Iraq vs Pakistan: Military spending as a share of GDP
Iraq
4.2%
in 2019
Pakistan
4.0%
in 2019
Iraq rank
11th
Pakistan rank
13th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Iraq
- Pakistan
How they compare
Iraq currently reports 4.2% against 4.0% in Pakistan, a difference of 0.2%.
That makes Iraq's figure about 1.1 times Pakistan's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 73 shared years of data; in 1947 it was Iraq ahead.
Iraq ranks 11th and Pakistan ranks 13th of 172 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Iraq averaged higher in 4 and Pakistan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iraq | Pakistan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 2.9% | 3.9% | 1.0% | Pakistan |
| 1950s | 2.4% | 6.3% | 3.8% | Pakistan |
| 1960s | 3.1% | 5.3% | 2.3% | Pakistan |
| 1970s | 7.3% | 4.7% | 2.6% | Iraq |
| 1980s | 24.5% | 4.3% | 20.2% | Iraq |
| 1990s | 12.8% | 3.6% | 9.2% | Iraq |
| 2000s | 2.0% | 2.4% | 0.4% | Pakistan |
| 2010s | 4.9% | 3.0% | 1.9% | Iraq |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Iraq or Pakistan?
- Iraq, at 4.2% against 4.0% in Pakistan as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Iraq and Pakistan?
- 0.2%, with Iraq ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iraq and Pakistan?
- 73 years are reported by both, from 1947 to 2019.
- How do Iraq and Pakistan rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Iraq ranks 11th and Pakistan ranks 13th 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).