A civil war in 1989-96 destroyed much of Liberia's
economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Many
businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them.
Some returned during 1997. Many will not return. Richly endowed with
water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to
agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic
products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been
small in scope. The democratically elected government, installed in
August 1997, inherited massive international debts and currently
relies on revenues from its maritime registry to provide the bulk of
its foreign exchange earnings. The restoration of the infrastructure
and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy depend on the
implementation of sound macro- and micro-economic policies of the new
government, including the encouragement of foreign investment.

purchasing power parity - $2.85 billion (1999 est.)

0.5% (1999 est.)

purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1999 est.)

agriculture: 50%
industry: 15%
services: 35% (1999 est.)

80%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

3% (1998 est.)

agriculture 70%, industry 8%, services
22% (1999 est.)

70%

revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

rubber processing, palm oil processing, diamonds

0%

490 million kWh (1998)

fossil fuel: 62.24%
hydro: 37.76%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

456 million kWh (1998)

0 kWh (1998)

0 kWh (1998)

rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava
(tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber

$39 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

diamonds, iron ore, rubber, timber, coffee,
cocoa

Benelux 36%, Norway 18%, Ukraine 15%, Singapore 9%
(1997)

$142 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation
equipment, manufactured goods; rice and other foodstuffs

South Korea 38%, Japan 14%, Italy 11%, Singapore
9% (1997)

$3 billion (1999 est.)

$200 million pledged (1998)

1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents

Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1 - 1.0000 (officially
fixed rate since 1940); market exchange rate: Liberian dollars (L$)
per US$1 - 40 (December 1998), 50 (October 1995); market rate floats
against the US dollar

calendar year