How many years of comparable data are there for Iran, Islamic Republic of and Somalia?

60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.

Where does this data come from?

Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – 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.

Iran, Islamic Republic of vs Somalia: Military spending as a share of GDP

Iran, Islamic Republic of

1.9%

in 2019

Somalia

1.9%

in 2019

Iran, Islamic Republic of rank

50th

Somalia rank

48th

Military spending as a share of GDP over time

Iran, Islamic Republic of
Somalia

How they compare

Somalia currently reports 1.9% against 1.9% in Iran, Islamic Republic of, a difference of 0.0%.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 60 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Iran, Islamic Republic of ahead.

Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 50th and Somalia ranks 48th of 172 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, Iran, Islamic Republic of averaged higher in 5 and Somalia in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Iran, Islamic Republic of	Somalia	Difference	Ahead
1960s	2.0%	1.4%	0.6%	Iran, Islamic Republic of
1970s	6.5%	3.4%	3.1%	Iran, Islamic Republic of
1980s	6.2%	4.2%	2.0%	Iran, Islamic Republic of
1990s	2.1%	1.7%	0.4%	Iran, Islamic Republic of
2000s	1.4%	1.6%	0.2%	Somalia
2010s	2.1%	1.3%	0.8%	Iran, Islamic Republic of

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Iran, Islamic Republic of or Somalia?: Somalia, at 1.9% against 1.9% in Iran, Islamic Republic of as of 2019.
What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Iran, Islamic Republic of and Somalia?: 0.0%, with Somalia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iran, Islamic Republic of and Somalia?: 60 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2019.
How do Iran, Islamic Republic of and Somalia rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?: Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 50th and Somalia ranks 48th of 172 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – 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.

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Iran, Islamic Republic of vs Somalia: Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/military-spending-as-a-share-of-gdp-gmsd/iran-islamic-rep/somalia-fed-rep/

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<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/military-spending-as-a-share-of-gdp-gmsd/iran-islamic-rep/somalia-fed-rep/">Iran, Islamic Republic of vs Somalia: Military spending as a share of GDP</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Military spending as a share of GDP
Unit: % of GDP
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 172 places, 14,793 data points, 1816–2019
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).