Military spending as a share of GDP in Sudan
Sudan: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.9% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Military spending as a share of GDP in Sudan, 1956–2021
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Sudan recorded 0.9% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 60 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.2% on the previous year and down 83.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Sudan peaked at 5.5% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2021.
That places Sudan 128th out of 166 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Sudan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 1.1% | — |
| 1957 | 1.6% | +46.1% |
| 1958 | 1.5% | -7.1% |
| 1959 | 1.7% | +12.5% |
| 1960 | 1.9% | +12.1% |
| 1961 | 1.8% | -3.8% |
| 1962 | 2.1% | +11.6% |
| 1963 | 2.1% | +4.4% |
| 1964 | 3.1% | +46.2% |
| 1965 | 4.1% | +31.0% |
| 1966 | 3.5% | -14.3% |
| 1967 | 3.7% | +3.7% |
| 1968 | 3.8% | +2.6% |
| 1969 | 5.2% | +38.6% |
| 1970 | 5.0% | -4.7% |
| 1971 | 4.6% | -7.1% |
| 1972 | 4.2% | -8.9% |
| 1973 | 3.2% | -24.6% |
| 1974 | 2.6% | -18.8% |
| 1975 | 2.3% | -12.3% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | +18.5% |
| 1977 | 2.6% | -1.9% |
| 1978 | 2.0% | -22.0% |
| 1979 | 2.6% | +27.1% |
| 1980 | 2.3% | -11.2% |
| 1981 | 1.8% | -22.6% |
| 1982 | 2.4% | +37.0% |
| 1983 | 3.3% | +33.9% |
| 1984 | 4.1% | +25.0% |
| 1985 | 3.4% | -16.8% |
| 1986 | 3.2% | -5.1% |
| 1987 | 2.6% | -20.9% |
| 1988 | 3.6% | +39.1% |
| 1990 | 4.8% | +35.5% |
| 1991 | 5.0% | +3.7% |
| 1992 | 4.4% | -12.1% |
| 1993 | 4.9% | +12.1% |
| 1994 | 3.9% | -20.8% |
| 1995 | 2.1% | -46.8% |
| 1996 | 1.3% | -38.8% |
| 1997 | 1.0% | -24.8% |
| 1998 | 2.4% | +149.4% |
| 1999 | 4.0% | +68.5% |
| 2000 | 4.5% | +11.5% |
| 2001 | 2.5% | -44.8% |
| 2002 | 2.7% | +8.2% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | -30.2% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | +149.8% |
| 2005 | 3.3% | -28.9% |
| 2006 | 3.6% | +9.9% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | +12.2% |
| 2008 | 5.0% | +21.9% |
| 2009 | 5.5% | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | -50.3% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | -16.0% |
| 2017 | 3.3% | +44.2% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -45.9% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | -8.4% |
| 2020 | 1.0% | -40.1% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | -5.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 4 |
| 1960s | 3.1% | 1.8% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.2% | 2.0% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 1.8% | 4.1% | 9 |
| 1990s | 3.4% | 1.0% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.8% | 1.9% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.3% | 1.6% | 3.3% | 5 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2 |
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)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0513 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2009)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per capita 76.67 current US$ per person (2009)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.1335 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2009)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per capita 199.35 current LCU per person (2009)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 50.98 constant LCU per person (2009)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 76.04 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.3365 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 391.87 current US$ per person (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 0.9% in 2021, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – 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 5.5% in 2009.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2021.
- How does Sudan rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Sudan ranks 128th out of 166 countries with data for 2021.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 83.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sudan data come from?
- The figures come from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – 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
Total military expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.