China vs Japan: Arms imports

Arms imports in 2025: 207 million TIV in China and 1.72 billion TIV in Japan, by SIPRI estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Japan, by 1.51 billion TIV, or 8.29 times that in China.

Watch it change on the map

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

ChinaJapanWorld

What the numbers say

Japan has been higher since 2020, when it overtook China.
In 2025, China ranked 36 and Japan ranked 5 of 110 countries, counting from the highest.
The world as a whole: 33.3 billion TIV in 2025.

Every year

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

Year	China	Japan	World
2025	207 million	1.72 billion	33.3 billion
2024	71 million	1.04 billion	30.6 billion
2023	428 million	852 million	29.5 billion
2022	646 million	1.47 billion	33 billion
2021	685 million	1.01 billion	26.8 billion
2020	775 million	929 million	23.4 billion
2019	1.57 billion	992 million	26.9 billion
2018	2.25 billion	764 million	27.3 billion
2017	1.55 billion	446 million	31.2 billion
2016	1.21 billion	332 million	31.4 billion
2015	1.19 billion	343 million	28.7 billion
2014	1.03 billion	316 million	27 billion
2013	1.22 billion	341 million	27.4 billion
2012	1.54 billion	239 million	27.9 billion
2011	1.03 billion	300 million	29.9 billion
2010	940 million	658 million	25.8 billion
2009	1.38 billion	990 million	24 billion
2008	1.78 billion	990 million	24.1 billion
2007	1.7 billion	553 million	26.5 billion
2006	2.83 billion	469 million	24.4 billion
2005	3.47 billion	375 million	21.3 billion
2004	3.24 billion	399 million	21.3 billion
2003	2.33 billion	458 million	19.2 billion
2002	2.83 billion	442 million	17.7 billion
2001	2.76 billion	427 million	18.3 billion
2000	2.47 billion	497 million	20.5 billion
1999	1.72 billion	1.26 billion	25.3 billion
1998	375 million	1.49 billion	27.9 billion
1997	940 million	843 million	28.9 billion
1996	1.5 billion	876 million	23.7 billion
1995	701 million	1.26 billion	22.9 billion
1994	304 million	1.02 billion	22.8 billion
1993	1.23 billion	2.13 billion	25.8 billion
1992	1.18 billion	2.52 billion	24.3 billion
1991	439 million	2.94 billion	27.8 billion
1990	267 million	2.68 billion	28.6 billion
1989	163 million	2.28 billion	31.7 billion
1988	97 million	2 billion	32.9 billion
1987	47 million	1.94 billion	36.2 billion
1986	11 million	1.89 billion	35.5 billion
1985	104 million	1.97 billion	33.2 billion
1984	62 million	2.05 billion	36.8 billion
1983	16 million	1.69 billion	39.1 billion
1982	5 million	1.44 billion	41.4 billion
1981	–	1.31 billion	42 billion
1980	4 million	1.03 billion	37.4 billion
1979	8 million	920 million	33.3 billion
1978	83 million	901 million	39.2 billion
1977	72 million	788 million	37 billion
1976	1 million	1.48 billion	33 billion
1975	1 million	1.6 billion	34.2 billion
1974	1 million	733 million	32.9 billion
1973	1 million	468 million	32.6 billion
1972	1 million	493 million	28.7 billion
1971	1 million	605 million	29.3 billion
1970	1 million	502 million	22.1 billion
1969	–	488 million	24.7 billion
1968	180 million	557 million	22.4 billion
1967	144 million	610 million	22.1 billion
1966	225 million	324 million	22.4 billion
1965	257 million	1.16 billion	23.1 billion
1964	485 million	1.72 billion	24.2 billion
1963	450 million	239 million	18.1 billion
1962	415 million	263 million	15.5 billion
1961	952 million	335 million	15 billion
1960	2.36 billion	790 million	15.7 billion

Each country on its own

Good to know

Major weapons the country received, in SIPRI trend-indicator values (TIV): what the arms are worth as military capability, priced by their production cost, not what was paid.
Source: SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, via the World Bank.
Ranks count the 110 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.

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

China vs Japan: Arms imports

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

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