- IMF staff and Liberia authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the steps required to complete the fourth review of the authorities' agenda supported by Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement and the first review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement. The agreement is subject to IMF Management approval and Executive Board consideration.
- Liberia will gain access to about US$26.1 million under the ECF arrangement and about US$23.9 million under the RSF, a total of about US$50 million once approved by the IMF Executive Board.
- Liberia's economic and financial resilience continues to strengthen, supported by prudent macroeconomic management. Program performance against quantitative targets remains strong, while fiscal outcomes continue to exceed expectations. The robust growth momentum of 2025 is expected to carry into 2026, with real growth projected to accelerate to 5.5 percent. At the same time, inflation remains contained, underpinned by sound macroeconomic policies and a stable exchange rate.
Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Daehaeng Kim, has concluded discussions on the economic and financial policies underpinning the fourth review of Liberia's 40-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, approved by the IMF Executive Board on September 25, 2024 with total access of SDR 155 million (about US$ 210 million). The mission also assessed reform progress under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), approved by the Executive Board on April 27, 2026 , with total access of SDR 193.8 million (about US$ 265 million). The mission team visited Monrovia from June 10 to 23. Executive Board discussion is tentatively scheduled for late September 2026.
At the conclusion of the discussions, Mr. Kim issued the following statement:
"IMF staff and the Liberia authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the policies needed to complete the fourth review of the ECF as well as the first review of the RSF. The agreement is subject to IMF Management approval and Executive Board consideration. Upon completion of the Executive Board review, Liberia would gain access to SDR 19.3 million (about US$26.1 million) under the ECF arrangement, and SDR 17.62 million (about US$23.9 million) under the RSF arrangement, for a total disbursement of about US$50 million.
"Economic activity has remained robust, and the outlook remains favorable despite a challenging external environment. Real GDP growth is expected to strengthen further to 5.5 percent in 2026 and remain around that level over the medium term, following a temporary slowdown to 5.1 percent in 2027. Growth continues to be driven by robust mining activity, construction and manufacturing. Inflation remained contained in the first half of 2026, averaging 4.5 percent, but is expected to rise to 6 percent in the near term, partly reflecting spillovers from the war in the Middle East. Following a modest appreciation in 2025, the Liberian dollar has remained broadly stable in 2026. The current account deficit is projected to widen in 2026-27, reflecting strong import demand, but will remain fully financed by robust FDI and concessional borrowing. Fiscal performance has remained strong and continues to exceed program expectations. The primary fiscal surplus, excluding grants, is projected to improve by 1 percentage point to 2.4 percent of GDP in 2026, supported by solid revenue mobilization and continued fiscal discipline.
"Efforts to consolidate recent fiscal and financial sector gains and advance the structural reform agenda should continue. Sustained domestic revenue mobilization, supported by the implementation of the VAT from 2027 and reforms to the mining tax regime, remains critical to financing priority development spending. Heightened global uncertainty and oil price volatility warrant maintaining a tight monetary policy stance to safeguard price stability, while efforts to strengthen monetary policy effectiveness should continue. Further progress in restructuring weak banks and reducing NPLs will help support private sector credit expansion and preserve financial sector stability. The recent Governance Diagnostic report, together with the authorities' time-bound action plan to implement its recommendations, provides a strong foundation for advancing the governance reform agenda in the coming years.
"Implementation of RSF-supported reform measures (RM) is progressing, and the RM scheduled for this review-an important first step towards strengthening climate - and pandemic-related fiscal risk management and transparency-was successfully completed. In line with international best practices, and with support from IMF technical assistance, the authorities developed and published a comprehensive database that records the fiscal costs of disaster responses on an ongoing basis.
"IMF staff remains grateful to the authorities for their strong ownership of the reform program, constructive engagement, and warm hospitality."
