Gambia vs South Africa: Military spending as a share of GDP
Gambia
0.7%
in 2019
South Africa
0.7%
in 2019
Gambia rank
141st
South Africa rank
139th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Gambia
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 0.7% against 0.7% in Gambia, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 54 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Gambia ahead.
Gambia ranks 141st and South Africa ranks 139th of 172 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Gambia averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Gambia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 1.4% | 1.0% | Gambia |
| 1970s | 1.3% | 2.1% | 0.8% | South Africa |
| 1980s | 0.4% | 2.3% | 1.9% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 1.5% | 0.9% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.5% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.2% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Gambia or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 0.7% against 0.7% in Gambia as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Gambia and South Africa?
- 0.0%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Gambia and South Africa?
- 54 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2019.
- How do Gambia and South Africa rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Gambia ranks 141st and South Africa ranks 139th of 172 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).