China vs North Korea: Arms imports

Arms imports: 207 million TIV in China in 2025 and 1 million TIV in North Korea in 2010, by SIPRI estimates. In 2010 the value was higher in China, by 939 million TIV, or 940 times that in North Korea.

Watch it change on the map

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

ChinaNorth KoreaWorld

What the numbers say

China has been higher since 1991, when it overtook North Korea.
The world as a whole: 25.8 billion TIV in 2010.

Every year

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

Year	China	North Korea	World
2025	207 million	–	33.3 billion
2024	71 million	–	30.6 billion
2023	428 million	–	29.5 billion
2022	646 million	–	33 billion
2021	685 million	–	26.8 billion
2020	775 million	–	23.4 billion
2019	1.57 billion	–	26.9 billion
2018	2.25 billion	–	27.3 billion
2017	1.55 billion	–	31.2 billion
2016	1.21 billion	–	31.4 billion
2015	1.19 billion	–	28.7 billion
2014	1.03 billion	–	27 billion
2013	1.22 billion	–	27.4 billion
2012	1.54 billion	–	27.9 billion
2011	1.03 billion	–	29.9 billion
2010	940 million	1 million	25.8 billion
2009	1.38 billion	4 million	24 billion
2008	1.78 billion	5 million	24.1 billion
2007	1.7 billion	5 million	26.5 billion
2006	2.83 billion	5 million	24.4 billion
2005	3.47 billion	5 million	21.3 billion
2004	3.24 billion	8 million	21.3 billion
2003	2.33 billion	35 million	19.2 billion
2002	2.83 billion	54 million	17.7 billion
2001	2.76 billion	73 million	18.3 billion
2000	2.47 billion	63 million	20.5 billion
1999	1.72 billion	54 million	25.3 billion
1998	375 million	54 million	27.9 billion
1997	940 million	54 million	28.9 billion
1996	1.5 billion	118 million	23.7 billion
1995	701 million	184 million	22.9 billion
1994	304 million	79 million	22.8 billion
1993	1.23 billion	146 million	25.8 billion
1992	1.18 billion	183 million	24.3 billion
1991	439 million	251 million	27.8 billion
1990	267 million	340 million	28.6 billion
1989	163 million	561 million	31.7 billion
1988	97 million	818 million	32.9 billion
1987	47 million	813 million	36.2 billion
1986	11 million	1.08 billion	35.5 billion
1985	104 million	963 million	33.2 billion
1984	62 million	112 million	36.8 billion
1983	16 million	339 million	39.1 billion
1982	5 million	527 million	41.4 billion
1981	–	347 million	42 billion
1980	4 million	487 million	37.4 billion
1979	8 million	313 million	33.3 billion
1978	83 million	354 million	39.2 billion
1977	72 million	297 million	37 billion
1976	1 million	487 million	33 billion
1975	1 million	561 million	34.2 billion
1974	1 million	793 million	32.9 billion
1973	1 million	535 million	32.6 billion
1972	1 million	482 million	28.7 billion
1971	1 million	1.5 billion	29.3 billion
1970	1 million	649 million	22.1 billion
1969	–	609 million	24.7 billion
1968	180 million	1.31 billion	22.4 billion
1967	144 million	846 million	22.1 billion
1966	225 million	832 million	22.4 billion
1965	257 million	118 million	23.1 billion
1964	485 million	168 million	24.2 billion
1963	450 million	197 million	18.1 billion
1962	415 million	181 million	15.5 billion
1961	952 million	69 million	15 billion
1960	2.36 billion	405 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 North Korea: Arms imports

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

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