South Korea vs Sudan
South Korea vs Sudan: Military share of state spending
Military share of state spending: 10.8% of government spending in South Korea in 2025 and 9.5% of government spending in Sudan in 2021, by SIPRI estimates. In 2021 the value was higher in South Korea, by 1.4 percentage points, or 1.14 times that in Sudan.
% of government spending · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- South Korea has been higher since 2018, when it overtook Sudan.
Every year
% of government spending · SIPRI
| Year | South Korea | Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10.8 | – |
| 2024 | 11.3 | – |
| 2023 | 11.2 | – |
| 2022 | 9.7 | – |
| 2021 | 10.9 | 9.5 |
| 2020 | 11.2 | 9.1 |
| 2019 | 11.9 | 8.8 |
| 2018 | 12.3 | 10.6 |
| 2017 | 12.3 | 25.7 |
| 2016 | 12.6 | 22.8 |
| 2015 | 12.6 | 21.9 |
| 2014 | 12.8 | – |
| 2013 | 12.6 | – |
| 2012 | 12.7 | – |
| 2011 | 13 | – |
| 2010 | 13.2 | – |
| 2009 | 12.8 | 29.1 |
| 2008 | 12.5 | 25.3 |
| 2007 | 12.1 | 20.9 |
| 2006 | 12.3 | 19.3 |
| 2005 | 12.6 | 16.8 |
| 2004 | 11.7 | 28.2 |
| 2003 | 12.2 | 14.9 |
| 2002 | 13.7 | 25.4 |
| 2001 | 13.5 | 25 |
| 2000 | 14.4 | 43.2 |
| 1999 | 14.5 | 47.8 |
| 1998 | 16.4 | 30.5 |
| 1997 | 18.2 | 12.9 |
| 1996 | 18.5 | 13.6 |
| 1995 | 20.3 | 16.1 |
| 1994 | – | 19.4 |
| 1993 | – | 20.8 |
| 1992 | – | 11.8 |
| 1991 | – | 11.7 |
| 1990 | – | 17.1 |
- Estimate
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.
- Marked points are SIPRI’s own: a dot where it gives the figure as its estimate, a ring where it calls the figure highly uncertain.
- 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
South Korea vs Sudan
Health
- Life expectancySouth Korea: 84.3 years in 2023Sudan: 66.3 years in 2023
- Child mortalitySouth Korea: 0.3 per 100 live births in 2024Sudan: 6.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalitySouth Korea: 2.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023Sudan: 36.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionSouth Korea: 3.17% in 2017Sudan: 3.78% in 2017
- Suicide rateSouth Korea: 20.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Sudan: 5 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationSouth Korea: 51.8 million people in 2023Sudan: 50 million people in 2023
- Population growthSouth Korea: -0.04% a year in 2023Sudan: 0.02% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateSouth Korea: 0.72 births per woman in 2023Sudan: 4.32 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationSouth Korea: 81.2% in 2025Sudan: 34.9% in 2025
- Median ageSouth Korea: 44.5 years in 2023Sudan: 18.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overSouth Korea: 18.3% in 2023Sudan: 3.2% in 2023
- Net migration rateSouth Korea: 1.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Sudan: -27 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingSouth Korea: 2.6% of GDP in 2025Sudan: 0.93% of GDP in 2021
- Military spending in US dollarsSouth Korea: $48.9B in 2025Sudan: $2.77B in 2021
- Military spending per personSouth Korea: $924 in 2025Sudan: $8 in 2021
- Armed forces personnelSouth Korea: 569,000 people in 2020Sudan: 144,000 people in 2020
- National powerSouth Korea: 2% of world capability in 2022Sudan: 0.37% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersSouth Korea: 2.01% of the labour force in 2020Sudan: 1.34% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsSouth Korea: 222 million TIV in 2025Sudan: 57 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsSouth Korea: 2.02 billion TIV in 2025Sudan: 11 million TIV in 2013