Liberia has enjoyed two decades of peace and stability since its second civil war ended in 2003, making considerable progress in rebuilding government capacity, reestablishing the rule of law, and ensuring citizens’ political rights and civil liberties. For the first time in decades, the country experienced a peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in 2017, and the highly competitive 2023 elections led to another democratic handover in early 2024. However, persistent problems include corruption, impunity, pressure on media freedom, and violence against women.

• President Joseph Boakai, who took office in January after winning a November 2023 runoff election, issued an executive order in May to create an Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC). The office would oversee the establishment of a court to address abuses that occurred during Liberia’s civil wars. In June, Baokai appointed Jonathan Massaquoi to head the office, but he rescinded the appointment in August after critics noted that Massaquoi lacked experience in international law and had previously represented alleged perpetrators of war crimes and corruption. Also during the year, Boakai was criticized for attempting to replace tenured officials at independent government institutions in apparent violation of the law.
• In September, a mass prison break in Kakata highlighted the inadequacy of resources for the correctional system as well as harsh conditions within the country’s prisons. To help address case backlogs and the chronic problem of prolonged pretrial detention, the National Bar Association in October launched a new legal aid service with support from the United States and the United Nations Development Programme.
• A number of protests during the year led to violent clashes between police and demonstrators, including supporters of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the former ruling party. In December, an attempt by some lawmakers to remove the CDC’s Jonathan Fonati Koffa as speaker of the House of Representatives for alleged corruption triggered protests and related violence in the capital, as well as fires in the parliament building.
• Corruption and malfeasance remained broader concerns. In March, President Boakai suspended the head of the Financial Intelligence Agency, a statutory agency responsible for addressing money laundering, over alleged financial malpractices. In September, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) announced an investigation into alleged off-budget expenditures by the Boakai government; separately that month, the commission reported that fewer than half of all government officials who were asked to declare their assets had complied with the request.

This report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Freedom in the World is entirely funded by nongovernmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and individuals like you. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.