African Tax Observatory · Country brief · LiberiaData pulled 14 October 2026 · taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/LBR

Centre 6°27′N 9°19′W

Gazetteer · Western Africa · Low income

Liberia

Collected 12.1% of GDP in tax in 2024, 29 of 38 reporting members.

12.1%

Tax, % of GDP, 2024

−4.7

Points since 2010

across a break: see the note

0.77

Tax buoyancy

over 16 years, across a break

$103

Tax per person

PPP dollars

Read with care · 2 breaks in the series

2015: GDP falls to 53% of its level in a year

GDP in purchasing-power dollars goes from $3.9bn in 2014 to $2.0bn in 2015. GDP measured this way does not move like that in a year; the figures were compiled differently on either side (a rebasing of GDP or a currency change, for example). Tax to GDP barely moves (19.5% to 18.5%): tax and GDP were converted alike, so the share reads across the break even though the levels do not.

2025: GDP jumps 2.37 times in a year

GDP in purchasing-power dollars goes from $4.8bn in 2024 to $11.3bn in 2025. GDP measured this way does not move like that in a year; the figures were compiled differently on either side (a rebasing of GDP or a currency change, for example). Tax to GDP barely moves (12.1% to 13.2%): tax and GDP were converted alike, so the share reads across the break even though the levels do not.

Every break across the atlas, and the rule that finds them: the colophon.

Plate I·Over time

Fifteen years, against the continent

Over time

Liberia against the continent

Measure

LiberiaWestern Africa medianATAF median and middle half

The shaded band is the middle half of ATAF members each year (25th to 75th percentile); the dashed line is the median of Western Africa. The members reporting change from year to year, so the band can move because the set of countries changed; the CSV gives the count for each year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Liberia	Western Africa median	ATAF median	ATAF 25th percentile	ATAF 75th percentile	Members reporting
2010	16.84	14.56	14.34	10.67	16.43	26
2011	18.58	15.71	14.84	10.99	16.62	33
2012	21.39	16.21	15.07	11.45	16.75	33
2013	22.22	13.93	13.83	11.23	16.89	32
2014	19.47	14.23	14.26	11.87	17.13	32
2015	18.55	14.34	15.08	12.33	18.55	33
2016	18.52	14.28	14.38	12.40	17.43	33
2017	17.18	14.75	14.75	11.50	16.95	35
2018	11.24	13.32	14.18	10.86	16.10	36
2019	12.50	12.50	13.57	11.51	17.23	38
2020	13.22	12.22	13.27	10.85	16.07	38
2021	13.95	12.46	12.72	10.44	16.06	40
2022	12.53	13.45	14.18	11.34	18.16	39
2023	12.04	13.30	14.43	11.30	18.82	37
2024	12.13	13.51	14.30	12.17	18.05	38
2025	13.18	13.38	13.74	12.18	20.53	34

Plate II·Peers, 2024

Each tax beside the medians

Against its peers, 2024

Each tax as a share of GDP, beside the medians

The line joins Liberia (orange) to the ATAF median (grey); the blue tick is the Western Africa median. All three are for 2024.

Show the numbers as a table

Measure	Liberia	Western Africa median	ATAF median
Tax-to-GDP	12.13	13.51	14.30
Domestic taxes	7.52	8.38	9.01
Customs taxes	4.61	5.32	4.87
Non-tax revenue	2.59	2.59	2.59
VAT	2.50	3.43	5.20
PIT	3.34	1.48	2.04
CIT	0.97	2.22	2.72

Plate III·Tax heads

How Liberia's tax is made up

Tax heads

What each tax brings in, as a share of GDP

Domestic VATPersonal income taxCorporate income taxWithholding taxOther domestic taxesVAT on importsImport dutyExcise on importsOther customs taxesNot attributed to a headPresumptive tax

Each bar stacks the tax heads ATAF publishes for that year. Where the heads do not add up to total tax revenue, the gap is drawn in light grey and labelled, never spread across the heads. A head missing from a year was not reported for that year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	% of GDP
2010	Domestic VAT	26015802	1.01
2010	Personal income tax	75069165	2.92
2010	Corporate income tax	50739573	1.97
2010	Withholding tax	13857973	0.54
2010	Other domestic taxes	66198151	2.57
2010	VAT on imports	72088934	2.80
2010	Import duty	105291531	4.09
2010	Excise on imports	10712506	0.42
2010	Other customs taxes	5968425	0.23
2010	Not attributed to a head	7262446	0.28
2011	Domestic VAT	28052243	0.99
2011	Personal income tax	79957686	2.83
2011	Corporate income tax	85629691	3.04
2011	Withholding tax	34217068	1.21
2011	Presumptive tax	447019	0.02
2011	Other domestic taxes	74804149	2.65
2011	VAT on imports	78153124	2.77
2011	Import duty	112883163	4.00
2011	Excise on imports	12679570	0.45
2011	Other customs taxes	11129661	0.39
2011	Not attributed to a head	6183145	0.22
2012	Domestic VAT	26645288	0.86
2012	Personal income tax	67500089	2.17
2012	Corporate income tax	123551197	3.97
2012	Withholding tax	57535764	1.85
2012	Presumptive tax	678088	0.02
2012	Other domestic taxes	103369158	3.32
2012	VAT on imports	101491925	3.26
2012	Import duty	144862788	4.65
2012	Excise on imports	13454693	0.43
2012	Other customs taxes	20271261	0.65
2012	Not attributed to a head	7057468	0.23
2013	Domestic VAT	50145178	1.38
2013	Personal income tax	109766551	3.02
2013	Corporate income tax	70629937	1.94
2013	Withholding tax	211223807	5.80
2013	Presumptive tax	4252044	0.12
2013	Other domestic taxes	81358371	2.24
2013	VAT on imports	96260932	2.64
2013	Import duty	146315206	4.02
2013	Excise on imports	14509265	0.40
2013	Other customs taxes	18709364	0.51
2013	Not attributed to a head	5699075	0.16
2014	Domestic VAT	54295911	1.41
2014	Personal income tax	140523606	3.64
2014	Corporate income tax	81032839	2.10
2014	Withholding tax	81554049	2.12
2014	Presumptive tax	4024048	0.10
2014	Other domestic taxes	83458766	2.16
2014	VAT on imports	102963904	2.67
2014	Import duty	156638962	4.06
2014	Excise on imports	14174232	0.37
2014	Other customs taxes	23619248	0.61
2014	Not attributed to a head	8486910	0.22
2015	Domestic VAT	25381000	1.25
2015	Personal income tax	71081000	3.49
2015	Corporate income tax	29187000	1.43
2015	Withholding tax	44172000	2.17
2015	Presumptive tax	1442000	0.07
2015	Other domestic taxes	33803000	1.66
2015	VAT on imports	51345000	2.52
2015	Import duty	93246000	4.58
2015	Excise on imports	9892000	0.49
2015	Other customs taxes	13270000	0.65
2015	Not attributed to a head	4588000	0.23
2016	Domestic VAT	26829000	1.25
2016	Personal income tax	79138000	3.70
2016	Corporate income tax	34433000	1.61
2016	Withholding tax	47642000	2.23
2016	Presumptive tax	1708000	0.08
2016	Other domestic taxes	15868000	0.74
2016	VAT on imports	62620000	2.93
2016	Import duty	98193000	4.59
2016	Excise on imports	11053000	0.52
2016	Other customs taxes	13292000	0.62
2016	Not attributed to a head	5166000	0.24
2017	Domestic VAT	25481660	1.15
2017	Personal income tax	73232527	3.31
2017	Corporate income tax	31561961	1.43
2017	Withholding tax	31889229	1.44
2017	Presumptive tax	1527312	0.07
2017	Other domestic taxes	26079574	1.18
2017	VAT on imports	67784863	3.07
2017	Import duty	98023365	4.44
2017	Excise on imports	8387938	0.38
2017	Other customs taxes	10209984	0.46
2017	Not attributed to a head	5459970	0.25
2018	Domestic VAT	24451961	0.75
2018	Personal income tax	78787598	2.41
2018	Corporate income tax	26895586	0.82
2018	Withholding tax	26080727	0.80
2018	Presumptive tax	1303779	0.04
2018	Other domestic taxes	18113609	0.55
2018	VAT on imports	66807785	2.05
2018	Import duty	101891174	3.12
2018	Excise on imports	7298590	0.22
2018	Other customs taxes	9944718	0.30
2018	Not attributed to a head	5451455	0.17
2019	Domestic VAT	20053454	0.65
2019	Personal income tax	98214236	3.20
2019	Corporate income tax	26396892	0.86
2019	Withholding tax	35945097	1.17
2019	Presumptive tax	1136775	0.04
2019	Other domestic taxes	23424080	0.76
2019	VAT on imports	69638463	2.27
2019	Import duty	85449060	2.78
2019	Excise on imports	8862939	0.29
2019	Other customs taxes	9792252	0.32
2019	Not attributed to a head	4798019	0.16
2020	Domestic VAT	23004616	0.78
2020	Personal income tax	117229278	3.97
2020	Corporate income tax	27256800	0.92
2020	Withholding tax	29852961	1.01
2020	Presumptive tax	1043999	0.04
2020	Other domestic taxes	21333961	0.72
2020	VAT on imports	66270750	2.25
2020	Import duty	83288797	2.82
2020	Excise on imports	5648215	0.19
2020	Other customs taxes	10247423	0.35
2020	Not attributed to a head	4681386	0.16
2021	Domestic VAT	29413755	0.86
2021	Personal income tax	117487501	3.43
2021	Corporate income tax	43406261	1.27
2021	Withholding tax	47846199	1.40
2021	Presumptive tax	1318563	0.04
2021	Other domestic taxes	23247375	0.68
2021	VAT on imports	77098776	2.25
2021	Import duty	99249589	2.90
2021	Excise on imports	7757702	0.23
2021	Other customs taxes	25144873	0.73
2021	Not attributed to a head	5842723	0.17
2022	Domestic VAT	42565488	1.08
2022	Personal income tax	114244310	2.90
2022	Corporate income tax	52630968	1.34
2022	Withholding tax	45241022	1.15
2022	Presumptive tax	1510085	0.04
2022	Other domestic taxes	28218299	0.72
2022	VAT on imports	75361933	1.91
2022	Import duty	99054274	2.52
2022	Excise on imports	14731545	0.37
2022	Other customs taxes	14246051	0.36
2022	Not attributed to a head	5532600	0.14
2023	Domestic VAT	60732113	1.40
2023	Personal income tax	125680404	2.90
2023	Corporate income tax	52180672	1.20
2023	Withholding tax	40598226	0.94
2023	Presumptive tax	1890607	0.04
2023	Other domestic taxes	47591866	1.10
2023	VAT on imports	63852475	1.47
2023	Import duty	98615408	2.28
2023	Excise on imports	11614594	0.27
2023	Other customs taxes	13886462	0.32
2023	Not attributed to a head	4990717	0.12
2024	Domestic VAT	37051178	0.78
2024	Personal income tax	158721664	3.34
2024	Corporate income tax	46065304	0.97
2024	Withholding tax	64508393	1.36
2024	Presumptive tax	3406843	0.07
2024	Other domestic taxes	41721165	0.88
2024	VAT on imports	82013600	1.73
2024	Import duty	117134055	2.46
2024	Excise on imports	12031908	0.25
2024	Other customs taxes	8130586	0.17
2024	Not attributed to a head	5813896	0.12
2025	Domestic VAT	92083174	0.82
2025	Personal income tax	421450859	3.73
2025	Corporate income tax	155093668	1.37
2025	Withholding tax	173950356	1.54
2025	Presumptive tax	930520	0.01
2025	Other domestic taxes	71052387	0.63
2025	VAT on imports	227799560	2.02
2025	Import duty	279661483	2.48
2025	Excise on imports	37895073	0.34
2025	Other customs taxes	15321237	0.14
2025	Not attributed to a head	12243475	0.11

The mix in 2024

Every shilling, franc or rand of tax, by head

Rectangle areas are proportional to revenue in 2024 (US dollars at purchasing-power parity). Total tax revenue: $576.6m.

Show the numbers as a table

Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	Share of tax revenue
Domestic VAT	37051178	0.06
Personal income tax	158721664	0.28
Corporate income tax	46065304	0.08
Withholding tax	64508393	0.11
Presumptive tax	3406843	0.01
Other domestic taxes	41721165	0.07
VAT on imports	82013600	0.14
Import duty	117134055	0.20
Excise on imports	12031908	0.02
Other customs taxes	8130586	0.01
Not attributed to a head	5813896	0.01

Every published number

Liberia in the ATAF Databank

All 23 freely available indicators, exactly as ATAF publishes them. A blank cell means ATAF has no figure for that year; nothing is filled in.

Liberia: ATAF Databank indicators by year
Indicator	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Nominal GDP (PPP)	$2.6bn	$2.8bn	$3.1bn	$3.6bn	$3.9bn	$2.0bn	$2.1bn	$2.2bn	$3.3bn	$3.1bn	$3.0bn	$3.4bn	$3.9bn	$4.3bn	$4.8bn	$11.3bn
Real GDP	1,292.0m	1,398.3m	1,510.6m	1,642.6m	1,654.1m	1,654.1m	1,695.4m	1,737.8m	2,641.8m	2,418.3m	2,717.8m	3,200.0m	3,398.4m	3,510.0m	4,600.4m	3,885.4m
Final Consumption (PPP)
Total Tax Revenues (PPP)	$433.2m	$524.1m	$666.4m	$808.9m	$750.8m	$377.4m	$395.9m	$379.6m	$367.0m	$383.7m	$389.9m	$477.8m	$493.3m	$521.6m	$576.6m	$1.5bn
Total Number Of Registered Taxpayers				20k	26k	34k	41k	52k	73k	99k	118k	128k	32k
Non-Tax-Revenues (PPP)	$111.0m	$105.1m	$98.6m	$127.4m	$154.5m	$52.2m	$50.9m	$76.7m	$50.0m	$80.9m	$83.3m	$99.2m	$120.1m	$87.5m	$123.1m	$334.3m
Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$239.1m	$309.3m	$386.3m	$533.1m	$453.4m	$209.7m	$210.8m	$195.2m	$181.1m	$210.0m	$224.4m	$268.6m	$289.9m	$333.7m	$357.3m	$926.8m
Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$194.1m	$214.8m	$280.1m	$275.8m	$297.4m	$167.8m	$185.2m	$184.4m	$185.9m	$173.7m	$165.5m	$209.3m	$203.4m	$188.0m	$219.3m	$560.7m
Revenue From Agriculture, Forest & Fishing (PPP)				$70.6m	$69.5m	$37.5m	$33.2m	$32.4m	$24.7m	$25.0m				$14.7m	$23.9m	$52.1m
Revenue From Mining & Quarrying (PPP)				$120.6m	$76.2m	$30.5m	$26.4m	$29.6m	$36.1m	$42.9m				$142.0m	$137.5m	$276.5m
Revenue From Secondary Sector (PPP)				$191.7m	$170.9m	$77.4m	$72.2m	$23.1m	$27.2m	$27.4m				$42.5m	$53.5m	$160.1m
Revenue From Tertiary Sector (PPP)				$546.6m	$510.4m	$262.5m	$314.9m	$371.3m	$339.2m	$370.0m				$407.9m	$427.1m	$1.3bn
Domestic VAT Revenues (PPP)	$26.0m	$28.1m	$26.6m	$50.1m	$54.3m	$25.4m	$26.8m	$25.5m	$24.5m	$20.1m	$23.0m	$29.4m	$42.6m	$60.7m	$37.1m	$92.1m
VAT Refunded (PPP)
PIT Revenues (PPP)	$75.1m	$80.0m	$67.5m	$109.8m	$140.5m	$71.1m	$79.1m	$73.2m	$78.8m	$98.2m	$117.2m	$117.5m	$114.2m	$125.7m	$158.7m	$421.5m
CIT Revenues (PPP)	$50.7m	$85.6m	$123.6m	$70.6m	$81.0m	$29.2m	$34.4m	$31.6m	$26.9m	$26.4m	$27.3m	$43.4m	$52.6m	$52.2m	$46.1m	$155.1m
Withholding Tax Revenues (PPP)	$13.9m	$34.2m	$57.5m	$211.2m	$81.6m	$44.2m	$47.6m	$31.9m	$26.1m	$35.9m	$29.9m	$47.8m	$45.2m	$40.6m	$64.5m	$174.0m
Presumptive Tax Revenues (PPP)		$447.0k	$678.1k	$4.3m	$4.0m	$1.4m	$1.7m	$1.5m	$1.3m	$1.1m	$1.0m	$1.3m	$1.5m	$1.9m	$3.4m	$930.5k
Other Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$66.2m	$74.8m	$103.4m	$81.4m	$83.5m	$33.8m	$15.9m	$26.1m	$18.1m	$23.4m	$21.3m	$23.2m	$28.2m	$47.6m	$41.7m	$71.1m
VAT On Import Revenues (PPP)	$72.1m	$78.2m	$101.5m	$96.3m	$103.0m	$51.3m	$62.6m	$67.8m	$66.8m	$69.6m	$66.3m	$77.1m	$75.4m	$63.9m	$82.0m	$227.8m
Import Duty Revenues (PPP)	$105.3m	$112.9m	$144.9m	$146.3m	$156.6m	$93.2m	$98.2m	$98.0m	$101.9m	$85.4m	$83.3m	$99.2m	$99.1m	$98.6m	$117.1m	$279.7m
Excises on Imports Revenues (PPP)	$10.7m	$12.7m	$13.5m	$14.5m	$14.2m	$9.9m	$11.1m	$8.4m	$7.3m	$8.9m	$5.6m	$7.8m	$14.7m	$11.6m	$12.0m	$37.9m
Other Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$6.0m	$11.1m	$20.3m	$18.7m	$23.6m	$13.3m	$13.3m	$10.2m	$9.9m	$9.8m	$10.2m	$25.1m	$14.2m	$13.9m	$8.1m	$15.3m

Values are rounded for display; the CSV has them exactly as published. Revenue and GDP are US dollars at purchasing-power parity.

Data-quality checks

What the automatic checks found

These are rule-based checks, run on every pull. A flag says the numbers deserve a second look, not that they are wrong; the methods page explains each rule.

Year	Check	Detail
2025	Sudden jump	Total tax revenue (PPP) moves ×2.58 from 2024.

Source: ATAF Databank, the African Tax Administration Forum; World Bank World Development Indicators. Tax and GDP are in US dollars at purchasing-power parity, so their ratio equals the ratio in local currency. Cite as: Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Liberia. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/LBR Every figure and its method: taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/methods

Cite this sheet

Liberia, in Edition 1

Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Liberia. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/LBR

Western Africa

Neighbouring profiles

Benin Burkina Faso Cabo Verde Côte d'Ivoire Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Compare Liberia with its neighbours →