1.

Level of Development at a present (Developed or developing, rich or poor)

- Liberia is classified as a developing country with significant economic challenges and

poverty. Compared to many other countries, it is generally considered poor due to the
obstacles it brought on improving the quality of life of its people. With that, Liberia's
development status reflects the ongoing challenges in infrastructure, education,
healthcare, and governance.

Causes of poverty and underdevelopment in Liberia

1. Historical Conflicts and Social Disruption

The country has dealt with 14 years and two devastating civil wars, between 1989 and
2003 and even after slightly recovering, it is still in a vulnerable state. The aftermath of
the event left a legacy of trauma and instability wherein loss of over 200,000 lives of
people are experienced and many children were forced to become soldiers to fight in
the wars.

2. Economic Instability and Dependence on Primary commodities

According to the World Bank Organization, Liberia's economy expanded by 4.7% and
4.8% in 2023 and 2024 respectively brought primarily by fisheries, mining, expansion in
gold output, and construction. In addition, based from the Trading Economics, Liberia's
unemployment rate in 2024 reaches 2.9%. With this, although the country is rich in
natural resources such as iron, gold and rubber, corruption and mismanagement have
prevented these industries from benefiting the broader population.

3. Corruption and government conflict

Corruption and government conflict in Liberia has been a persistent issue, affecting
various sectors of the economy and society. On notable case involved is the
misappropriation of funds meant for public health projects, which led to a shortage of
medical supplies and inadequate healthcare services. Under government conflict, the
civil war that happened in Liberia caused a significant loss of life, displacement of
people, and destruction of property.

4. Inadequate infrastructure, human capital, and food insecurity

Infrastructure is significant for economic development as it facilitates trade,

transportation, and access to essential services. In Liberia, the infrastructure has been
severely damaged by years of conflict and neglect. Poor road networks, limited access
to electricity, and inadequate water and sanitation system hindered economic activities
and affected the quality of life for many Liberians. Apart from this, human capital in
Liberia has limited access to education and healthcare which led the people there to
lack necessary skills and productivity of the workforce to drive economic growth.
Regarding food security, it is still a crucial issue as many Liberians are relying on
subsistence farming and dealing with chronic malnutrition. As a result, the lack of
adequate healthcare and food security has further exacerbated poverty and
underdevelopment.

2. What are the economic factors that contributed to development (human capital,
physical resources, natural resources, and technology)?

Human Resources

Liberia has faced significant challenges in developing its human resources due to
prolonged civil conflicts as a result the country has a low level of human capital, which
limits people from reaching their full potential and hamper economic growth and
diversification. However, efforts to rebuild and strengthen the workforce have been
ongoing

Physical Resources

Liberia's physical resources include its infrastructure and land. However, the country
has limited access to infrastructure, particularly roads and energy, which severely
restricts citizens' ability to engage in basic economic activities and access essential
social services but despite that, the country has been focusing on rehabilitating
infrastructure to support economic growth.

Natural Resources

Liberia is rich in natural resources, including minerals like iron ore, gold, and diamonds,
as well as agricultural land and forests. The mining sector has been a significant
contributor to the economy, with iron being the primary mineral export.

Technology

Technological development in Liberia has been focused on improving various sectors,

including energy, transportation, and financial services. The country has been working
on critical reforms to enhance these sector.

These factors collectively contribute to Liberia's ongoing development efforts, aiming to

reverse economic stagnation and promote sustainable growth.

3. Stages of development based on economic theories.

Linear Stages of Growth Model

Considering the factors that causes the Liberia be poor and underdeveloped, the
country exhibits characteristics of the "Preconditions for Take-off" stage. Liberia has
been working on improving its road networks, energy supply, and other critical
infrastructure. For instance, the Government of Liberia's ARREST agenda
(Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism) includes
significant investments in infrastructure to support economic development. Furthermore,
Liberia has been focusing on improving agricultural practices and productivity as well as
implementation of reforms in key to enable sectors such as energy, transportation,
trade, and financial services.

Structural-Change Theory

Liberia has seen a decline in the agriculture sector's share of GDP and employment,
while the services and industry sectors have grown. The government is working to
promote productivity in natural resources and invest in human capital and infrastructure
to support this structural transformation. This only means that Liberia move away from
an agriculture-based economy and beginning of a more diversified economy.

4. Poverty indicators, if any, health, education, and living standard.

In terms of resources, unemployment and informality pose considerable challenges,

with a large portion of the labor force engaged in low-productivity jobs and informal
employment. The education levels are amongst the lowest in the world with high
illiteracy rates and high rates of children out of school and while Liberia has made some
progress in improving health indicators because the health situation is still challenging –
not least for people living in rural areas where access to health care is severely limited.

In terms of opportunities and choice, people in Liberia, and in particular people living in
rural areas, face several challenges. With the exception of a few primary roads
connecting major cities, the road network is very poor, limiting both economic activities
as well as access to basic services for people living in rural areas.

In terms of power and voice, people in Liberia can, in general, exercise power. With free
and fair elections and a strong freedom of expression and press freedom, Liberia scores
better than most countries in the region. Still, challenges exist, not least when looking at
the lack of rule of law and the high level of corruption engendering a culture of impunity.

In terms of the economic and social context, Liberia faces challenges linked to an
underdeveloped economy, which is heavily reliant on agriculture and extractive sectors.
This makes the economy highly vulnerable to external shocks and global commodity
price fluctuations. Furthermore, as mentioned above, limitations in infrastructure, and in
particular in terms of access to roads and electricity, also restricts people’s ability to
move out of poverty.

5. 5. Give your impression on the learning or knowledge acquired from what I have
discovered about Liberia, I was able to deeply understand that the country's poverty and
underdevelopment are rooted in its history and ongoing challenges. With that, it is
inspiring to know that despite the heavy disruption from the past, Liberian people has
shown resilience and determination to overcome its difficulties, how they put effort on
rebuilding their nation. More so, I realized that in order to attain the meaningful change
and economic progress, a multifaceted approach is needed, including strengthening
governance to remove corruption, investing in education and healthcare to develop a
skilled and healthy workforce, and diversifying the economy to avoid the dependency on
primary commodities. By addressing these challenges, Liberia can walk towards a
brighter future for its economy and citizens.