Libya vs Mali: Military spending as a share of GDP
Libya
3.6%
in 2023
Mali
3.9%
in 2025
Libya rank
21st
Mali rank
18th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Libya
- Mali
How they compare
Mali currently reports 3.9% against 3.6% in Libya, a difference of 0.3%.
That makes Mali's figure about 1.1 times Libya's.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 39 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Mali ahead.
Libya ranks 21st and Mali ranks 18th of 166 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Libya averaged higher in 6 and Mali in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Libya | Mali | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.7% | 2.5% | 0.2% | Libya |
| 1970s | 3.6% | 2.7% | 0.9% | Libya |
| 1980s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 0.1% | Libya |
| 1990s | 3.9% | 1.5% | 2.5% | Libya |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 0.4% | Libya |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 1.3% | 3.7% | Libya |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 3.5% | 0.3% | Mali |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Libya or Mali?
- Mali, at 3.9% against 3.6% in Libya as of 2025.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Libya and Mali?
- 0.3%, with Mali ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Libya and Mali?
- 39 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
- How do Libya and Mali rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Libya ranks 21st and Mali ranks 18th of 166 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) 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
Total military expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.