Military spending as a share of GDP in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.9% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
1.9%
Change on year
up 7.0%
World rank
49th
of 172 countries
All-time high
2.4%
in 1992
All-time low
0.4%
in 1960
Years of data
60
1960–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Burkina Faso, 1960–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Burkina Faso recorded 1.9% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.0% on the previous year and up 80.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Burkina Faso peaked at 2.4% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1960.
Burkina Faso ranks 49th of 172 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Burkina Faso, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.4% | — |
| 1961 | 0.4% | +15.4% |
| 1962 | 1.1% | +146.5% |
| 1963 | 1.1% | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 1.0% | -4.1% |
| 1965 | 0.9% | -18.0% |
| 1966 | 0.8% | -4.1% |
| 1967 | 0.7% | -11.4% |
| 1968 | 0.7% | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 0.7% | -2.1% |
| 1970 | 0.7% | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 0.7% | +3.7% |
| 1972 | 0.7% | -3.1% |
| 1973 | 0.7% | -3.1% |
| 1974 | 0.7% | +5.4% |
| 1975 | 1.6% | +117.7% |
| 1976 | 1.7% | +9.0% |
| 1977 | 1.7% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 1.7% | +2.0% |
| 1979 | 1.8% | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | -6.6% |
| 1981 | 1.7% | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 1.7% | +3.4% |
| 1983 | 1.6% | -6.8% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 1.6% | -4.6% |
| 1986 | 1.9% | +20.2% |
| 1987 | 1.9% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 1.9% | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 2.1% | +9.5% |
| 1990 | 2.2% | +6.8% |
| 1991 | 2.3% | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 2.4% | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 1.6% | -30.9% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | -17.6% |
| 1995 | 1.3% | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | -11.2% |
| 1997 | 1.2% | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | -3.6% |
| 1999 | 1.0% | -14.7% |
| 2000 | 0.8% | -17.5% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -8.1% |
| 2002 | 0.8% | +6.0% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 0.9% | +7.4% |
| 2005 | 0.9% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 0.9% | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 1.0% | +9.6% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +8.9% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -11.8% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | +16.7% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +46.7% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +7.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.9% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Burkina Faso
More economy & growth data for Burkina Faso
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.54 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.98 Percent per annum (2029)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 10.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 349.13 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 400,650 current LCU per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 2.34 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 0.4456 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 511.34 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 13.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.778 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Burkina Faso?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Burkina Faso was 1.9% 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 Burkina Faso?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 1992.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Burkina Faso?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1960.
- How does Burkina Faso rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Burkina Faso ranks 49th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
- Over the last ten years it is up 80.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burkina Faso 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
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).