Military spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
0.4%
Change on year
down 4.8%
World rank
165th
of 172 countries
All-time high
2.0%
in 1994
All-time low
0.3%
in 1988
Years of data
59
1961–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone, 1961–2019
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 Sierra Leone stood at 0.4%.
The figure is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone peaked at 2.0% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1988.
Sierra Leone ranks 165th of 172 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 59 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.8% | — |
| 1962 | 0.8% | +1.9% |
| 1963 | 0.8% | -0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.8% | -4.1% |
| 1965 | 0.8% | +5.1% |
| 1966 | 0.7% | -9.1% |
| 1967 | 0.7% | -6.4% |
| 1968 | 0.7% | -6.2% |
| 1969 | 0.8% | +15.8% |
| 1970 | 0.8% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 0.8% | +5.3% |
| 1972 | 0.8% | -2.1% |
| 1973 | 0.9% | +9.9% |
| 1974 | 0.8% | -0.7% |
| 1975 | 0.8% | -3.6% |
| 1976 | 0.9% | +4.8% |
| 1977 | 0.9% | +9.8% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | +11.2% |
| 1979 | 1.2% | +11.3% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -11.2% |
| 1981 | 0.9% | -14.1% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | -15.1% |
| 1983 | 0.6% | -24.4% |
| 1984 | 0.4% | -22.0% |
| 1985 | 0.4% | -21.3% |
| 1986 | 0.4% | +10.2% |
| 1987 | 0.3% | -16.6% |
| 1988 | 0.3% | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 0.4% | +20.4% |
| 1990 | 0.4% | -6.0% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | +130.6% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | +38.6% |
| 1993 | 0.9% | -18.9% |
| 1994 | 2.0% | +108.9% |
| 1995 | 1.9% | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 1.8% | -8.7% |
| 1997 | 1.8% | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 1.2% | -34.0% |
| 1999 | 0.9% | -24.0% |
| 2000 | 1.2% | +31.1% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | +12.3% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 1.3% | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | -10.3% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | -11.0% |
| 2006 | 1.0% | -5.4% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -19.1% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | -26.8% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -17.1% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | -9.5% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | +10.8% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -5.4% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -11.3% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 0.4% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More economy & growth data for Sierra Leone
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.55 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.53 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 475.61 constant LCU per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 7.65 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.257 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 217.51 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 7.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 5.82 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 4,928 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 2.9 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 1994.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1988.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Sierra Leone ranks 165th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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 — 59 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).