Liberians want an accountable government but say that corruption is increasing in the country, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows.

Nearly two out of three citizens prefer an accountable government over one that can get things done without being answerable to its citizens. But most Liberians say some key elected officials “never” or “only sometimes” listen to their constituents.

And counter to their aspirations for accountable governance, a majority of Liberians say the level of corruption in the country increased during the previous year, with high levels of corruption perceived among the police, members of the House of Representatives and senators, and other officials.

Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Liberia among the world’s worst-performing countries (137th out of 180).

Key findings

• Almost two-thirds (63%) of Liberians say it’s more important to have an accountable government than an efficient one on which citizens have no influence, even if citizens have no influence over what it does. The preference for accountable governance has remained consistently high since 2012 (60%) except for a dip in 2015 (53%) (Figure 1).
• Almost three-fourths (72%) of citizens say the level of corruption in the country increased “somewhat” or “a lot” during the previous year. Only 7% say it decreased (Figure 2).
• About two-thirds of Liberians think “most” or all” police (67%), members of the House of Representatives (65%), and senators (64%) are corrupt, and about half of citizens say the same about the Presidency (51%), judges and magistrates (49%), and county superintendents (48%). Almost all citizens think that at least “some” of these officials are corrupt (Figure 3).
• Nine in 10 citizens say senators (92%), members of the House of Representatives (92%), and local government councillors (86%) officials “never” or “only sometimes” do their best to listen to ordinary people (Figure 4).

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Seven rounds of surveys were conducted in up to 38 countries between 1999 and 2018, and Round 8 surveys (2019/2021) covering 34 countries are close to completion. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.

The Afrobarometer team in Liberia, led by the Center for Democratic Governance, interviewed a nationally representative, random, stratified probability sample of 1,200 adult

Liberians between October and December 2020. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Liberia in 2008, 2012, 2015, and 2018.