Military spending as a share of GDP in Liberia
Liberia: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.4% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
0.4%
Change on year
up 6.5%
World rank
160th
of 172 countries
All-time high
17.5%
in 1995
All-time low
0.1%
in 1933
Years of data
100
1920–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Liberia, 1920–2019
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 Liberia is 0.4%, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of up 6.5% on the previous year and up 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Liberia peaked at 17.5% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1933.
Liberia ranks 160th 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 Liberia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 0.2% | — |
| 1921 | 0.2% | +5.4% |
| 1922 | 0.2% | -3.9% |
| 1923 | 0.2% | -5.2% |
| 1924 | 0.1% | -7.6% |
| 1925 | 0.1% | +2.0% |
| 1926 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 1927 | 0.2% | +4.1% |
| 1928 | 0.1% | -6.2% |
| 1929 | 0.1% | -1.3% |
| 1930 | 0.1% | -11.1% |
| 1931 | 0.1% | -12.7% |
| 1932 | 0.1% | -13.6% |
| 1933 | 0.1% | -18.0% |
| 1934 | 0.1% | +30.9% |
| 1935 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.1% | +3.4% |
| 1937 | 0.1% | +2.8% |
| 1938 | 0.1% | +12.4% |
| 1939 | 0.1% | -0.3% |
| 1940 | 0.1% | +8.4% |
| 1941 | 0.1% | +2.0% |
| 1942 | 0.2% | +14.1% |
| 1943 | 0.2% | +15.0% |
| 1944 | 0.2% | +25.6% |
| 1945 | 0.3% | +40.3% |
| 1946 | 0.3% | -5.0% |
| 1947 | 0.3% | +3.3% |
| 1948 | 0.3% | +9.9% |
| 1949 | 0.5% | +36.4% |
| 1950 | 0.5% | +9.7% |
| 1951 | 0.6% | +12.3% |
| 1952 | 0.7% | +15.2% |
| 1953 | 0.7% | +11.4% |
| 1954 | 0.8% | +4.5% |
| 1955 | 0.8% | +4.9% |
| 1956 | 0.9% | +15.7% |
| 1957 | 1.0% | +6.0% |
| 1958 | 1.0% | -3.6% |
| 1959 | 0.7% | -22.9% |
| 1960 | 0.7% | -2.7% |
| 1961 | 1.3% | +83.3% |
| 1962 | 1.4% | +3.9% |
| 1963 | 1.3% | -7.4% |
| 1964 | 1.1% | -15.9% |
| 1965 | 1.1% | -0.5% |
| 1966 | 0.9% | -15.1% |
| 1967 | 0.9% | -0.2% |
| 1968 | 0.8% | -10.8% |
| 1969 | 0.9% | +10.0% |
| 1970 | 0.9% | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 0.9% | +5.8% |
| 1972 | 0.8% | -13.8% |
| 1973 | 0.7% | -18.4% |
| 1974 | 0.6% | -7.2% |
| 1975 | 0.6% | -1.2% |
| 1976 | 0.7% | +16.7% |
| 1977 | 0.7% | +6.8% |
| 1978 | 0.8% | +8.9% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +7.0% |
| 1980 | 1.6% | +86.8% |
| 1981 | 2.6% | +60.7% |
| 1982 | 2.8% | +6.5% |
| 1983 | 2.2% | -21.6% |
| 1984 | 2.3% | +6.4% |
| 1985 | 2.4% | +4.5% |
| 1986 | 2.9% | +19.0% |
| 1987 | 2.9% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 3.1% | +5.8% |
| 1989 | 3.2% | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 3.8% | +19.8% |
| 1991 | 5.1% | +32.9% |
| 1992 | 5.4% | +6.6% |
| 1993 | 6.5% | +21.0% |
| 1994 | 14.8% | +127.8% |
| 1995 | 17.5% | +18.3% |
| 1996 | 14.1% | -19.6% |
| 1997 | 9.3% | -34.2% |
| 1998 | 6.3% | -32.1% |
| 1999 | 4.0% | -37.0% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | -37.5% |
| 2001 | 2.2% | -13.2% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | -90.8% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | +127.7% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -13.6% |
| 2007 | 0.3% | -11.5% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | +8.4% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | +9.3% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | +32.5% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +17.2% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | -19.8% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -17.1% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -9.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | +6.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.6% | 1.6% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.7% | 3.8% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7% | 0.2% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Liberia
More economy & growth data for Liberia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.97 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 6.15 Percent per annum (2029)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 22.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.2453 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 224.56 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 22.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 0.2453 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 224.56 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 10.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.1662 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Liberia?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Liberia was 0.4% 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 Liberia?
- The highest recorded value was 17.5% in 1995.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Liberia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1933.
- How does Liberia rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Liberia ranks 160th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Liberia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Liberia 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 — 100 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).