Economy · Africa ranking
Military Spending (% of GDP) by African country
Eritrea has the highest military expenditure as a share of GDP of any African country, at 20.9% — 2.6× Algeria's 8%.
Military expenditure as a share of GDP (SIPRI via World Bank). 52 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2003.
Latest available year varies by country (2003–2024); each row shows its year, and values more than 5 years behind the most recent are marked ⚠.
Eritrea
Algeria
LibyaBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Military Spending (% of GDP) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eritrea | 20.9% ⚠ ’03 | |
| 2 | Algeria | 8% | |
| 3 | Libya | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Mali | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Burundi | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Morocco | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Chad | 3% | |
| 9 | Botswana | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Namibia | 2.7% | |
| 11 | Djibouti | 2.6% ⚠ ’08 | |
| 12 | Central African Republic | 2.5% | |
| 13 | Tunisia | 2.5% | |
| 14 | Niger | 2.2% | |
| 15 | Mauritania | 2.2% | |
| 16 | Guinea | 2.1% | |
| 17 | Togo | 2% | |
| 18 | Mozambique | 2% | |
| 19 | South Sudan | 2% | |
| 20 | Uganda | 1.9% | |
| 21 | Somalia | 1.6% | |
| 22 | Lesotho | 1.6% | |
| 23 | Senegal | 1.6% | |
| 24 | Gabon | 1.5% | |
| 25 | Eswatini | 1.4% | |
| 26 | Zambia | 1.3% | |
| 27 | Rwanda | 1.2% | |
| 28 | Guinea-Bissau | 1.2% | |
| 29 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1.2% | |
| 30 | Republic of the Congo | 1.2% | |
| 31 | Seychelles | 1.2% | |
| 32 | Tanzania | 1.2% | |
| 33 | Malawi | 1% | |
| 34 | Cameroon | 1% | |
| 35 | Angola | 1% | |
| 36 | Kenya | 1% | |
| 37 | Equatorial Guinea | 1% | |
| 38 | Sudan | 0.9% | |
| 39 | Cote d'Ivoire | 0.8% | |
| 40 | Benin | 0.7% | |
| 41 | Liberia | 0.7% | |
| 42 | Madagascar | 0.7% | |
| 43 | South Africa | 0.7% | |
| 44 | Egypt | 0.7% | |
| 45 | Ethiopia | 0.7% | |
| 46 | Cabo Verde | 0.6% | |
| 47 | Gambia | 0.6% | |
| 48 | Nigeria | 0.6% | |
| 49 | Sierra Leone | 0.5% | |
| 50 | Ghana | 0.4% | |
| 51 | Zimbabwe | 0.4% | |
| 52 | Mauritius | 0.1% |
Burkina Faso
Mali
Burundi
Morocco
Chad
Botswana
Namibia
Djibouti
Central African Republic
Tunisia
Niger
Mauritania
Guinea
Togo
Mozambique
South Sudan
Uganda
Somalia
Lesotho
Senegal
Gabon
Eswatini
Zambia
Rwanda
Guinea-Bissau
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Seychelles
Tanzania
Malawi
Cameroon
Angola
Kenya
Equatorial Guinea
Sudan
Cote d'Ivoire
Benin
Liberia
Madagascar
South Africa
Egypt
Ethiopia
Cabo Verde
Gambia
Nigeria
Sierra Leone
Ghana
Zimbabwe
MauritiusGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Military Spending (% of GDP) figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=military_expenditure_pct_gdp&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2003. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.
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Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest military expenditure as a share of GDP?
Eritrea has the highest military expenditure as a share of GDP in Africa at 20.9% (2003), followed by Algeria and Libya.
Which African country has the lowest military expenditure as a share of GDP?
Mauritius has the lowest military expenditure as a share of GDP of the 52 African countries with data, at 0.1% (2024).
How many African countries report Military Spending (% of GDP) data?
52 of 54 African countries have a Military Spending (% of GDP) figure in the Africa API, each from the latest year available for that country (which can differ between countries, here 2003–2024). Every value links to its full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=military_expenditure_pct_gdp&latest=true with the country codes you need and a free Africa API key — the response returns the latest value per country as JSON.
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