Military spending in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Military spending was 28.24 million constant 2022 US$ in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
28.24 million constant 2022 US$
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
165th
of 172 countries
All-time high
56.17 million constant 2022 US$
in 1994
All-time low
9.72 million constant 2022 US$
in 1987
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Military spending in Sierra Leone, 1961–2023

10.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M60.0M196119922023

Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in constant 2022 US$.

Analysis

The most recent figure for military spending in Sierra Leone is 28.24 million constant 2022 US$, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 38.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military spending in Sierra Leone peaked at 56.17 million constant 2022 US$ in 1994 and was at its lowest, 9.72 million constant 2022 US$, in 1987.

Sierra Leone ranks 165th of 172 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 15.05 million constant 2022 US$ 14.07 million constant 2022 US$ 16.69 million constant 2022 US$ 9
1970s 22.91 million constant 2022 US$ 17.65 million constant 2022 US$ 32.60 million constant 2022 US$ 10
1980s 15.99 million constant 2022 US$ 9.72 million constant 2022 US$ 29.22 million constant 2022 US$ 10
1990s 33.60 million constant 2022 US$ 11.35 million constant 2022 US$ 56.17 million constant 2022 US$ 10
2000s 29.77 million constant 2022 US$ 18.32 million constant 2022 US$ 37.06 million constant 2022 US$ 10
2010s 20.77 million constant 2022 US$ 17.95 million constant 2022 US$ 23.10 million constant 2022 US$ 10
2020s 25.91 million constant 2022 US$ 21.47 million constant 2022 US$ 28.24 million constant 2022 US$ 4

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 162 Bhutan 31.32 million constant 2022 US$ compare
  2. 163 Guinea-Bissau 29.97 million constant 2022 US$ compare
  3. 164 Mauritius 28.93 million constant 2022 US$ compare
  4. 166 Laos 26.46 million constant 2022 US$ compare
  5. 167 Gambia 18.64 million constant 2022 US$ compare
  6. 168 Haiti 16.61 million constant 2022 US$ compare

See the full ranking of 172 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is military spending in Sierra Leone?
Military spending in Sierra Leone was 28.24 million constant 2022 US$ in 2023, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest military spending recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 56.17 million constant 2022 US$ in 1994.
What is the lowest military spending recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 9.72 million constant 2022 US$ in 1987.
How does Sierra Leone rank for military spending?
Sierra Leone ranks 165th out of 172 countries with data for 2023.
Is military spending rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 38.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Military spending
Unit
constant 2022 US$
Source
Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
172 places, 15,402 data points, 1816–2023
Last refreshed

This data is expressed in US dollars. It is adjusted for inflation but does not account for differences in the cost of living between countries.