Afghanistan vs Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan vs Saudi Arabia: Military share of state spending
Military share of state spending: 5% of government spending in Afghanistan in 2020 and 23.5% of government spending in Saudi Arabia in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2020 the value was higher in Saudi Arabia, by 17.5 percentage points, or 4.53 times that in Afghanistan.
% of government spending · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- Saudi Arabia has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2004.
Every year
% of government spending · SIPRI
| Year | Afghanistan | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | – | 23.5 |
| 2024 | – | 21.9 |
| 2023 | – | 22.6 |
| 2022 | – | 22.7 |
| 2021 | – | 22.8 |
| 2020 | 5 | 22.5 |
| 2019 | 4.3 | 23.2 |
| 2018 | 3.7 | 25.9 |
| 2017 | 3.7 | 30.7 |
| 2016 | 3.7 | 27.8 |
| 2015 | 3.8 | 32.7 |
| 2014 | 5.1 | 26.6 |
| 2013 | 4.3 | 25.3 |
| 2012 | 4.7 | 23.1 |
| 2011 | 8.3 | 22 |
| 2010 | 9.4 | 26 |
| 2009 | 9.9 | 26 |
| 2008 | 11.2 | 27.6 |
| 2007 | 12 | 29 |
| 2006 | 10.4 | 28.8 |
| 2005 | 12.7 | 27.5 |
| 2004 | 16.1 | 26 |
| 2003 | – | 26.2 |
| 2002 | – | 27.2 |
| 2001 | – | 30.9 |
| 2000 | – | 31.8 |
| 1999 | – | 37.4 |
| 1998 | – | 41.2 |
| 1997 | – | 30.7 |
| 1996 | – | 25.3 |
| 1995 | – | 28.5 |
| 1994 | – | 31.3 |
| 1993 | – | 32.8 |
| 1992 | – | 27.3 |
| 1991 | – | 35.4 |
| 1990 | – | 35.4 |
- 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 Saudi Arabia
Health
- Life expectancyAfghanistan: 66 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 78.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityAfghanistan: 5.3 per 100 live births in 2024Saudi Arabia: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityAfghanistan: 44 per 1,000 live births in 2023Saudi Arabia: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionAfghanistan: 4.14% in 2017Saudi Arabia: 3.54% in 2017
- Suicide rateAfghanistan: 9.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Saudi Arabia: 2.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationAfghanistan: 41.5 million people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 33.3 million people in 2023
- Population growthAfghanistan: 2.85% a year in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.39% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateAfghanistan: 4.84 births per woman in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.28 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationAfghanistan: 25.9% in 2025Saudi Arabia: 84.6% in 2025
- Median ageAfghanistan: 16.9 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 29.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overAfghanistan: 2.4% in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.8% in 2023
- Net migration rateAfghanistan: -1.2 per 1,000 people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 9.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingAfghanistan: 1.83% of GDP in 2021Saudi Arabia: 6.48% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsAfghanistan: $8.55M in 1977Saudi Arabia: $81.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personAfghanistan: $7 in 2021Saudi Arabia: $2,428 in 2025
- Armed forces personnelAfghanistan: 165,000 people in 2020Saudi Arabia: 282,000 people in 2020
- National powerAfghanistan: 0.29% of world capability in 2022Saudi Arabia: 1.34% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersAfghanistan: 1.82% of the labour force in 2020Saudi Arabia: 1.92% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsAfghanistan: 65 million TIV in 2021Saudi Arabia: 3.04 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsAfghanistan: 1 million TIV in 1992Saudi Arabia: 3 million TIV in 2023