Liberia - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Liberia was 5,057,677 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 5,057,677 in 2020 and a minimum value of 1,118,655 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 1,118,655
1961 1,142,304
1962 1,166,651
1963 1,191,796
1964 1,217,905
1965 1,245,104
1966 1,273,458
1967 1,303,032
1968 1,333,980
1969 1,366,500
1970 1,400,730
1971 1,436,740
1972 1,474,567
1973 1,514,364
1974 1,556,288
1975 1,600,454
1976 1,645,833
1977 1,692,155
1978 1,740,919
1979 1,794,251
1980 1,852,991
1981 1,918,832
1982 1,989,477
1983 2,057,232
1984 2,111,667
1985 2,145,756
1986 2,158,434
1987 2,153,312
1988 2,134,105
1989 2,106,429
1990 2,075,917
1991 2,040,141
1992 2,001,612
1993 1,976,701
1994 1,986,491
1995 2,044,657
1996 2,160,480
1997 2,326,210
1998 2,517,472
1999 2,699,708
2000 2,848,447
2001 2,953,928
2002 3,024,727
2003 3,077,055
2004 3,135,654
2005 3,218,114
2006 3,329,211
2007 3,461,911
2008 3,607,863
2009 3,754,129
2010 3,891,357
2011 4,017,446
2012 4,135,662
2013 4,248,337
2014 4,359,508
2015 4,472,229
2016 4,586,788
2017 4,702,224
2018 4,818,976
2019 4,937,374
2020 5,057,677

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population