Military spending as a share of GDP in Sudan
Sudan: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.1% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
1.1%
Change on year
down 20.7%
World rank
107th
of 172 countries
All-time high
5.1%
in 1991
All-time low
0.2%
in 1956
Years of data
64
1956–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Sudan, 1956–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Sudan recorded 1.1% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 20.7% on the previous year and down 44.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Sudan peaked at 5.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1956.
That places Sudan 107th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Sudan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 0.2% | — |
| 1957 | 0.9% | +282.1% |
| 1958 | 1.0% | +16.3% |
| 1959 | 1.0% | -4.4% |
| 1960 | 1.1% | +8.8% |
| 1961 | 1.1% | +4.7% |
| 1962 | 1.2% | +6.2% |
| 1963 | 1.4% | +13.1% |
| 1964 | 1.7% | +22.0% |
| 1965 | 2.1% | +27.5% |
| 1966 | 2.2% | +6.0% |
| 1967 | 2.2% | -1.4% |
| 1968 | 2.5% | +14.5% |
| 1969 | 2.8% | +12.1% |
| 1970 | 3.4% | +18.8% |
| 1971 | 4.0% | +18.8% |
| 1972 | 3.7% | -6.6% |
| 1973 | 3.3% | -11.0% |
| 1974 | 2.7% | -17.4% |
| 1975 | 2.4% | -14.0% |
| 1976 | 2.3% | -1.2% |
| 1977 | 2.9% | +23.7% |
| 1978 | 2.9% | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 2.9% | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 2.7% | -7.8% |
| 1981 | 2.9% | +9.2% |
| 1982 | 3.0% | +2.7% |
| 1983 | 1.9% | -35.3% |
| 1984 | 2.3% | +20.1% |
| 1985 | 1.8% | -21.8% |
| 1986 | 2.4% | +31.4% |
| 1987 | 2.9% | +20.5% |
| 1988 | 3.2% | +9.8% |
| 1989 | 3.3% | +5.0% |
| 1990 | 3.2% | -3.8% |
| 1991 | 5.1% | +59.9% |
| 1992 | 4.0% | -21.8% |
| 1993 | 1.8% | -55.4% |
| 1994 | 1.9% | +6.7% |
| 1995 | 1.5% | -20.5% |
| 1996 | 1.3% | -16.6% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | -12.5% |
| 1998 | 1.5% | +38.9% |
| 1999 | 2.0% | +27.5% |
| 2000 | 2.6% | +31.5% |
| 2001 | 1.8% | -30.8% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | -17.1% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | -17.3% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +21.3% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | +40.9% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | +43.5% |
| 2007 | 3.8% | +26.0% |
| 2008 | 3.5% | -7.3% |
| 2009 | 1.9% | -44.8% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -9.9% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | +15.0% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | +12.6% |
| 2014 | 2.3% | +9.1% |
| 2015 | 2.6% | +10.9% |
| 2016 | 2.6% | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 2.7% | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | -50.6% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -20.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.8% | 0.2% | 1.0% | 4 |
| 1960s | 1.8% | 1.1% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.0% | 2.3% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.6% | 1.8% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.3% | 1.1% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 1.2% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Sudan
More economy & growth data for Sudan
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.1 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.5 Percent per annum (2029)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate -18.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3699 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per capita 430.8 current US$ per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), annual growth rate 15.71 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 818.68 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per capita 953,389 current LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 2.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.1719 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Sudan?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Sudan was 1.1% in 2019, 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 Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1956.
- How does Sudan rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Sudan ranks 107th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sudan 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
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).