Iran vs Syria: Arms imports

Arms imports: 42 million TIV in Iran in 2024 and 2 million TIV in Syria in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2020 the value was higher in Syria, by 78 million TIV, or 40 times that in Iran.

Watch it change on the map

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

IranSyriaWorld

What the numbers say

Syria has been higher since 2017, when it overtook Iran.
The world as a whole: 23.4 billion TIV in 2020.

Every year

SIPRI trend-indicator values · SIPRI

Year	Iran	Syria	World
2025	–	2 million	33.3 billion
2024	42 million	–	30.6 billion
2023	21 million	–	29.5 billion
2022	–	–	33 billion
2021	–	7 million	26.8 billion
2020	2 million	80 million	23.4 billion
2019	3 million	104 million	26.9 billion
2018	3 million	199 million	27.3 billion
2017	3 million	52 million	31.2 billion
2016	413 million	18 million	31.4 billion
2015	11 million	16 million	28.7 billion
2014	14 million	7 million	27 billion
2013	14 million	498 million	27.4 billion
2012	39 million	532 million	27.9 billion
2011	89 million	485 million	29.9 billion
2010	87 million	420 million	25.8 billion
2009	92 million	253 million	24 billion
2008	57 million	326 million	24.1 billion
2007	325 million	15 million	26.5 billion
2006	418 million	95 million	24.4 billion
2005	53 million	30 million	21.3 billion
2004	117 million	20 million	21.3 billion
2003	283 million	64 million	19.2 billion
2002	435 million	40 million	17.7 billion
2001	526 million	23 million	18.3 billion
2000	417 million	49 million	20.5 billion
1999	321 million	48 million	25.3 billion
1998	374 million	45 million	27.9 billion
1997	172 million	25 million	28.9 billion
1996	608 million	25 million	23.7 billion
1995	289 million	25 million	22.9 billion
1994	451 million	14 million	22.8 billion
1993	960 million	166 million	25.8 billion
1992	406 million	277 million	24.3 billion
1991	990 million	315 million	27.8 billion
1990	444 million	739 million	28.6 billion
1989	194 million	663 million	31.7 billion
1988	469 million	1.31 billion	32.9 billion
1987	807 million	1.45 billion	36.2 billion
1986	805 million	1.27 billion	35.5 billion
1985	639 million	1.58 billion	33.2 billion
1984	562 million	1.82 billion	36.8 billion
1983	466 million	2.24 billion	39.1 billion
1982	499 million	1.99 billion	41.4 billion
1981	487 million	1.35 billion	42 billion
1980	278 million	1.87 billion	37.4 billion
1979	526 million	2.05 billion	33.3 billion
1978	3.72 billion	871 million	39.2 billion
1977	5.48 billion	931 million	37 billion
1976	4.65 billion	527 million	33 billion
1975	5.23 billion	1.41 billion	34.2 billion
1974	2.86 billion	3.41 billion	32.9 billion
1973	2.05 billion	3.28 billion	32.6 billion
1972	1.38 billion	1.52 billion	28.7 billion
1971	2.1 billion	735 million	29.3 billion
1970	899 million	870 million	22.1 billion
1969	950 million	875 million	24.7 billion
1968	917 million	829 million	22.4 billion
1967	553 million	905 million	22.1 billion
1966	601 million	525 million	22.4 billion
1965	496 million	100 million	23.1 billion
1964	139 million	65 million	24.2 billion
1963	105 million	89 million	18.1 billion
1962	83 million	35 million	15.5 billion
1961	75 million	27 million	15 billion
1960	141 million	38 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

Iran vs Syria: Arms imports

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

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