Military spending as a share of GDP in Mauritania
Mauritania: Military spending as a share of GDP was 2.1% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
2.1%
Change on year
up 8.3%
World rank
38th
of 172 countries
All-time high
5.1%
in 1979
All-time low
0.4%
in 2007
Years of data
60
1960–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Mauritania, 1960–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2019, military spending as a share of gdp in Mauritania stood at 2.1%.
That represents a change of up 8.3% on the previous year and up 20.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Mauritania peaked at 5.1% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2007.
That places Mauritania 38th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 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 Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.9% | — |
| 1961 | 1.0% | +20.8% |
| 1962 | 1.3% | +25.3% |
| 1963 | 1.3% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 1.0% | -20.8% |
| 1965 | 0.9% | -12.3% |
| 1966 | 0.9% | +4.7% |
| 1967 | 1.0% | +3.8% |
| 1968 | 0.9% | -7.1% |
| 1969 | 0.9% | -1.8% |
| 1970 | 0.8% | -7.8% |
| 1971 | 0.7% | -10.6% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | +18.3% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | +19.6% |
| 1974 | 1.2% | +11.6% |
| 1975 | 1.3% | +13.9% |
| 1976 | 3.7% | +181.9% |
| 1977 | 4.5% | +20.7% |
| 1978 | 4.7% | +6.1% |
| 1979 | 5.1% | +8.6% |
| 1980 | 4.9% | -5.3% |
| 1981 | 4.3% | -11.1% |
| 1982 | 4.0% | -6.7% |
| 1983 | 3.2% | -19.7% |
| 1984 | 3.1% | -5.2% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | -7.1% |
| 1986 | 2.6% | -9.9% |
| 1987 | 2.3% | -11.4% |
| 1988 | 2.1% | -7.0% |
| 1989 | 2.0% | -7.5% |
| 1990 | 1.7% | -15.7% |
| 1991 | 1.6% | -4.2% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | -4.5% |
| 1993 | 1.3% | -15.3% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | -8.4% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -9.0% |
| 1997 | 1.0% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 0.9% | -9.3% |
| 1999 | 0.9% | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | -18.1% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -12.1% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | -6.0% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | -11.2% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -10.3% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -10.6% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | +267.6% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | +10.1% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -6.2% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +6.9% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 2.1% | +8.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.4% | 0.7% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.1% | 2.0% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
- 35 Estonia 2.2% compare
- 36 India 2.2% compare
- 37 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 2.1% compare
- 39 Myanmar 2.1% compare
- 40 Russian Federation 2.1% compare
- 41 Taiwan, China 2.0% compare
More economy & growth data for Mauritania
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 3,440 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 4.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.2975 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 653.67 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 4.86 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 11.84 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 26,009 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 2.8 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.1349 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 296.42 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Mauritania?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Mauritania was 2.1% 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 Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1979.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2007.
- How does Mauritania rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Mauritania ranks 38th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Mauritania 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).