Military spending as a share of GDP in Senegal
Senegal: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
1.3%
Change on year
up 8.0%
World rank
86th
of 172 countries
All-time high
1.7%
in 1979
All-time low
0.3%
in 1960
Years of data
60
1960–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Senegal, 1960–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Senegal recorded 1.3% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.0% on the previous year and up 19.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Senegal peaked at 1.7% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1960.
That places Senegal 86th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Senegal, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.3% | — |
| 1961 | 0.4% | +11.1% |
| 1962 | 0.6% | +71.5% |
| 1963 | 0.9% | +32.5% |
| 1964 | 1.1% | +33.4% |
| 1965 | 1.3% | +16.9% |
| 1966 | 1.3% | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 1.4% | +4.5% |
| 1968 | 1.4% | +2.9% |
| 1969 | 1.4% | -2.6% |
| 1970 | 1.4% | -3.2% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 1.3% | -8.4% |
| 1973 | 1.2% | -3.8% |
| 1974 | 1.2% | -5.3% |
| 1975 | 1.2% | -1.0% |
| 1976 | 1.2% | +4.2% |
| 1977 | 1.3% | +6.5% |
| 1978 | 1.4% | +9.8% |
| 1979 | 1.7% | +19.5% |
| 1980 | 1.6% | -2.5% |
| 1981 | 1.6% | -1.5% |
| 1982 | 1.5% | -5.5% |
| 1983 | 1.5% | -0.6% |
| 1984 | 1.5% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 1.5% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | +5.8% |
| 1987 | 1.6% | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 1.5% | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 1.4% | -7.0% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 1.4% | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +6.8% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | -9.2% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -26.1% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | -6.5% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -5.4% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | -4.5% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -7.5% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -7.4% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -6.0% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | +10.2% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | +9.4% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +5.4% |
| 2006 | 1.0% | +14.1% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | +24.4% |
| 2008 | 1.2% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -9.9% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +6.2% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | -4.9% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 1.0% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -6.9% |
| 2016 | 1.1% | +10.5% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | +12.3% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +3.4% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | +8.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.0% | 0.3% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Senegal
More economy & growth data for Senegal
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.53 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.03 Percent per annum (2029)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 8.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4633 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per capita 905.64 current US$ per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.23 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 269.61 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per capita 527,015 current LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 2.54 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.3886 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Senegal?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Senegal was 1.3% 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 Senegal?
- The highest recorded value was 1.7% in 1979.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Senegal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1960.
- How does Senegal rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Senegal ranks 86th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Senegal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Senegal 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).