China vs South Korea: Arms exports

Arms exports in 2025: 880 million TIV in China and 2.02 billion TIV in South Korea, by SIPRI estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in South Korea, by 1.14 billion TIV, or 2.3 times that in China.

Watch it change on the map

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

ChinaSouth KoreaWorld

What the numbers say

South Korea has been higher since 2025, when it overtook China.
The world as a whole: 33.5 billion TIV in 2025.

Every year

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

Year	China	South Korea	World
2025	880 million	2.02 billion	33.5 billion
2024	1.29 billion	1.1 billion	30.7 billion
2023	2.75 billion	675 million	29.5 billion
2022	2.32 billion	231 million	33.3 billion
2021	1.34 billion	536 million	27.1 billion
2020	645 million	829 million	24.1 billion
2019	1.6 billion	675 million	27 billion
2018	1.39 billion	1.05 billion	27.4 billion
2017	1.64 billion	700 million	31.3 billion
2016	2.48 billion	435 million	31.5 billion
2015	1.84 billion	92 million	28.7 billion
2014	1.35 billion	218 million	27.1 billion
2013	2.1 billion	350 million	27.4 billion
2012	1.5 billion	203 million	27.9 billion
2011	1.31 billion	328 million	29.9 billion
2010	1.53 billion	177 million	25.8 billion
2009	1.14 billion	224 million	24.4 billion
2008	598 million	110 million	24.1 billion
2007	520 million	278 million	26.5 billion
2006	769 million	158 million	24.5 billion
2005	341 million	109 million	21.4 billion
2004	408 million	74 million	21.3 billion
2003	701 million	96 million	19.2 billion
2002	524 million	–	17.7 billion
2001	510 million	230 million	18.5 billion
2000	309 million	36 million	20.5 billion
1999	334 million	–	25.4 billion
1998	349 million	32 million	27.9 billion
1997	427 million	25 million	28.9 billion
1996	764 million	24 million	23.7 billion
1995	981 million	30 million	22.9 billion
1994	1.06 billion	7 million	23 billion
1993	1.44 billion	62 million	25.8 billion
1992	672 million	–	24.3 billion
1991	1.32 billion	118 million	28.2 billion
1990	955 million	72 million	30.2 billion
1989	1.06 billion	48 million	34.9 billion
1988	1.43 billion	54 million	36.8 billion
1987	2.6 billion	–	39.4 billion
1986	1.86 billion	73 million	39 billion
1985	1.29 billion	28 million	38.2 billion
1984	1.94 billion	126 million	41.6 billion
1983	1.76 billion	–	43.9 billion
1982	1.56 billion	65 million	46.2 billion
1981	707 million	130 million	45.8 billion
1980	943 million	105 million	42.2 billion
1979	553 million	105 million	38.4 billion
1978	611 million	–	42.4 billion
1977	224 million	–	40 billion
1976	580 million	–	36 billion
1975	661 million	–	37.2 billion
1974	508 million	–	36.6 billion
1973	658 million	–	36.3 billion
1972	1.25 billion	141 million	34.5 billion
1971	1.31 billion	–	32.9 billion
1970	905 million	–	25.3 billion
1969	669 million	–	28.1 billion
1968	746 million	–	26.1 billion
1967	426 million	–	25.6 billion
1966	628 million	–	25.8 billion
1965	387 million	–	25.8 billion
1964	75 million	–	26.7 billion
1963	12 million	–	20.3 billion
1962	47 million	–	17.5 billion
1961	35 million	–	16.4 billion
1960	285 million	–	17.6 billion

Each country on its own

Good to know

Major weapons the country sent abroad, 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.
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 South Korea: Arms exports

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

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