Mali: Expense (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Mali's expense (% of GDP) rose 1.39 percentage points on 2019 (from 10.85% to 12.24%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2019), the average change was +0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.39 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.7 percentage points in 2005. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 26% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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 10th highest value of the 10 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.

Closest to Mali in the 2020 ranking

• Honduras — 7th of 10: 24.39%
• Bhutan — 8th of 10: 24.08%
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 9th of 10: 23.43%

What this measures

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 21 values

Expense (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 14.57% (2019)
• Botswana — 26.53% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 19.58% (2023)
• Burundi — 12.26% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 30.88% (2020)
• Cameroon — 12.42% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 11.66% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 12.45% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 16.13% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 17.88% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 11.05% (2022)
• Eswatini

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)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.54% (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)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Mali's expense (% of GDP)?

12.24% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 4.23 percentage points from 8% in 2000. The highest value was 12.24% in 2020 and the lowest 8% in 2000.

How does Mali rank?

10th highest of 10 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in expense (% of GDP) unusual for Mali?

In 2020, Mali's expense (% of GDP) rose 1.39 percentage points on 2019 (from 10.85% to 12.24%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2019), the average change was +0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.6 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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