Human Development & Quality of Life in Liberia
HDI 0.510 · UNDP rank 177 · latest published data
In UNDP's 2023 index data, Liberia has HDI 0.510 and rank 177, which corresponds to low human development. What makes the country profile more informative than the rank alone is that the health component is anchored by life expectancy of 62.2 years. Separately, the planetary-pressure adjustment is limited at 1.0%, leaving PHDI at 0.505.
What sits inside Liberia's HDI
Liberia's HDI can be read through four underlying inputs for 2023: 62.2 life expectancy, 10.5 expected schooling, 6.2 mean schooling and GNI per capita of $1,538 in 2021 PPP dollars. The components are inputs to HDI, not independent country league tables. When using this figure elsewhere, preserve the source's country coverage before comparing it with a quality-of-life observation.
Inequality changes the headline
IHDI reframes Liberia's HDI by accounting for unequal outcomes within the population. That is a different question from how satisfied people say they are with life.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
Beyond HDI, Liberia's UNDP profile also reports GDI 0.865, GII 0.646, PHDI 0.505. They complement one another, but none is treated as a substitute for another.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
A comparable life-satisfaction observation was not available in the OECD extract used for Liberia. The absence of a published observation is preserved explicitly. For the evidence on this page, treat the value as the published measure before drawing conclusions from small differences.
What Liberia's numbers say together
Liberia's non-headline measures include IHDI 0.326 with a 36.1% loss; PHDI 0.505 after a 1.0% adjustment; GDI 0.865. Each measure has a different definition, so they are not combined.
UNDP reports a 2023 HDI of 0.510 for Liberia, with rank 177. That headline measure is useful for development comparison, but it is not a complete quality-of-life score. For the evidence on this page, preserve the distinction between level and distribution before drawing conclusions from small differences.
The IHDI is 0.326, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 36.1% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.865 in group 5; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
The PHDI is 0.505, with a 1.0% adjustment from the HDI value in UNDP's 2023 table.
Frequently asked questions
What is Liberia's HDI?
For the 2023 observation year, UNDP reports HDI 0.510 and rank 177 for Liberia.
How does inequality affect Liberia's HDI?
The UNDP inequality adjustment gives Liberia an IHDI of 0.326, with an overall loss of 36.1% from the unadjusted HDI. For a like-for-like reading, do not infer an unstated comparison because the surrounding measures answer different questions.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
Liberia's page adds a quality-of-life measure only when a comparable dated observation can be sourced. An unavailable observation remains omitted rather than estimated.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. HDI combines health, education and income. Life satisfaction adds a different perspective and is therefore not folded into HDI.
Sources & methodology
Sources for the development indicators and definitions shown above.
View sources used for this page
Primary source for 2023 HDI and its components, plus IHDI, GDI, GII and PHDI where reported.
Report edition underlying the 2023 human-development indices and ranking.
Data note: Reference years are shown with each indicator; unavailable observations remain unfilled.