Republic of Korea vs Singapore: Military spending as a share of GDP
Republic of Korea
2.4%
in 2019
Singapore
2.7%
in 2019
Republic of Korea rank
30th
Singapore rank
27th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Republic of Korea
- Singapore
How they compare
Singapore currently reports 2.7% against 2.4% in Republic of Korea, a difference of 0.3%.
That makes Singapore's figure about 1.1 times Republic of Korea's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Republic of Korea ahead.
Republic of Korea ranks 30th and Singapore ranks 27th of 172 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Republic of Korea averaged higher in 1 and Singapore in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Republic of Korea | Singapore | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | 1.5% | 0.6% | Republic of Korea |
| 1970s | 2.7% | 3.8% | 1.1% | Singapore |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 3.6% | 0.1% | Singapore |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 3.8% | 1.2% | Singapore |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 3.0% | 1.2% | Singapore |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 2.5% | 0.5% | Singapore |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Republic of Korea or Singapore?
- Singapore, at 2.7% against 2.4% in Republic of Korea as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Republic of Korea and Singapore?
- 0.3%, with Singapore ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Republic of Korea and Singapore?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2019.
- How do Republic of Korea and Singapore rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Republic of Korea ranks 30th and Singapore ranks 27th 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).