Botswana vs China: Military spending as a share of GDP
Botswana
2.5%
in 2019
China
2.3%
in 2019
Botswana rank
29th
China rank
32nd
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Botswana
- China
How they compare
Botswana currently reports 2.5% against 2.3% in China, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes Botswana's figure about 1.1 times China's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 54 shared years of data; in 1966 it was China ahead.
Botswana ranks 29th and China ranks 32nd of 172 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Botswana averaged higher in 3 and China in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Botswana | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.2% | 19.1% | 13.8% | China |
| 1970s | 2.2% | 16.9% | 14.7% | China |
| 1980s | 2.1% | 4.8% | 2.7% | China |
| 1990s | 2.9% | 2.1% | 0.8% | Botswana |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.7% | 0.7% | Botswana |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 0.4% | Botswana |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Botswana or China?
- Botswana, at 2.5% against 2.3% in China as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Botswana and China?
- 0.2%, with Botswana ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and China?
- 54 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2019.
- How do Botswana and China rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Botswana ranks 29th and China ranks 32nd 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).