Explainer: Verifying Boakai’s Economic Claims in the 3rd SONA

Claim #1: “The economy grew by 5.1 percent in 2025, exceeding both the 4.6 percent forecast and the 4.0 percent growth recorded in 2024.”  

Claim #2: “This government reduced inflation to 4 percent by December 2025, down from 10 percent when it took over in 2024.”  

Claim #3: “Gross international reserves increased from US$475 million in 2024 to US$576 million, surpassing the previous year by US$101 million.

Source: KMTV-Liberia   

Verdict: One of three claims was misleading, while two were accurate based on official government and international data sources.

Full Text: In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), delivered in keeping with Article 58 of the 1986 Constitution, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai outlined what he described as major economic gains under his administration, citing growth, inflation control, external reserves, and export performance. 

The Stage Media Liberia reviewed the official Government of Liberia report and international reports. Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Annual 2024 Report, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and the IMF to independently verify three of the president’s headline economic claims.

Verification: To verify this claim, The Stage Media reviewed the Central Bank 2024 Annual Report published on their website. 

 

The report shows that growth in the economy grew by 4.8 percent in 2024 and not 4.0 percent. Government and CBL projections place 2025 growth at between 5.3 and 5.6 percent, not 5.1 percent.

 

 

 

Importantly, no final or audited GDP growth figure for 2025 has been published, meaning any claim of actual 2025 growth remains speculative. The Annual Fiscal Outturn Report FY2024 clearly states that economic growth in 2024 stood at 4.8 percent, with 2025 growth projected, not realized 

 

The Stage Media also reviewed LISGIS inflation data for December 2023, the final month of the Weah administration. According to the CPI report released in January 2024, the year-on-year inflation rate for December 2023 was 10.01 percent.

The Stage Media also reviewed official data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), specifically Liberia’s IMF Article IV Consultation Reports and the IMF International Financial Statistics (IFS) database and CBL Provisional end-year monetary data. 

IMF program documents show an increase in gross international reserves. These reports place Liberia’s reserves in the range of US$560–580 million, reflecting inflows from IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) disbursements, donor-supported budget financing, and improved foreign exchange inflows. 

Central Bank Annual Report 2024 indicate that Liberia’s gross international reserves stood in the range of US$476.3 million at the end December 2024. The report states that GIR in months of import cover decreased to 2.9 months, from 2.3 largely explained by the decrease in payment for imports.

According to  World Bank Joint Debt Sustainability Analysis 2025 Gross official reserves declined marginally to US$475 million (2.1 months of imports) at end-2024, from US$487 million (2.5 months of imports) in 2023, due to the repayments to the Fund.

A simple arithmetic check confirms that the difference between US$576 million and US$475 million amounts to US$101 million, as stated in the claim.

Conclusion: The president incorrectly stated 2024 growth as 4.0% (actual: 4.8%) and presented a 2025 projection of 5.1% as confirmed reality when no final figures have been published. The claim that inflation decreased from 10% (December 2023) to 4% (December 2025) is confirmed by official LISGIS data. And, the assertion that gross international reserves increased by US$101 million (from US$475 million to US$576 million) is verified by Central Bank of Liberia and IMF reports.