Myanmar vs Taiwan, China: Military spending as a share of GDP
Myanmar
2.1%
in 2019
Taiwan, China
2.0%
in 2019
Myanmar rank
39th
Taiwan, China rank
41st
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Myanmar
- Taiwan, China
How they compare
Myanmar currently reports 2.1% against 2.0% in Taiwan, China, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 71 shared years of data; in 1949 it was Taiwan, China ahead.
Myanmar ranks 39th and Taiwan, China ranks 41st of 172 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Myanmar averaged higher in 4 and Taiwan, China in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Myanmar | Taiwan, China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 3.7% | 6.8% | 3.0% | Taiwan, China |
| 1950s | 5.4% | 7.1% | 1.7% | Taiwan, China |
| 1960s | 5.8% | 5.0% | 0.8% | Myanmar |
| 1970s | 3.9% | 5.6% | 1.8% | Taiwan, China |
| 1980s | 3.6% | 5.9% | 2.4% | Taiwan, China |
| 1990s | 9.7% | 5.0% | 4.7% | Myanmar |
| 2000s | 14.1% | 2.2% | 11.9% | Myanmar |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 0.5% | Myanmar |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Myanmar or Taiwan, China?
- Myanmar, at 2.1% against 2.0% in Taiwan, China as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Myanmar and Taiwan, China?
- 0.1%, with Myanmar ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Myanmar and Taiwan, China?
- 71 years are reported by both, from 1949 to 2019.
- How do Myanmar and Taiwan, China rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Myanmar ranks 39th and Taiwan, China ranks 41st 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.
Individual pages
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).