Sub Saharan Africa

Liberia
Last reviewed: 25 February 2009

Country information

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TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade and Investment with the UK

UK imports in goods from Liberia in 2005 £2.86m. For the same period exports in goods to Liberia were £11.35m up from £8.60m in 2004.

Development

Decades of mismanagement and conflict have made Liberia one of the world's poorest countries. The civil war left thousands of people brutalised and traumatised and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. It left a generation of Liberians with no education and few skills to use in peace time. The state, its institutions, its security forces, its education and health services all have to be rebuilt from scratch. Donors have committed some US$500 million for reconstruction, funds which are tied to progress on the Governance and Economic Management Plan (GEMAP), put in place in early 2005. Liberia is currently implementing an IMF staff monitored programme, and is looking to negotiate a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper with the IMF and other donors, possibly next year. The new President has maintained the provisions of the GEMAP but has stated that her intention is to see it become part of a more normal relationship with the IMF and World Bank.

The UK Department for International Development has supported Liberia through its funding of UN agencies and NGOs working in the country. In 2003 DFID spent £7m on humanitarian aid. In 2004/5 £5m was spent on humanitarian programmes and £4m on DDR. In 2005/6 DFID allocated £2.5m for humanitarian aid and a further £2m for DDR.

World Bank

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

United Nations Human Rights Commissioner (UNHCR)