Mali: Goods and services expense (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, Mali's goods and services expense (% of expense) fell 9.99 percentage points on 2019 (from 23.82% to 13.83%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2019), the average change was −0.72 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.46 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.19 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.99 percentage points in 2020. 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 downward, about 1.09 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 42% 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 9th 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

• Bhutan — 5th of 10: 18.97%
• Palau — 6th of 10: 18.38%
• Honduras — 7th of 10: 16.06%
• Bahrain — 9th of 10: 11.52%
• Russian Federation — 10th of 10: 6.64%

What this measures

Goods and services include all government payments in exchange for goods and services used for the production of market and nonmarket goods and services. Use of goods and services for own account capital formation is excluded. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

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 median.

All 21 values

Goods and services expense (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Angola — 29.36% (2019)
• Botswana — 28.41% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 9.69% (2023)
• Burundi — 17.8% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 20.46% (2020)
• Cameroon — 33.62% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 31.7% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 27.48% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 27.07% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 16.21% (2023)

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 goods and services expense (% of expense)?

13.83% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 23.73 percentage points from 37.56% in 2000. The highest value was 37.56% in 2000 and the lowest 13.83% in 2020.

How does Mali rank?

9th highest of 10 economies with data for 2020.

Is the latest change in goods and services expense (% of expense) unusual for Mali?

In 2020, Mali's goods and services expense (% of expense) fell 9.99 percentage points on 2019 (from 23.82% to 13.83%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2019), the average change was −0.72 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.46 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.GSRV.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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