Afghanistan vs Iraq

Afghanistan vs Iraq: Military spending

Military spending: 1.83% of GDP in Afghanistan in 2021 and 2.45% of GDP in Iraq in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2021 the value was higher in Iraq, by 0.43 percentage points, or 1.24 times that in Afghanistan.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · SIPRI

Afghanistan vs Iraq: Military spendingMilitary spending: 1.83% of GDP in Afghanistan in 2021 and 2.45% of GDP in Iraq in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2021 the value was higher in Iraq, by 0.43 percentage points, or 1.24 times that in Afghanistan.
AfghanistanIraqSIPRI estimate

What the numbers say

  • Iraq has been higher since 2008, when it overtook Afghanistan.

Every year

% of GDP · SIPRI

YearAfghanistanIraq
2025–2.45
2024–2.27
2023–2.26
2022–1.64
20211.832.26
20201.363.11
20191.173.24
20181.012.75
20170.953.91
20160.963.55
20150.995.41
20141.32.95
20131.083.32
20121.181.9
20111.822.3
20101.952.71
20092.092.9
20082.342.37
20072.572.24
20061.91.9
20051.992.24
20042.431.68
1981–10.83
1980–5.51
1979–6.15
1978–8.12
19772.019.81
19762.0511.16
19751.7211.67
19741.6112.49
19731.8712.26
1972–10.64
1971–10.52
19701.6311.17
1969–11.38
1968–9.22
1967–8.43
1966–8.52
1965–8.87
1964–7.96
1963–8.25
1962–6.91
1961–6.85
1960–7.05
1959–6.71
1958–6.08
1957–6.54
  • Estimate

Each country on its own

Good to know

  • What the country spends on its armed forces and defence, as a share of its economy, 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 151 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

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