Partly True: Liberia's Youths Are a Large Share of the Population, but the 63% Figure and Budget Comparison Are Misleading
AL
Augusta S. Lafalay
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Claim: "The youth comprise 63 percent of the 5.2 million people in Liberia. But out of a budget of US$1.2 billion, you only gave them US$3 million for National Youth Empowerment. This is 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, the salary for 103 lawmakers is US$11.5 million."
Source: Martin K.N Kollie
Verdict: Partly True
Full Text: On November 20, 2025, Martin K. N. Kollie claimed that young people make up 63 percent of Liberia's 5.2 million population. He said the Government of Liberia gave only US$3 million for "National Youth Empowerment" in the 2026 national budget, just 0.2 percent of the US$1.2 billion total. He compared this to US$11.5 million allocated for the salaries of 103 lawmakers.
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The "National Youth Empowerment" program is a single Public Sector Investment Project (PSIP) under the Ministry of Youth and Sports intended to expand leadership, training, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities for young people.
Verification: To verify the demographic claim, we reviewed the 2022 LISGIS Census report. LISGIS is the government agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and publishing official statistics in Liberia. According to the LISGIS 2022 Census analysis on children, adolescents, and youth, young persons aged 0–35 years make up 74.5 percent of Liberia's population.
LISGIS breaks this down as follows: Children (0–17 years): 41.5 percent, Adolescents (10–19 years): 35.6 percent, Youth (15–24 years): 23.6 percent, and Youth (15–35 years): 41.7 percent. The official youth population (15–35 years) stands at 41.7 percent, not the 63 percent Kollie claimed.
Our review of the 2026 National Budget shows that National Youth Empowerment, a single PSIP project line under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, received US$3 million. The US$3 million does work out to 0.2 percent of the US$1.2 billion budget. However, this is just one program, not the total youth funding.
The FY2026 draft budget shows a line item for "Basic Salary - Elected Officials" at US$11,536,575 under the National Legislature summary. This supports Kollie's figure of US$11.5 million for lawmakers' basic salaries.
This budget line appears on page 4 of the FY2026 draft under the National Legislature.
We cross-checked both UN sources to see if the demographic figures lined up.
The UNFPA Liberia source states that 63 percent of Liberia's population is under 25 years old, with 32.8 percent aged 10–24.
The UN Liberia article repeats the same figures: 63 percent are less than 25 years old, and 32.8 percent is aged 10–24.
Conclusion: Kollie's claim mixes accurate figures with misleading comparisons. The 63 percent figure (population under 25) appears in UNFPA and UN Liberia materials and is widely quoted. However, the official Liberia census uses different age bands (youth 15–35 equals 41.7 percent), so the percentage depends on which age definition you use. Presenting "63 percent" without clarifying the age range or source is misleading.
On the budget: The FY2026 draft does show US$3 million for the single "National Youth Empowerment" PSIP under the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The math checks out—US$3 million is about 0.2 percent of a US$1.2 billion budget. The draft budget also contains a line for "Basic Salary - Elected Officials" at US$11.5 million, so that figure is accurate too. But comparing a single capital project line to a recurrent salary line mixes different budget categories and creates a distorted picture.
