Mali's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) was 0.54% in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.34 percentage points from 0.2% in 2010.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 0.54% | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | 0.23% | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | 0.2% | 2010 |
| Highest | 0.54% | 2020 |
| Lowest | 0.12% | 2012 |
| Average since 2011 | 0.26% | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | 0.38% | 1990 |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Mali's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) rose 0.26 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.28% to 0.54%).
Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 8.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.26 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.07 percentage points in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2011 to 2020 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.03 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 64% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2020, Mali had the 107th highest value of the 168 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Mali | 0.54% | 2020 |
| World | 0.79% | 2020 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.38% | 2020 |
| Low income | 1.2% | 2020 |
Closest to Mali in the 2020 ranking
- Gambia, The — 104th of 168: 0.58%
- Honduras — 105th of 168: 0.56%
- Congo, Rep. — 106th of 168: 0.55%
- Ecuador — 108th of 168: 0.54%
- Central African Republic — 109th of 168: 0.54%
- Guinea-Bissau — 110th of 168: 0.53%
What this measures
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour Organization's definition of the economically active population.
Limitations: Data exclude personnel not on active duty, therefore they underestimate the share of the labor force working for the defense establishment. Governments rarely report the size of their armed forces, so such data typically come from intelligence sources. Unless otherwise indicated, reserves includes all reservists committed to rejoining the armed forces in an emergency, except when national reserve service obligations following conscription last almost a lifetime.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 31 values
| Year | Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 0.5438 |
| 2019 | 0.2821 |
| 2018 | 0.288 |
| 2017 | 0.2521 |
| 2016 | 0.2551 |
| 2015 | 0.2316 |
| 2014 | 0.2084 |
| 2013 | 0.1837 |
| 2012 | 0.1245 |
| 2011 | 0.1988 |
| 2010 |
Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) in nearby economies
- Angola — 0.87% (2020)
- Benin — 0.21% (2020)
- Botswana — 0.92% (2020)
- Burkina Faso — 0.12% (2020)
- Burundi — 0.59% (2020)
- Cabo Verde — 0.51% (2020)
- Cameroon — 0.34% (2020)
- Central African Republic — 0.54% (2020)
- Chad — 0.85% (2020)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
More public sector data for Mali
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 952.9 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 554.09 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 3.87% (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 64 million (2025)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 41,000 (2020)
- Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 14.8% (2025)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 593.21 billion (2020)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 4.98% (2020)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -415.56 billion (2020)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Mali's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force)?
- 0.54% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 0.17 percentage points from 0.38% in 1990. The highest value was 0.54% in 2020 and the lowest 0.12% in 2012.
- How does Mali rank?
- 107th highest of 168 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) unusual for Mali?
- In 2020, Mali's armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) rose 0.26 percentage points on 2019 (from 0.28% to 0.54%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2019), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 8.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.TF.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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