By Festus Poquie
Liberia earned $1.03 billion from gold exports in 2024, making the precious metal the country’s single largest export and positioning Liberia as the world’s 52nd-largest gold exporter out of 157, according to trade data.
Switzerland was by far the largest destination, receiving $894 million of the shipments — roughly 87% of the total — followed by Lebanon at $137 million and the United States at $630,000.
The data show the fastest year on year growth in shipments went to Switzerland (up $186 million) and Lebanon (up $32 million), underscoring rising flows to major refining hubs and regional buyers.
Gold accounted for Liberia’s top export out of 390 product categories in 2024, providing a significant source of foreign exchange earnings for the West African nation. The export mix includes unwrought non-monetary gold, semi manufactured non-monetary gold and gold powder, classified under precious stones, metals and pearls.
Historical import data underline Liberia’s role as a net exporter of the metal: in 2019 the country recorded just $232 of gold imports (primarily from Canada), ranking it among the world’s smallest gold importers that year.
Analysts say the concentration of exports — with nearly nineteenths of value routed through Switzerland, a global refining hub — presents both an advantage in access to established markets and a risk in terms of market dependence and potential regulatory scrutiny over supply chains.
Policy measures to broaden destination markets, increase domestic processing and strengthen traceability could help Liberia capture more value from its gold sector and reduce exposure to external shifts in demand or policy.
