How does South Africa rank for arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp?

South Africa ranks 138th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.

Is arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is up 3,052.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP in South Africa

Name: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP in South Africa
Creator: Statizoid (derived)
License: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page

South Africa: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP was 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)

0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP

Change on year

up 6.9%

World rank

138th

of 169 countries

All-time high

0.0477 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP

in 1963

All-time low

0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP

in 2013

Years of data

1960–2023

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP in South Africa, 1960–2023

Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP.

Analysis

The most recent figure for arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp in South Africa is 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 6.9% on the previous year and up 3,052.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp in South Africa peaked at 0.0477 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP in 1963 and was at its lowest, 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP, in 2013.

South Africa ranks 138th of 169 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP in South Africa, 1960 to 2023.
Year	SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	Change
1960	0.0015 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	—
1962	0.0236 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+1490.9%
1963	0.0477 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+101.9%
1964	0.0252 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-47.2%
1965	0.0295 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+17.3%
1966	0.0349 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+18.2%
1967	0.0189 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-45.9%
1968	0.0126 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-33.3%
1969	0.011 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-13.1%
1970	0.024 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+119.4%
1971	0.0132 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-45.1%
1972	0.0119 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-10.1%
1973	0.0111 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-6.5%
1974	0.0043 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-61.5%
1975	0.0055 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+28.1%
1976	0.0102 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+85.9%
1977	0.011 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+8.3%
1978	0.0075 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-31.7%
1979	0.002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-73.7%
1980	0.0021 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+8.3%
1981	0.0013 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-39.0%
1982	0.0005 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-60.9%
1983	0.0022 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+334.3%
1984	0.0014 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-35.4%
1985	0.0004 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-73.0%
1986	0.0026 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+571.4%
1987	0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-92.0%
1988	0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-21.1%
1989	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-37.7%
1990	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-14.3%
1991	0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+120.4%
1992	0.0025 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+1177.4%
1993	0.0017 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-32.5%
1994	0.0016 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-6.1%
1995	0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-85.8%
1996	0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+5.2%
1997	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-72.0%
1999	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+112.9%
2000	0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-71.5%
2001	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+236.2%
2005	0.0009 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+582.4%
2006	0.0024 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+168.9%
2007	0.0027 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+12.5%
2008	0.0016 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-43.2%
2009	0.0004 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-73.9%
2010	0.0004 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+5.0%
2011	0.0005 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+6.4%
2012	0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-35.6%
2013	0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-99.1%
2014	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+5158.2%
2015	0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	-95.6%
2022	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+1175.9%
2023	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	+6.9%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	0.0228 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0015 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0477 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	9
1970s	0.0101 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.024 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	10
1980s	0.0011 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0026 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	10
1990s	0.0007 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0025 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	9
2000s	0.0012 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0027 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	7
2010s	0.0002 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0005 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	6
2020s	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP	2

Countries ranked near South Africa

135 Spain 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP compare
136 Iraq 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP compare
137 Dominican Republic 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP compare
139 Madagascar 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP compare
140 Argentina 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP compare
141 Canada 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 213 places →

More public sector data for South Africa

Arms imports 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.4746 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2023)
Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 44.31 current USD per person (2024)
Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0071 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2024)
Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 2.84 billion current USD (2024)
Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 24.73 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Military expenditure (current USD), per square kilometre 2,371 current USD per square kilometre (2023)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp in South Africa?: Arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp in South Africa was 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP in 2023, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.0477 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP in 1963.
What is the lowest arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP in 2013.
How does South Africa rank for arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp?: South Africa ranks 138th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
Is arms imports (sipri trend indicator values), per unit of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is up 3,052.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/arms-imports-sipri-trend-indicator-values-per-unit-of-gdp/south-africa/

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How this figure is calculated

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) ÷ GDP (current US$)

Computed from

Arms imports Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
GDP Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks

Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.

About this data

Indicator: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP
Unit: SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP
Source: Statizoid (derived)
Licence: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage: 213 places, 8,924 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed: 18 August 2026

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.