MigrantoMigration trends in Liberia
Africa
Liberia loses more people than it takes in: 145.9K emigrants against 66.9K immigrants. Net balance −79K — 1% of the country's population
5.6M
Population
66.9K
Immigrants
145.9K
Emigrants
−79K
Outflow
1 in 84 residents of Liberia was born abroad — and 1 in 39 people born in Liberia lives abroad
#143 in the world by net migration loss
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Liberia
Where people come from
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
74.6K immigrants · 539.1K emigrants
1995
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 154%
- Sierra Leone overtook Guinea as the largest source of new arrivals
- Roughly 1 in 20 residents was now foreign-born
- Surge of immigrants from Sierra Leone — 116.2K new arrivals
2000
- The exodus eased — the diaspora shrank by 52%
- Emigration to Guinea declined sharply — 311.4K fewer migrants there
- The gap between arrivals and departures was cut in half
2005
- Immigration contracted — the foreign-born population fell 42%
2010
- Guinea overtook Sierra Leone as the largest source of new arrivals
- Ivory Coast replaced Guinea as the main destination for those leaving
- The exodus eased — the diaspora shrank by 47%
- The gap between arrivals and departures was cut in half
2015
- The foreign-born population passed 100K residents
2020
- Guinea overtook Ivory Coast as the largest source of new arrivals
- Immigration contracted — the foreign-born population fell 23%
Today
- Ghana replaced Israel as the main destination for those leaving
- Since 1990: roughly the same number of foreign-born residents and 393.2K fewer emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
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