Joseph Boakai, then Vice-President of Liberia, addresses the 64th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. Liberia’s new President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has been sworn into office after a narrow win in the November …
Liberia’s economy grew by 4.7% in 2023, helped by a surge in mining activity, according to the World Bank, and is expected to average growth rates of nearly 6% over the next two years. But some two decades after the end of a devastating civil war, half of the country lives below the official poverty line and the country’s GDP per capita ranks as one of the lowest in the world.
Liberia joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, with Mr. Weah adding the coastal nation with a population smaller than Maryland to the list of more than 150 countries and international organizations participating in China’s multi-trillion dollar infrastructure development plan. Washington has long viewed Beijing’s program with skepticism, warning recipients are in danger of falling into a “debt trap” and facing large bills when the projects are completed.
“We just want to live as a country, and I’m sure, I always say, ‘The mouse will eat and the elephant will not suffer’,” he said.