 58,000 45.7 19.7 26.1 6.69 159.9 44.7
1986 2,306,000 105,000 45,000 60,000 45.5 19.4 26.0 6.64 161.0 45.0
1987 2,372,000 107,000 47,000 60,000 45.0 19.7 25.3 6.57 164.0 44.5
1988 2,440,000 109,000 49,000 60,000 44.7 20.1 24.6 6.51 167.4 44.0
1989 2,508,000 111,000 51,000 60,000 44.5 20.5 24.0 6.43 170.6 43.5
1990 2,210,000 114,000 65,000 49,000 44.4 25.5 18.9 6.37 173.2 36.7
1991 1,939,000 85,000 40,000 45,000 44.6 21.0 23.6 6.32 175.0 42.8
1992 2,053,000 90,000 43,000 48,000 44.5 21.0 23.5 6.28 173.9 42.7
1993 2,133,000 95,000 46,000 49,000 44.6 21.5 23.1 6.25 174.8 42.2
1994 2,125,000 97,000 48,000 50,000 44.6 21.8 22.8 6.21 172.9 41.8
1995 2,142,000 94,000 43,000 52,000 44.7 20.2 24.4 6.17 166.1 43.9
1996 2,204,000 99,000 44,000 55,000 44.6 19.9 24.7 6.13 161.2 44.4
1997 2,383,000 100,000 39,000 60,000 44.4 17.6 26.8 6.08 151.5 47.8
1998 2,639,000 115,000 44,000 71,000 44.3 16.9 27.4 6.02 144.6 48.9
1999 2,790,000 122,000 45,000 77,000 44.1 16.1 27.9 5.95 137.3 50.0
2000 2,895,000 126,000 44,000 82,000 43.6 15.2 28.4 5.88 129.8 51.4
2001 2,982,000 128,000 43,000 86,000 43.0 14.3 28.7 5.77 122.0 52.8
2002 3,061,000 130,000 42,000 88,000 42.3 13.6 28.7 5.65 114.2 53.8
2003 3,085,000 131,000 43,000 88,000 41.7 13.9 27.9 5.55 108.9 53.0
2004 3,122,000 129,000 38,000 92,000 41.5 12.1 29.3 5.51 99.5 56.0
2005 3,266,000 133,000 37,000 96,000 41.5 11.6 29.9 5.52 93.2 56.9
2006 3,455,000 141,000 38,000 103,000 41.3 11.2 30.2 5.53 87.8 57.6
2007 3,633,000 147,000 39,000 108,000 40.9 10.8 30.1 5.46 83.3 58.3
2008 3,784,000 151,000 39,000 111,000 39.9 10.4 29.5 5.33 79.6 58.8
2009 3,905,000 152,000 39,000 113,000 38.9 10.1 28.8 5.17 76.5 59.2
2010 4,020,000 153,000 40,000 113,000 38.1 9.9 28.2 5.06 74.0 59.4
2011 4,181,000 155,000 40,000 114,000 37.4 9.7 27.7 4.97 72.0 59.6
2012 4,332,000 162,000 42,000 121,000 37.3 9.6 27.7 4.88 70.3 59.9
2013 4,427,000 160,000 42,000 118,000 36.1 9.5 26.7 4.75 68.8 59.9
2014 4,519,000 159,000 44,000 115,000 35.1 9.8 25.3 4.62 68.7 59.1
2015 4,612,000 158,000 45,000 113,000 34.2 9.7 24.5 4.52 67.7 59.1
2016 4,706,000 159,000 43,000 116,000 33.7 9.1 24.7 4.46 65.0 60.4
2017 4,797,000 159,000 43,000 116,000 33.2 9.0 24.2 4.40 63.7 60.6
2018 4,889,000 160,000 43,000 117,000 32.7 8.8 23.9 4.34 62.4 60.9
2019 4,985,000 161,000 43,000 118,000 32.2 8.7 23.5 4.26 61.1 61.1
2020 5,094,000 164,000 44,000 121,000 31.9 8.5 23.4 4.17 60.2 61.3
2021 5,205,000 166,000 45,000 121,000 31.5 8.5 23.0 4.09 58.8 61.2
2022 5,314,000 168,000 44,000 124,000 31.2 8.2 23.0 4.02 57.3 61.9
2023 5,433,000 170,000 44,000 126,000 31.0 8.1 22.9 3.95 55.9 62.2
2024         30.6 8.0 22.6 3.86
2025         30.3 8.0 22.3 3.79
* In thousands

** CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Demographic and Health Surveys

[edit]

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[9][10]

Year CBR TFR
Total Urban Rural Total Urban (Rural)
2007 37.6 32.5 40.4 5.2 (4.6) 3.8 (3.3) 6.2 (5.6)
2013 34.4 31.1 38.5 4.7 (4.0) 3.8 (3.3) 6.1 (5.1)
2019-20 30.1 27.5 33.6 4.2 (3.7) 3.4 (3.1) 5.5 (4.8)
millionyear0123456195019601970198019902000201020202030population (million)Liberia population (millions)
View source data.
‰years1820222426283032194019601980200020202040Natural change (per 1000)Liberia population natural change
View source data.
‰years306090120150180210195019601970198019902000201020202030Infant mortality (per 1000 live births)Liberia infant mortality
View source data.
TFRyears3.544.555.566.57194019601980200020202040Total Fertility RateLiberia total fertility rate
View source data.

Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):[11]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women

age 40-49

North Western5.810.37.1
South Central3.86.75.8
South Eastern A6.59.66.7
South Eastern B5.99.27.1
North Central5.610.26.2

Ethnic groups

[edit]
Ethnic groups in Liberia (2008)[12]
Ethnic groups
Kpelle
 
 20.3%
Other
 
 20.1%
Bassa
 
 13.4%
Grebo
 
 10%
Gio
 
 8%
Mano
 
 7.9%
Kru
 
 6%
Lorma
 
 5.1%
Gola
 
 5.1%
Kissi
 
 4.8%

Liberia has 17 recognized ethnic groups representing the majority of the population.[13] The largest groups include the Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Mano, Grebo, Kru, Lorma, Gola, Kissi, Vai, Mandingo, Gbandi, Krahn, Sapo, Belleh (Kuwaa), Mende, and Dey.[12]

[edit]

The 1986 Constitution of Liberia restricts citizenship to persons who are "Negroes or of Negro descent", as stated in Article 27(b).[14]

Linguistic classification

[edit]

The indigenous ethnic groups of Liberia can be broadly classified into several major language families within the Niger–Congo language family:

Religion

[edit]
Religion in Liberia (2008)[17]
  1. Christianity (85.6%)
  2. Islam (12.2%)
  3. None (1.40%)
  4. Traditional (0.60%)
  5. Others (0.20%)

According to the 2008 National Census, 85.5% of Liberia's population practices Christianity.[18] Muslims comprise 12.2% of the population, largely coming from the Mandingo and Vai ethnic groups.[18] The vast majority of Muslims are Malikite Sunni, with sizeable Shia and Ahmadiyya minorities.[19] Traditional indigenous religions are practiced by 0.5% of the population, while 1.8% subscribe to no religion.[18]

Languages

[edit]

English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "Liberia: Counties, Major Cities, Towns, & Urban Areas - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". City Population. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950–2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 Gardner, Leigh A., ed. (2022), "Reconstructing the Fragments: Liberia's Economic History, 1847–1980", Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the Age of Empires, 1822–1980, Cambridge Studies in Economic History - Second Series, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–30, doi:10.1017/9781009181082.002, ISBN 978-1-009-18110-5
  6. ↑ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  7. 1 2 Data of FAO, year 2005
  8. ↑ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  9. ↑ "Liberia Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Demographic and Health Survey 2007" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Liberia – The World Factbook". CIA. 2022.
  13. ↑ "Liberia". Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  14. ↑ "The Constitution of the Republic of Liberia" (PDF). Judiciary of Liberia. p. 28. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  15. ↑ Flomo Y. Kokolo. "The Mandingo Question in Liberian History and the Prospect for Peace in Liberia; PART I" (PDF). Retrieved 2026-10-07. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 34 (help)
  16. ↑ "Kru". Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  17. ↑ "Africa :: LIBERIA". CIA The World Factbook. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Liberia". United States Department of State. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  19. ↑ "The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity" (PDF). Pew Forum on Religious & Public life. August 9, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2014.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Ciment, J. (2013) Another America: The Story of Liberia and the Former Slaves Who Ruled It. New York: Hill and Wang. ISBN 978-0-8090-9542-1
  • Clegg, C. (2004). The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia. Chapel Hill: UNC Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-2845-8
  • Sundiata, I. (2003) Brothers and Strangers: Black Zion, Black Slavery, 1914-1940. Durham: Duke University Press ISBN 0-8223-3233-7
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_Liberia&oldid=1378983169"