- Business Insider Africa presents 10 African countries with the lowest military spending
- The data is courtesy Statista's defense spending budget report
- Africa only accounts for around 2% of global military spending
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While some African countries have boosted defense spending in response to perceived threats, others have deprioritized security financing due to regional peace, revealing a stark contrast in security approaches across the continent.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the global military spending reached a record high of $2.443 trillion, over three times the total annual GDP of Africa, signaling a significant escalation in global military investment.
The SIPRI data further revealed that Africa's total military expenditure has been increasing, with a 4.2% rise in 2020. However, military spending varies widely across the continent, with some countries allocating significant resources while others face budget constraints.
The need to prioritize or reduce defense spending in Africa is a complex issue, with various factors influencing each country's military expenditure.
These factors include regional conflicts, security threats and economic factors where wealthier countries like Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa tend to spend more on defense due to their economic capabilities.
However, despite the general increment in the total military expenditure on the continent in recent years, Africa only accounts for around 2% of the global military spending.
While some African countries like Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria lead the pack of African countries with high military budgets, others have very low military budgets with reasons ranging from limited financial resources, post-conflict reconstruction, dependence on external security, among others.
The list below sourced from Statista highlights 10 African countries with the lowest military expenditure .
| 1 | Liberia | 11.8M |
| 2 | Sierra Leone | 19.33M |
| 3 | CAR | 41.45M |
| 4 | Somalia | 63.93M |
| 5 | Benin | 75.25M |
| 6 | Eritrea | 105.32M |
| 7 | Madagascar | 109.76M |
| 8 | Zimbabwe | 117.39M |
| 9 | Mozambique | 140.2M |
| 10 | Mauritiana | 194.48M |
