Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Gambia
Gambia: Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 0.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Military expenditure in Gambia, 1983–2025
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Gambia recorded 0.6% for military expenditure in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.3% on the previous year and down 43.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Gambia peaked at 1.2% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2004.
That places Gambia 149th out of 167 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 39 years of available data.
Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 0.3% | — |
| 1984 | 0.5% | +40.1% |
| 1985 | 0.6% | +15.4% |
| 1986 | 0.6% | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 0.6% | +11.9% |
| 1988 | 0.8% | +28.4% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | +18.2% |
| 1990 | 0.5% | -51.9% |
| 1991 | 0.5% | +9.3% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -18.8% |
| 1993 | 0.3% | -31.8% |
| 1994 | 0.3% | -8.5% |
| 1995 | 0.3% | +19.2% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | +30.4% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | +2.6% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -5.6% |
| 1999 | 0.3% | -15.3% |
| 2000 | 0.3% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 0.2% | -25.6% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | +4.1% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -7.0% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | -15.3% |
| 2005 | 0.3% | +43.8% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | -6.1% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +36.5% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +208.2% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -56.0% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | +64.3% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -4.8% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | +57.4% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -15.0% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -31.9% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | +16.1% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | -5.1% |
| 2022 | 0.7% | -8.9% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | -14.9% |
| 2024 | 0.6% | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 0.6% | -4.3% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 0.6% is below the median for low income countries, which is 1.8%, 31% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 0.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.3%, 44% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Gambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +208.2% | 0.4% | 1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 7 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 6 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More public sector data for Gambia
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 1.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 0 SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Gambia?
- Military expenditure in Gambia was 0.6% in 2025, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.2% in 2014.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2004.
- How does Gambia rank for military expenditure?
- Gambia ranks 149th out of 167 countries with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as part of Military expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product