Military spending as a share of GDP in Benin
Benin: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.5% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Military spending as a share of GDP in Benin, 1960–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for military spending as a share of gdp in Benin is 0.5%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 60 years on record.
That represents a change of down 10.8% on the previous year and down 39.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Benin peaked at 1.3% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2019.
Benin ranks 154th of 172 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Benin, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.5% | — |
| 1961 | 0.6% | +15.4% |
| 1962 | 0.8% | +30.4% |
| 1963 | 0.9% | +6.5% |
| 1964 | 0.9% | +6.2% |
| 1965 | 0.9% | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 0.9% | -7.7% |
| 1967 | 0.9% | -1.9% |
| 1968 | 0.8% | -5.4% |
| 1969 | 0.8% | +1.2% |
| 1970 | 0.8% | -3.2% |
| 1971 | 0.8% | -3.8% |
| 1972 | 0.7% | -9.0% |
| 1973 | 0.7% | -4.9% |
| 1974 | 0.6% | -7.2% |
| 1975 | 0.6% | +5.9% |
| 1976 | 0.7% | +1.1% |
| 1977 | 0.7% | +6.3% |
| 1978 | 0.7% | +4.6% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +26.5% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +15.9% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | -3.5% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | +5.5% |
| 1983 | 1.2% | +6.8% |
| 1984 | 1.2% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | -14.5% |
| 1986 | 1.3% | +23.7% |
| 1987 | 1.3% | +5.2% |
| 1988 | 1.3% | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | -9.1% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -13.3% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -26.2% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -3.7% |
| 1993 | 0.7% | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 0.6% | -11.7% |
| 1995 | 0.6% | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 0.6% | -3.9% |
| 1997 | 0.6% | -2.7% |
| 1998 | 0.6% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 0.5% | -10.7% |
| 2000 | 0.5% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | +6.9% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | +22.1% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | +12.9% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | -14.9% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -11.2% |
| 2007 | 0.7% | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 0.8% | +12.4% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | -6.6% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 0.6% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | +7.4% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | -21.7% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -10.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More economy & growth data for Benin
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.42 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 6.03 Percent per annum (2029)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 9.82 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.1466 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 243.18 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), annual 9.82 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 86.7 constant LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 143,771 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 17.12 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.5006 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Benin?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Benin was 0.5% in 2019, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 1.3% in 1987.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2019.
- How does Benin rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Benin ranks 154th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Benin data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).