El Salvador vs South Africa: Military spending as a share of GDP
El Salvador
0.7%
in 2019
South Africa
0.7%
in 2019
El Salvador rank
142nd
South Africa rank
139th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- El Salvador
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 0.7% against 0.7% in El Salvador, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 9 times across 100 shared years of data; in 1920 it was El Salvador ahead.
El Salvador ranks 142nd and South Africa ranks 139th of 172 countries.
Across the 10 decades both report, El Salvador averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | El Salvador | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.1% | South Africa |
| 1930s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.1% | El Salvador |
| 1940s | 0.5% | 2.9% | 2.4% | South Africa |
| 1950s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% | El Salvador |
| 1960s | 0.7% | 1.1% | 0.4% | South Africa |
| 1970s | 0.8% | 2.1% | 1.3% | South Africa |
| 1980s | 2.7% | 2.3% | 0.3% | El Salvador |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 1.5% | 0.3% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.3% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.2% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, El Salvador or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 0.7% against 0.7% in El Salvador as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between El Salvador and South Africa?
- 0.0%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and South Africa?
- 100 years are reported by both, from 1920 to 2019.
- How do El Salvador and South Africa rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- El Salvador ranks 142nd 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).