State Capacity Index in Liberia

Liberia: State Capacity Index was -0.5134 in 2015. ▼ Falling

Latest (2015)
-0.5134
Change on year
up 9.1%
World rank
146th
of 166 countries
All-time high
-0.2122
in 1976
All-time low
-1.45
in 2004
Years of data
56
1960–2015

State Capacity Index in Liberia, 1960–2015

-1.5-1.2-1-0.75-0.5-0.25196019872015

Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Liberia recorded -0.5134 for state capacity index in 2015.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.1% on the previous year and up 58.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, state capacity index in Liberia peaked at -0.2122 in 1976 and was at its lowest, -1.45, in 2004.

Liberia ranks 146th of 166 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.

State Capacity Index in Liberia, year by year

Annual values for State Capacity Index in Liberia, 1960 to 2015.
Year Value Change
1960 -1.33
1961 -1.3 -2.4%
1962 -1.18 -8.9%
1963 -1.13 -4.1%
1964 -1.07 -5.6%
1965 -1 -6.3%
1966 -1 +0.1%
1967 -0.8109 -19.2%
1968 -0.8025 -1.0%
1969 -0.8039 +0.2%
1970 -0.7809 -2.9%
1971 -0.7472 -4.3%
1972 -0.7981 +6.8%
1973 -0.736 -7.8%
1974 -0.3407 -53.7%
1975 -0.3128 -8.2%
1976 -0.2122 -32.2%
1977 -0.2388 +12.5%
1978 -0.3335 +39.7%
1979 -0.3547 +6.4%
1980 -0.4892 +37.9%
1981 -0.4028 -17.7%
1982 -0.3042 -24.5%
1983 -0.2663 -12.5%
1984 -0.435 +63.3%
1985 -0.4512 +3.7%
1986 -0.5599 +24.1%
1987 -0.6371 +13.8%
1988 -0.6699 +5.1%
1989 -0.8449 +26.1%
1990 -1.15 +36.3%
1991 -1.27 +10.4%
1992 -1.3 +1.9%
1993 -1.28 -1.2%
1994 -1.23 -3.7%
1995 -1.22 -1.1%
1996 -1.2 -2.0%
1997 -0.9511 -20.4%
1998 -0.9347 -1.7%
1999 -0.9869 +5.6%
2000 -0.9944 +0.8%
2001 -1.07 +7.6%
2002 -1.14 +6.3%
2003 -1.35 +19.0%
2004 -1.45 +6.9%
2005 -1.24 -14.4%
2006 -1.16 -6.7%
2007 -1.1 -4.7%
2008 -0.9753 -11.4%
2009 -0.8182 -16.1%
2010 -0.7521 -8.1%
2011 -0.61 -18.9%
2012 -0.5701 -6.5%
2013 -0.5056 -11.3%
2014 -0.5647 +11.7%
2015 -0.5134 -9.1%

Liberia compared with similar countries

  • Liberia's -0.5134 is above the median for low income countries, which is -0.5349, 96% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Liberia's -0.5134 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.0931, 5.5× the median. (46 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s -1.04 -1.33 -0.8025 10
1970s -0.4855 -0.7981 -0.2122 10
1980s -0.506 -0.8449 -0.2663 10
1990s -1.15 -1.3 -0.9347 10
2000s -1.13 -1.45 -0.8182 10
2010s -0.586 -0.7521 -0.5056 6

Countries ranked near Liberia

  1. 143 Cameroon -0.4069 compare
  2. 144 Djibouti -0.4288 compare
  3. 145 Congo -0.4654 compare
  4. 147 Equatorial Guinea -0.5207 compare
  5. 148 Chad -0.5349 compare
  6. 149 Iraq -0.6327 compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More reference data data for Liberia

All data for Liberia →

Frequently asked questions

What is state capacity index in Liberia?
State capacity index in Liberia was -0.5134 in 2015, according to Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest state capacity index recorded in Liberia?
The highest recorded value was -0.2122 in 1976.
What is the lowest state capacity index recorded in Liberia?
The lowest recorded value was -1.45 in 2004.
How does Liberia rank for state capacity index?
Liberia ranks 146th out of 166 countries with data for 2015.
Is state capacity index rising or falling in Liberia?
Over the last ten years it is up 58.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Liberia data come from?
The figures come from Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of State Capacity Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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State Capacity Index in Liberia. Statizoid, drawing on Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/state-capacity-index/liberia/

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About this data

Indicator
State Capacity Index
Source
Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 8,015 data points, 1960–2015
Last refreshed

Measures state capacity by combining 21 different indicators related to three key dimensions: extractive capacity, coercive capacity, and administrative capacity. Higher values indicate greater state capacity.