Military spending as a share of GDP in Mali
Mali: Military spending as a share of GDP was 3.2% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
3.2%
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
21st
of 172 countries
All-time high
3.2%
in 2018
All-time low
0.8%
in 1999
Years of data
60
1960–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Mali, 1960–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Mali recorded 3.2% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 142.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Mali peaked at 3.2% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1999.
Mali ranks 21st of 172 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Mali, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.3% | — |
| 1961 | 1.7% | +24.4% |
| 1962 | 2.0% | +17.1% |
| 1963 | 1.9% | -5.1% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | +8.2% |
| 1965 | 2.0% | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 1.7% | -17.9% |
| 1967 | 1.5% | -11.9% |
| 1968 | 1.2% | -17.4% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | -2.8% |
| 1970 | 1.1% | -1.9% |
| 1971 | 1.1% | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 1.4% | +19.6% |
| 1973 | 1.4% | +3.6% |
| 1974 | 1.5% | +6.2% |
| 1975 | 1.7% | +16.0% |
| 1976 | 1.9% | +7.6% |
| 1977 | 2.1% | +9.9% |
| 1978 | 2.0% | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 2.1% | +2.3% |
| 1980 | 2.2% | +5.6% |
| 1981 | 2.1% | -4.6% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | +4.7% |
| 1983 | 1.9% | -13.7% |
| 1984 | 1.9% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 1.6% | -13.8% |
| 1986 | 1.7% | +3.5% |
| 1987 | 1.8% | +6.9% |
| 1988 | 1.8% | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 1.5% | -14.1% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | -13.5% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | -3.2% |
| 1992 | 1.4% | +12.2% |
| 1993 | 1.3% | -5.9% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | -16.1% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -7.7% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -17.5% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | +1.1% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | -11.5% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | +13.0% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | +9.4% |
| 2003 | 1.0% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | +21.9% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | +6.3% |
| 2008 | 1.3% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +6.5% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +19.4% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | +18.0% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | +24.9% |
| 2016 | 2.7% | +10.1% |
| 2017 | 3.2% | +17.4% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.9% | 1.5% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 1.3% | 3.2% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Mali
- 18 Qatar 3.4% compare
- 19 Afghanistan 3.3% compare
- 20 United States of America 3.2% compare
- 22 Morocco 3.1% compare
- 23 Ukraine 3.1% compare
- 24 Brunei Darussalam 3.0% compare
More economy & growth data for Mali
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.87 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.9 Percent per annum (2029)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 13.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3656 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per capita 436.32 current US$ per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), annual growth rate 9.32 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 212.78 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per capita 253,905 current LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 7.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.3413 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Mali?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Mali was 3.2% 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 Mali?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 2018.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Mali?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1999.
- How does Mali rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Mali ranks 21st out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Mali?
- Over the last ten years it is up 142.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mali 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).