What is the difference in military expenditure between Republic of Korea and Viet Nam?

61.73 trillion current LCU, with Viet Nam ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Republic of Korea and Viet Nam?

24 years are reported by both, from 1987 to 2018.

Where does this data come from?

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as Military expenditure (current LCU). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Republic of Korea vs Viet Nam: Military expenditure

Republic of Korea

64.88 trillion current LCU

in 2024

Viet Nam

126.62 trillion current LCU

in 2018

Republic of Korea rank

5th

Viet Nam rank

4th

Military expenditure over time

Republic of Korea
Viet Nam

How they compare

Viet Nam currently reports 126.62 trillion current LCU against 64.88 trillion current LCU in Republic of Korea, a difference of 61.73 trillion current LCU.

That makes Viet Nam's figure about 2.0 times Republic of Korea's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 24 shared years of data; in 1987 it was Republic of Korea ahead.

Republic of Korea ranks 5th and Viet Nam ranks 4th of 167 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Republic of Korea averaged higher in 3 and Viet Nam in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Republic of Korea	Viet Nam	Difference	Ahead
1980s	5.66 trillion current LCU	980.67 billion current LCU	4.68 trillion current LCU	Republic of Korea
1990s	9.01 trillion current LCU	3.85 trillion current LCU	5.16 trillion current LCU	Republic of Korea
2000s	24.56 trillion current LCU	24.13 trillion current LCU	432.94 billion current LCU	Republic of Korea
2010s	39.56 trillion current LCU	88.00 trillion current LCU	48.44 trillion current LCU	Viet Nam

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military expenditure, Republic of Korea or Viet Nam?: Viet Nam, at 126.62 trillion current LCU against 64.88 trillion current LCU in Republic of Korea as of 2018.
What is the difference in military expenditure between Republic of Korea and Viet Nam?: 61.73 trillion current LCU, with Viet Nam ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Republic of Korea and Viet Nam?: 24 years are reported by both, from 1987 to 2018.
How do Republic of Korea and Viet Nam rank globally for military expenditure?: Republic of Korea ranks 5th and Viet Nam ranks 4th of 167 countries.
Where does this data come from?: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as Military expenditure (current LCU). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Republic of Korea vs Viet Nam: Military expenditure. Statizoid, drawing on SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/military-expenditure-current-lcu/korea-rep/viet-nam/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/military-expenditure-current-lcu/korea-rep/viet-nam/">Republic of Korea vs Viet Nam: Military expenditure</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Military expenditure (current LCU)
Unit: current LCU
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 167 places, 8,248 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Military expenditure in local currency at current prices (by calendar year)