Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Lower middle income
Lower middle income: Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 1.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in Lower middle income, 1960–2025
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, military expenditure in Lower middle income stood at 1.9%.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Lower middle income peaked at 4.5% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 2024.
Lower middle income ranks 22nd of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Lower middle income, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.2% | — |
| 1961 | 2.1% | -5.4% |
| 1962 | 2.8% | +35.0% |
| 1963 | 3.7% | +31.3% |
| 1964 | 3.7% | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 3.8% | +3.4% |
| 1966 | 3.6% | -4.9% |
| 1967 | 3.6% | -0.4% |
| 1968 | 3.9% | +6.4% |
| 1969 | 4.1% | +6.8% |
| 1970 | 4.2% | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 4.5% | +7.3% |
| 1972 | 4.3% | -2.9% |
| 1973 | 3.7% | -14.0% |
| 1974 | 3.7% | -1.8% |
| 1975 | 4.3% | +17.6% |
| 1976 | 4.1% | -3.6% |
| 1977 | 4.0% | -2.5% |
| 1978 | 3.9% | -4.4% |
| 1979 | 3.6% | -7.9% |
| 1980 | 3.2% | -10.5% |
| 1981 | 3.1% | -1.6% |
| 1982 | 3.2% | +3.4% |
| 1983 | 3.5% | +7.3% |
| 1984 | 3.4% | -2.4% |
| 1985 | 3.3% | -2.4% |
| 1986 | 3.6% | +8.2% |
| 1987 | 3.9% | +7.3% |
| 1988 | 3.5% | -9.7% |
| 1989 | 3.5% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 3.1% | -10.7% |
| 1991 | 2.8% | -9.0% |
| 1992 | 2.7% | -3.7% |
| 1993 | 2.9% | +5.2% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | -9.8% |
| 1995 | 2.4% | -7.5% |
| 1996 | 2.2% | -8.9% |
| 1997 | 2.2% | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 2.2% | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 2.6% | +17.8% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 2.5% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 2.5% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 2.4% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -6.6% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | -5.0% |
| 2008 | 2.2% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 2.4% | +9.9% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -6.4% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 2.1% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | +7.9% |
| 2021 | 2.1% | -5.6% |
| 2022 | 1.9% | -7.0% |
| 2023 | 1.9% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 1.9% | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 1.9% | +0.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Lower middle income changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +35.0% | 2.1% | 2.8% |
| 1963 | +31.3% | 2.8% | 3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.4% | 2.1% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lower middle income
More public sector data for Lower middle income
- Arms imports 5.14 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 1.04 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0004 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -52.59 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 3.03 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 43.69 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0186 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 4.38 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 127.03 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 338.17 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Lower middle income?
- Military expenditure in Lower middle income was 1.9% in 2025, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Lower middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 1971.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Lower middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 2024.
- How does Lower middle income rank for military expenditure?
- Lower middle income ranks 22nd out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Lower middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lower middle income data come from?
- The figures come from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as part of Military expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product