Liberia — Military File

MCC · 39/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.

Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).

Steadiness was the quarter's defining trait: no rupture, no windfall, no surprise strong enough to move the score.

The trajectory remains set by fundamentals that change over years, not quarters — and this quarter changed little.

Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Liberian Coast Guard Ministry of Justice: Liberia National Police, Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (2025)

approximately 2,000 active Armed Forces (2025)

the military has a limited inventory; in recent years, it has received small quantities of equipment, including donations, from countries such as China, UAE, and the US (2025)

18 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service (2025)

the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are responsible for external defense and some domestic security responsibilities if called upon, such as humanitarian assistance during natural disasters and support to law enforcement; it is a small, lightly equipped force comprised of two combat infantry battalions and supporting units, as well as a few coastal patrol craft for the Coast Guard; the infantry battalions were rebuilt with US assistance in 2007-2008 from the restructured AFL following the end of the second civil war in 2003 when military and police forces were disbanded and approximately 100,000 military, police, and rebel combatants were disarmed the first militia unit established for defense of the Liberia colony was raised in 1832; the AFL traces its origins to the 1908 establishment of the Liberia Frontier Force, which became the Liberian National Guard in 1965; the AFL was established in 1970 (2025)