Liberia vs Sierra Leone
Liberia vs Sierra Leone: Military share of state spending
Military share of state spending in 2025: 3.9% of government spending in Liberia and 2.5% of government spending in Sierra Leone, by SIPRI estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Liberia, by 1.4 percentage points, or 1.57 times that in Sierra Leone.
% of government spending · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- Liberia has been higher since 2025, when it overtook Sierra Leone.
- In 2025, Liberia ranked 107 and Sierra Leone ranked 126 of 150 countries, counting from the highest.
Every year
% of government spending · SIPRI
| Year | Liberia | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.9 | 2.5 |
| 2024 | 2.9 | 4.2 |
| 2023 | 5.2 | 3.9 |
| 2022 | 4.9 | 3.5 |
| 2021 | 2.8 | 3.6 |
| 2020 | 1.2 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | 1.3 | 2.8 |
| 2018 | 1.2 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| 2016 | 1.3 | 4.8 |
| 2015 | 1.3 | 4.5 |
| 2014 | 1.4 | 5.5 |
| 2013 | 1.8 | 4.1 |
| 2012 | 1.8 | 3.9 |
| 2011 | 1.9 | 4 |
| 2010 | 1.7 | 4.8 |
| 2009 | 1.7 | 6.2 |
| 2008 | 1.1 | 5.8 |
| 2007 | 1.5 | 10.4 |
| 2006 | 3.2 | 8.9 |
| 2005 | 6.6 | 7.9 |
| 2004 | 2.9 | 8.7 |
| 2003 | – | 10.9 |
| 2002 | – | 10.8 |
| 2001 | – | 14.4 |
| 2000 | – | 15.4 |
- Estimate
Each country on its own
Good to know
- The part of everything the government spends that goes on its armed forces and defence, by SIPRI’s count.
- Source: Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Military Expenditure Database, https://doi.org/10.55163/CQGC9685.
- Marked points are SIPRI’s own: a dot where it gives the figure as its estimate, a ring where it calls the figure highly uncertain.
- Ranks count the 150 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Liberia vs Sierra Leone
Health
- Life expectancyLiberia: 62.2 years in 2023Sierra Leone: 61.8 years in 2023
- Child mortalityLiberia: 8.6 per 100 live births in 2024Sierra Leone: 9.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityLiberia: 55.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Sierra Leone: 71.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionLiberia: 3.8% in 2017Sierra Leone: 3.58% in 2017
- Suicide rateLiberia: 13.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Sierra Leone: 9.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationLiberia: 5.49 million people in 2023Sierra Leone: 8.46 million people in 2023
- Population growthLiberia: 2.2% a year in 2023Sierra Leone: 2.18% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateLiberia: 3.95 births per woman in 2023Sierra Leone: 3.79 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationLiberia: 56.1% in 2025Sierra Leone: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageLiberia: 18.4 years in 2023Sierra Leone: 19.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overLiberia: 3.3% in 2023Sierra Leone: 3.2% in 2023
- Net migration rateLiberia: -0.9 per 1,000 people in 2023Sierra Leone: -0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingLiberia: 0.85% of GDP in 2025Sierra Leone: 0.37% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsLiberia: $40.3M in 2025Sierra Leone: $29.5M in 2025
- Military spending per personLiberia: $8 in 2025Sierra Leone: $4 in 2025
- Armed forces personnelLiberia: 2,000 people in 2020Sierra Leone: 9,000 people in 2020
- National powerLiberia: 0.03% of world capability in 2022Sierra Leone: 0.04% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersLiberia: 0.09% of the labour force in 2020Sierra Leone: 0.35% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsLiberia: 0 TIV in 2025Sierra Leone: 2 million TIV in 2016