Afghanistan vs Iraq

Afghanistan vs Iraq: Military share of state spending

Military share of state spending: 5% of government spending in Afghanistan in 2020 and 5.5% of government spending in Iraq in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2020 the value was higher in Iraq, by 2.5 percentage points, or 1.49 times that in Afghanistan.

Watch it change on the map

% of government spending · SIPRI

Afghanistan vs Iraq: Military share of state spendingMilitary share of state spending: 5% of government spending in Afghanistan in 2020 and 5.5% of government spending in Iraq in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2020 the value was higher in Iraq, by 2.5 percentage points, or 1.49 times that in Afghanistan.
AfghanistanIraqSIPRI estimate

What the numbers say

  • Iraq has been higher since 2013, when it overtook Afghanistan.

Every year

% of government spending · SIPRI

YearAfghanistanIraq
2025–5.5
2024–5.3
2023–5.1
2022–4.8
2021–6.2
202057.4
20194.39.3
20183.78.8
20173.711
20163.78.4
20153.812.5
20145.16.7
20134.36.9
20124.74.4
20118.35.3
20109.45.5
20099.94.7
200811.24.1
2007125.1
200610.43.8
200512.73.5
200416.11.8
  • Estimate

Each country on its own

Good to know

  • The part of everything the government spends that goes on its armed forces and defence, by SIPRI’s count.
  • Source: Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Military Expenditure Database, https://doi.org/10.55163/CQGC9685.
  • Marked points are SIPRI’s own: a dot where it gives the figure as its estimate, a ring where it calls the figure highly uncertain.
  • Ranks count the 150 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time

Afghanistan vs Iraq

Health

People

Economy

Education

Politics

Conflict

Military

Climate

Technology and environment