Liberia’s credit to private sector fell to 17.2% of GDP in 2024.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher ratio can mean firms and households have deeper access to finance, and it can also mean debts are building up faster than incomes. A lower ratio can reflect careful lenders or borrowers, and it can also reflect scarce credit. The latest figure is 17.2% of GDP for 2024, down 2.1 percentage points from 19.3% of GDP a year earlier. Since 2015 the range runs from a low of 12.7% of GDP in 2015 to a high of 19.3% of GDP in 2023, so the 2024 reading sits in the upper part of that range, just below the peak.

Why it matters. A ratio of 17.2% of GDP means private lending is a modest slice of the Liberian economy. Shopkeepers, farmers and small firms that want to stock up or expand have a limited formal pool to draw on. The fall from 2023 means that pool shrank relative to the economy, either because lending slowed or because GDP grew faster than loans. The next annual figure will show whether the ratio recovers towards 19.3% of GDP or keeps easing.