Congo - Kinshasa vs Zambia
Congo - Kinshasa vs Zambia: Military share of state spending
Military share of state spending in 2025: 8.1% of government spending in Congo - Kinshasa and 4.5% of government spending in Zambia, by SIPRI estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Congo - Kinshasa, by 3.6 percentage points, or 1.81 times that in Zambia.
% of government spending · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- Congo - Kinshasa has been higher since 2023, when it overtook Zambia.
- In 2025, Congo - Kinshasa ranked 38 and Zambia ranked 88 of 150 countries, counting from the highest.
Every year
% of government spending · SIPRI
| Year | Congo - Kinshasa | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8.1 | 4.5 |
| 2024 | 7.2 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 6.7 | 4.9 |
| 2022 | 3.1 | 4 |
| 2021 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| 2020 | 5.8 | 3.4 |
| 2019 | 5.2 | 4.2 |
| 2018 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| 2017 | 7.2 | 5.2 |
| 2016 | 7.4 | 6 |
| 2015 | 8 | 6.3 |
| 2014 | 6.9 | 6.7 |
| 2013 | 9 | 5.7 |
| 2012 | 8.3 | 6.2 |
| 2011 | 6.6 | 6.7 |
| 2010 | 5.4 | 7.7 |
| 2009 | 5.3 | 8.1 |
| 2008 | 6.9 | 8 |
| 2007 | 12.6 | 8.3 |
| 2006 | 15.7 | 8.2 |
| 2005 | 15.8 | 7.5 |
| 2004 | 16.5 | 6.8 |
| 2003 | 9.6 | – |
| 2000 | 8.8 | – |
| 1999 | 12.2 | – |
| 1998 | 3.5 | – |
| 1997 | 12.7 | – |
| 1996 | 16.1 | – |
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.
- 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
Congo - Kinshasa vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyCongo - Kinshasa: 61.9 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityCongo - Kinshasa: 9 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityCongo - Kinshasa: 49.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionCongo - Kinshasa: 3.96% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateCongo - Kinshasa: 11.6 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationCongo - Kinshasa: 106 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthCongo - Kinshasa: 3.26% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateCongo - Kinshasa: 6.05 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationCongo - Kinshasa: 45.1% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageCongo - Kinshasa: 15.8 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overCongo - Kinshasa: 3.1% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateCongo - Kinshasa: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingCongo - Kinshasa: 1.38% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsCongo - Kinshasa: $1.08B in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personCongo - Kinshasa: $11 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Armed forces personnelCongo - Kinshasa: 134,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerCongo - Kinshasa: 0.59% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersCongo - Kinshasa: 0.41% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsCongo - Kinshasa: 44 million TIV in 2025Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsCongo - Kinshasa: 22 million TIV in 1997Zambia: 2 million TIV in 1990