_*Economy #_Overview: Civil war during 1990 destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Expatriate businessmen fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them. Many will not return. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, while local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. Political instability threatens prospects for economic reconstruction and repatriation of some 750,000 Liberian refugees who fled to neighboring countries.
_#_GDP: $988 million, per capita $400; real growth rate 1.5% (1988)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: 43% urban (1988)
_#_Budget: revenues $242.1 million; expenditures $435.4 million, including capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989)
_#_Exports: $505 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities—iron ore 61%, rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee;
partners—US, EC, Netherlands
_#_Imports: $394 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities—rice, mineral fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, other foodstuffs;