Military spending as a share of GDP in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.7% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Military spending as a share of GDP in Guinea-Bissau, 1974–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Guinea-Bissau recorded 1.7% 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 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Guinea-Bissau peaked at 4.0% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1974.
Guinea-Bissau ranks 61st of 172 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 46 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Guinea-Bissau, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 0.5% | — |
| 1975 | 0.8% | +63.5% |
| 1976 | 1.3% | +62.1% |
| 1977 | 2.5% | +93.2% |
| 1978 | 2.6% | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 2.6% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 2.9% | +9.7% |
| 1981 | 2.7% | -4.2% |
| 1982 | 3.2% | +18.5% |
| 1983 | 4.0% | +23.0% |
| 1984 | 2.5% | -37.6% |
| 1985 | 2.3% | -9.4% |
| 1986 | 1.7% | -22.7% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | -20.1% |
| 1988 | 1.3% | -6.5% |
| 1989 | 1.3% | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 1.2% | -5.5% |
| 1991 | 1.1% | -4.3% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | +6.5% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | -11.6% |
| 1994 | 0.9% | -15.0% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | -7.4% |
| 1996 | 0.8% | -7.7% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | -4.7% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -6.4% |
| 1999 | 1.0% | +39.9% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | -7.6% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | -5.8% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | +18.1% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | +18.1% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | +12.6% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | +14.8% |
| 2006 | 1.7% | +9.9% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | +4.6% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | -9.2% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | +19.2% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +12.6% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | -12.2% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | -5.9% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | -12.4% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | +7.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.7% | 0.5% | 2.6% | 6 |
| 1980s | 2.3% | 1.3% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.2% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Guinea-Bissau
More economy & growth data for Guinea-Bissau
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.42 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.5 Percent per annum (2029)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 8.23 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2118 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 237.98 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current US$), annual growth -0.9765 % change on previous year (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current LCU), annual growth 3.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), annual 8.95 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), per 236.43 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), per 265,691 current LCU per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Guinea-Bissau?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Guinea-Bissau was 1.7% 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 Guinea-Bissau?
- The highest recorded value was 4.0% in 1983.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Guinea-Bissau?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1974.
- How does Guinea-Bissau rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Guinea-Bissau ranks 61st out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Guinea-Bissau?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guinea-Bissau 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.
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).