LiberiaData

Districts Categorization in Liberia (Understanding Liberia’s District Types)

Liberia’s districts fall into three distinct categories, Electoral, Administrative, and Statutory, each serving a unique role in governance, representation, and development. This page explains how these district types differ, how they interact, and why understanding them is essential for tracking Liberia’s progress.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the differences:

Electoral Districts

Definition:

Geographically defined constituencies used to elect Representatives to Parliament, established by the NEC.

Key Features:

• Liberia has 73 electoral districts, each electing one Representative to Parliament.
• Boundaries are drawn by the National Elections Commission (NEC) based on population size and geographic considerations.
• Electoral districts may cross county or administrative boundaries and do not always align with local governance units.
• Used exclusively for national elections and political representation.

Purpose:

Designed for political representation in the House of Representatives.

Administrative Districts

Definition:

Administrative districts are the recognized sub-county local governments established under Liberia’s decentralization framework.

Key Features:

• Governed by a formal structure: District Commissioner, District Advisory Council, Finance Officer, Development Officer, etc.
• Serve as the primary units for service delivery, development planning, and local administration.
• Fully integrated into Liberia’s national governance system.
• There are 136 administrative districts across Liberia.

Purpose:

To implement national policies locally, coordinate development, and ensure accountability in public service delivery.

Statutory Districts

Definition:

Statutory districts are older administrative units created by law before Liberia’s decentralization reforms.

Key Features:

• Often lacked standardized governance structures.
• Were not uniformly aligned with electoral or development planning boundaries.
• Often overlapped or conflicted with administrative and electoral boundaries.
• As of the Local Government Act of 2018, statutory districts are being phased out over a seven-year transition period by 2025.
• Employees of statutory districts are to be retired, and their functions absorbed by administrative districts.

Purpose (historically):

To provide localized governance, but with inconsistent structures and limited integration into national systems.

Transition Status

• The Ministry of Internal Affairs is overseeing the retirement of statutory district employees and the dissolution of statutory districts by 2025.
• After this transition, only administrative districts will remain as Liberia’s formal second-tier governance units.

• 2018 – Local Government Act passed
  2019–2024 – Gradual retirement of statutory district staff
  2025 – Full transition to administrative districts
  Statutory districts will be fully dissolved by the end of 2025.

Liberia District Types Overview

Sources: Local Government Act (2018), Ministry of Internal Affairs

Governance Roles Across Liberia’s District Types

Summary Table