Military spending as a share of GDP in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of: Military spending as a share of GDP was 2.1% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Latest (2018)
2.1%
Change on year
up 10.5%
World rank
37th
of 172 countries
All-time high
26.3%
in 1958
All-time low
1.7%
in 2016
Years of data
71
1948–2018
Military spending as a share of GDP in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, 1948–2018
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2018, military spending as a share of gdp in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of stood at 2.1%.
That represents a change of up 10.5% on the previous year and down 55.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of peaked at 26.3% in 1958 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2016.
That places Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 37th out of 172 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 71 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 5.4% | — |
| 1949 | 6.1% | +13.0% |
| 1950 | 5.0% | -17.2% |
| 1951 | 5.6% | +11.8% |
| 1952 | 6.3% | +12.9% |
| 1953 | 6.9% | +8.9% |
| 1954 | 6.6% | -4.4% |
| 1955 | 6.3% | -4.1% |
| 1956 | 7.2% | +13.2% |
| 1957 | 8.0% | +11.0% |
| 1958 | 26.3% | +230.0% |
| 1959 | 13.4% | -49.0% |
| 1960 | 10.5% | -21.8% |
| 1961 | 10.1% | -3.9% |
| 1962 | 10.9% | +8.1% |
| 1963 | 10.9% | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 10.7% | -1.8% |
| 1965 | 11.3% | +5.3% |
| 1966 | 10.8% | -4.2% |
| 1967 | 11.4% | +5.1% |
| 1968 | 12.3% | +8.4% |
| 1969 | 11.6% | -5.8% |
| 1970 | 10.3% | -11.2% |
| 1971 | 9.5% | -7.8% |
| 1972 | 7.9% | -16.5% |
| 1973 | 7.3% | -7.8% |
| 1974 | 7.6% | +4.1% |
| 1975 | 7.2% | -5.9% |
| 1976 | 7.5% | +5.0% |
| 1977 | 7.1% | -6.0% |
| 1978 | 6.1% | -13.9% |
| 1979 | 6.1% | -0.8% |
| 1980 | 6.3% | +3.9% |
| 1981 | 7.6% | +21.2% |
| 1982 | 8.3% | +9.2% |
| 1983 | 9.3% | +12.1% |
| 1984 | 10.9% | +16.8% |
| 1985 | 11.3% | +4.0% |
| 1986 | 11.0% | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 10.9% | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 11.1% | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 11.3% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 11.9% | +5.4% |
| 1991 | 11.9% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 13.1% | +10.4% |
| 1993 | 13.2% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 12.4% | -5.8% |
| 1995 | 12.0% | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 10.7% | -10.9% |
| 1997 | 7.6% | -29.2% |
| 1998 | 6.3% | -17.2% |
| 1999 | 5.9% | -5.5% |
| 2000 | 6.2% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 7.0% | +13.1% |
| 2002 | 9.4% | +33.5% |
| 2003 | 9.6% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 9.6% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 7.3% | -23.8% |
| 2006 | 6.6% | -10.0% |
| 2007 | 5.7% | -13.7% |
| 2008 | 4.8% | -15.2% |
| 2009 | 4.2% | -12.8% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -14.6% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | -12.7% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | -10.1% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | -12.6% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | -17.1% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -13.2% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | +9.9% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | +10.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 5.7% | 5.4% | 6.1% | 2 |
| 1950s | 9.2% | 5.0% | 26.3% | 10 |
| 1960s | 11.1% | 10.1% | 12.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.7% | 6.1% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.8% | 6.3% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.5% | 5.9% | 13.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.0% | 4.2% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.7% | 3.6% | 9 |
Countries ranked near Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
More economy & growth data for Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
- Gross Domestic Product, GDP in millions constant 2021 international $ 52,947 (2027)
- Tax revenue vs. Electoral Democracy Index 0.083 (2025)
- Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita 0.024 (2025)
- Share of imports by region of origin 99.91 million current US$ (2024)
- Vaccination coverage against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vs. GDP per capita 99.0% (2024)
- Where China ranks among a country’s import partners 1 rank (2024)
- Imports by region of origin 99.91 million current US$ (2024)
- Foreign aid received per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.4916 constant 2024 US$ (2024)
- Per capita egg consumption 4.41 kilograms per year per capita (2018)
- Technical cooperation grants 1.19 million BoP, current US$ (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of was 2.1% in 2018, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- The highest recorded value was 26.3% in 1958.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2016.
- How does Korea, Democratic People's Republic of rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Korea, Democratic People's Republic of ranks 37th out of 172 countries with data for 2018.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Korea, Democratic People's Republic of data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).