Military spending as a share of GDP in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.8% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
0.8%
Change on year
up 4.8%
World rank
135th
of 172 countries
All-time high
8.8%
in 1990
All-time low
0.2%
in 1948
Years of data
118
1898–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ethiopia, 1898–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Ethiopia recorded 0.8% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.8% on the previous year and down 33.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Ethiopia peaked at 8.8% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1948.
Ethiopia ranks 135th of 172 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1898 | 1.0% | — |
| 1899 | 1.0% | -0.3% |
| 1900 | 1.0% | -3.1% |
| 1901 | 1.0% | -1.1% |
| 1902 | 1.0% | +5.5% |
| 1903 | 0.9% | -9.8% |
| 1904 | 1.0% | +2.7% |
| 1905 | 0.9% | -3.4% |
| 1906 | 0.9% | -5.0% |
| 1907 | 0.9% | -1.3% |
| 1908 | 0.9% | +1.7% |
| 1909 | 0.9% | +0.9% |
| 1910 | 0.9% | -1.8% |
| 1911 | 0.9% | +1.0% |
| 1912 | 0.9% | +0.7% |
| 1913 | 1.0% | +6.8% |
| 1914 | 0.8% | -20.4% |
| 1915 | 0.8% | +9.4% |
| 1916 | 0.8% | -6.8% |
| 1917 | 0.7% | -14.5% |
| 1918 | 0.6% | -11.0% |
| 1919 | 0.5% | -18.1% |
| 1920 | 0.4% | -22.1% |
| 1921 | 0.5% | +21.6% |
| 1922 | 0.5% | +4.9% |
| 1923 | 0.5% | -4.0% |
| 1924 | 0.4% | -8.0% |
| 1925 | 0.4% | +1.0% |
| 1926 | 0.4% | +2.4% |
| 1927 | 0.5% | +6.8% |
| 1928 | 0.5% | +2.2% |
| 1929 | 0.5% | -1.7% |
| 1930 | 0.5% | -2.6% |
| 1931 | 0.5% | +7.3% |
| 1932 | 0.5% | -2.2% |
| 1933 | 0.4% | -8.5% |
| 1934 | 0.5% | +24.2% |
| 1935 | 0.5% | +0.5% |
| 1936 | 0.5% | -11.4% |
| 1941 | 0.5% | -5.3% |
| 1942 | 0.4% | -6.0% |
| 1943 | 0.4% | -9.7% |
| 1944 | 0.4% | -1.5% |
| 1945 | 0.4% | +10.8% |
| 1946 | 0.3% | -23.9% |
| 1947 | 0.3% | -15.9% |
| 1948 | 0.2% | -10.6% |
| 1949 | 0.3% | +25.2% |
| 1950 | 0.3% | +6.4% |
| 1951 | 0.5% | +53.7% |
| 1952 | 0.5% | +5.4% |
| 1953 | 0.7% | +40.9% |
| 1954 | 0.8% | +1.8% |
| 1955 | 0.9% | +13.9% |
| 1956 | 1.1% | +25.2% |
| 1957 | 1.3% | +16.3% |
| 1958 | 1.3% | +1.4% |
| 1959 | 1.1% | -12.5% |
| 1960 | 1.2% | +9.6% |
| 1961 | 1.4% | +12.8% |
| 1962 | 1.5% | +5.8% |
| 1963 | 1.6% | +10.6% |
| 1964 | 1.9% | +18.7% |
| 1965 | 2.1% | +7.7% |
| 1966 | 2.1% | +3.5% |
| 1967 | 2.1% | -1.1% |
| 1968 | 2.0% | -6.8% |
| 1969 | 1.8% | -8.5% |
| 1970 | 1.7% | -4.5% |
| 1971 | 1.7% | -1.7% |
| 1972 | 1.7% | +3.6% |
| 1973 | 1.8% | +1.8% |
| 1974 | 1.9% | +6.1% |
| 1975 | 2.6% | +36.4% |
| 1976 | 2.8% | +8.0% |
| 1977 | 3.1% | +13.2% |
| 1978 | 3.2% | +1.7% |
| 1979 | 6.4% | +100.3% |
| 1980 | 5.9% | -8.5% |
| 1981 | 5.8% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 5.4% | -6.3% |
| 1983 | 5.0% | -8.0% |
| 1984 | 4.8% | -4.7% |
| 1985 | 4.1% | -13.5% |
| 1986 | 4.3% | +4.2% |
| 1987 | 4.1% | -5.2% |
| 1988 | 5.6% | +37.5% |
| 1989 | 5.8% | +3.8% |
| 1990 | 8.8% | +51.7% |
| 1991 | 4.3% | -51.6% |
| 1992 | 4.3% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1.6% | -63.4% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | -13.9% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | -10.4% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | -8.4% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | +13.6% |
| 1998 | 3.4% | +169.3% |
| 1999 | 4.1% | +21.4% |
| 2000 | 4.0% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -22.7% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | -21.5% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | -19.9% |
| 2004 | 1.8% | -8.9% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | -13.5% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | -4.8% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | -7.4% |
| 2008 | 1.2% | -10.2% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -19.8% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -17.8% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -8.3% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | +4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 7 |
| 1940s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 9 |
| 1950s | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.8% | 1.2% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.7% | 1.7% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.1% | 4.1% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.1% | 1.1% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.0% | 1.1% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
- 132 Barbados 0.8% compare
- 133 Mozambique 0.8% compare
- 134 Bahamas 0.8% compare
- 136 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.8% compare
- 137 Belgium 0.7% compare
- 138 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.7% compare
More economy & growth data for Ethiopia
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 1,431 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual -7.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.2776 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 258.96 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 40.25 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 33.17 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 30,935 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 13.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.2474 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 230.77 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Ethiopia?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Ethiopia was 0.8% 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.8% in 1990.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1948.
- How does Ethiopia rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Ethiopia ranks 135th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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).