159.Attherequest QftheECQnomic andSocial Council (decision 1990/206 of 9February 1990),theCommittee examined thecaseofLiberia forinclusiQn inthe listoftheleastdeveloped cQuntries QnthebasisQftheexisting criteria. 160.Following thepractice established inearlier reviews, theSecretariat provided theCommittee withinformation necessary tQupdate thepercapita GDP criterion forchanges inprices andtherealgrQwthofpercapita GOPinworld market econQmies. Theadjusted loweranduppercut-Qff points Qfthepercapita GOPcriterion werefQundtobe$473and$567,respectively. TheSecretariat also supplied theCQmmittee withthemostrecentavailable datapertaining tQLiberia andthecriteria -namely, percapita GOP,theshareQfmanufacturing inGDPand therateofadultliteracy. 161.TheCommittee reviewed thisinformatiQn aswellasthematerial submitted by theGovernment QfLiberia. Theavailable information revealed thefQllowing features oftheeconomy QfLiberia: thecQuntry isendowed withconsiderable natural reSQurces, including, interalia,substantial deposits QfirQnore, diamonds andgold,allofwhicharecurrently exploited: alargetropical forest withextensive commercial timberspecies, andclimate andSQilCQnditions favourable toagricultural activity. However, fortwodecades theaverage annual rateofgrowthofGDPpercapita hasbeennegative. Incurrent pricespercapita GOPin1988waswellbelowthelevelachieved intheperiod 1981-1984. Adverse developments intheproduction andexports ofironoreandotherproducts inrecent yearscontributed inparttothedeterioratiQn. Thosedifficulties were considerably compQunded byshortcomings Qfdomestic policies whichhavecontributed toalargeoutflow ofcapital, adecline intherateofinvestment andthenear collapse ofthefinancial system. 162.TheCommittee concluded thatLiberia mettheexisting criteria basedonthe current procedures fortheirapplication, andthatthatwasdueprimarily tothe sustained decline overmanyyearsofGOPpercapita. Inaccordance withpast practices ofapplication ofestablished criteria. therefore, Liberia couldbe included Qnthelist. B.Criteria fordesignating countries asleastdeveloped amongthedeveloping cQuntries 163.TheCommittee wishedtoreiterate -asithaddoneseveral timesintherecent past-thattheexisting criteria, whichweretentatively formulated sometwo decades agoundertheconstraint ofapaucity QfdataQndevelopment indicators for developing countries, werenotadequate tobringoutinaconclusive manner long-ter~ structural weaknesses whichunderlay theconcept of"least developed". TheComm~ttee wascurrently looking intoalternative setsofadditional indicators fortheinclusion ofcountries inthelistof"least developed" countries. It -46-reviewed tworecentprogress reports onproposals foranewsetofcriteria, prepared bytheSecretariat •.5./TheCommittee askedtheSecretariat tocontinue collecting thedatanecessary tocomplete itsevaluation, whichitwouldundertake atitstwenty-seventh session. c.Medium-term plan1992-1997 164.TheAssistant Secretary-General forDevelopment Research andPolicy Analysis iDtheDepartment ofInternational Economic andSocialAffairs drewtheattention oftheCommittee toprogramme 12:Global development issues andpolicies ofthe draftmedium-term planfor1992-1997. Heexplained theprocess bywhichtheUnited Nationsformulated andadopted itsmedium-term planandinvited thosemembers of ~eCommittee whomightwishtodosotoprovide theircomments totheSecretariat. -47-be TheVII. ARRANGEMENTS FORFUTURE WORK 165.TheCommittee agreed ontheindicative three-year w~rkprogr~e outlined belowanddecided toprepare foritstwenty-seventh sess~on (Kuwa~t, . 21-25April1991)through twoworking groups, supported byrelevant stud~es to undertaken bytheSecretariat andindependent experts onthe.selecte~ themes. Committee alsodecided toincorporate thedelayed reportof1tswork~ng groupon international development strategy andnational policies initsreport onthe twenty-seventh session. 166.TheCommittee stressed theneedforintensive substantive preparations before
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing economic development, specifically the inclusion of Liberia in the list of least developed countries, and the criteria used to determine this classification. It also touches on the natural resources and environmental conditions of the country, as well as the impact of domestic policies on its economy. The text does not seem to focus on other areas such as health, education, employment, or humanitarian aid.

**Category**
Economic development, Natural resources and environment