Military expenditure (% of GDP) in South Asia
South Asia: Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 2.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in South Asia, 1960–2025
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for military expenditure in South Asia is 2.1%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in South Asia peaked at 3.9% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 1960.
South Asia ranks 19th 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 South Asia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.0% | — |
| 1961 | 2.0% | +3.5% |
| 1962 | 2.7% | +31.7% |
| 1963 | 3.9% | +46.7% |
| 1964 | 3.8% | -4.9% |
| 1965 | 3.8% | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 3.5% | -8.3% |
| 1967 | 3.1% | -9.6% |
| 1968 | 3.2% | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 3.1% | -3.2% |
| 1970 | 3.1% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 3.5% | +15.2% |
| 1972 | 3.6% | +1.5% |
| 1973 | 2.9% | -20.4% |
| 1974 | 2.8% | -1.2% |
| 1975 | 3.0% | +5.9% |
| 1976 | 3.2% | +6.8% |
| 1977 | 3.0% | -7.5% |
| 1978 | 2.9% | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 3.0% | +2.4% |
| 1980 | 2.9% | -3.7% |
| 1981 | 2.9% | +1.2% |
| 1982 | 3.1% | +5.9% |
| 1983 | 3.1% | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 3.1% | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 3.3% | +5.4% |
| 1986 | 3.8% | +14.8% |
| 1987 | 3.9% | +3.5% |
| 1988 | 3.5% | -12.0% |
| 1989 | 3.3% | -5.6% |
| 1990 | 2.9% | -10.4% |
| 1991 | 2.7% | -7.5% |
| 1992 | 2.6% | -5.5% |
| 1993 | 2.7% | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 1995 | 2.6% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 2.4% | -4.6% |
| 1997 | 2.6% | +5.4% |
| 1998 | 2.6% | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 2.8% | +7.0% |
| 2000 | 2.8% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 2.8% | -1.8% |
| 2002 | 2.7% | -3.9% |
| 2003 | 2.5% | -5.1% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | +5.7% |
| 2005 | 2.8% | +2.7% |
| 2006 | 2.6% | -6.9% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -6.2% |
| 2008 | 2.5% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 3.0% | +17.8% |
| 2010 | 2.8% | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | -3.9% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 2.4% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 2.4% | +4.8% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +8.6% |
| 2021 | 2.3% | -11.0% |
| 2022 | 2.2% | -4.8% |
| 2023 | 2.2% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | -5.3% |
| 2025 | 2.1% | +3.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in South Asia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +46.7% | 2.7% | 3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.1% | 2.0% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.1% | 2.8% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.3% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Asia
More public sector data for South Asia
- Arms imports 2.92 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.7506 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -19.55 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.26 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 54.8 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0211 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 4.84 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 91.92 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 467.61 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in South Asia?
- Military expenditure in South Asia was 2.1% in 2025, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.9% in 1963.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 1960.
- How does South Asia rank for military expenditure?
- South Asia ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Asia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product