Belgium vs South Africa: Military spending as a share of GDP
Belgium
0.7%
in 2019
South Africa
0.7%
in 2019
Belgium rank
137th
South Africa rank
139th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Belgium
- South Africa
How they compare
Belgium currently reports 0.7% against 0.7% in South Africa, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 96 shared years of data; in 1920 it was Belgium ahead.
Belgium ranks 137th and South Africa ranks 139th of 172 countries.
Across the 10 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 7 and South Africa in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Belgium |
| 1930s | 1.0% | 0.3% | 0.7% | Belgium |
| 1940s | 6.3% | 1.6% | 4.7% | Belgium |
| 1950s | 2.6% | 0.6% | 2.0% | Belgium |
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.1% | 0.9% | Belgium |
| 1970s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 0.1% | Belgium |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 2.3% | 0.3% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0.3% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.0% | Belgium |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.1% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Belgium or South Africa?
- Belgium, at 0.7% against 0.7% in South Africa as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Belgium and South Africa?
- 0.0%, with Belgium ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and South Africa?
- 96 years are reported by both, from 1920 to 2019.
- How do Belgium and South Africa rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Belgium ranks 137th and South Africa ranks 139th of 172 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).