China vs Viet Nam: Military spending as a share of GDP
China
2.3%
in 2019
Viet Nam
2.3%
in 2019
China rank
32nd
Viet Nam rank
33rd
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- China
- Viet Nam
How they compare
China currently reports 2.3% against 2.3% in Viet Nam, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1954 it was China ahead.
China ranks 32nd and Viet Nam ranks 33rd of 172 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 3 and Viet Nam in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Viet Nam | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 10.3% | 6.9% | 3.4% | China |
| 1960s | 17.6% | 11.7% | 5.9% | China |
| 1970s | 16.9% | 7.9% | 9.0% | China |
| 1980s | 4.8% | 9.2% | 4.4% | Viet Nam |
| 1990s | 2.1% | 2.5% | 0.4% | Viet Nam |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 2.9% | 1.1% | Viet Nam |
| 2010s | 1.8% | 2.1% | 0.4% | Viet Nam |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, China or Viet Nam?
- China, at 2.3% against 2.3% in Viet Nam as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between China and Viet Nam?
- 0.0%, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Viet Nam?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1954 to 2019.
- How do China and Viet Nam rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- China ranks 32nd and Viet Nam ranks 33rd 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).