China
Military spending per person in China
Military spending per person in China: $10 in 1989 and $237 in 2025, by SIPRI estimates.
- Latest, 2025
- $237
- Since 1989
- +$227
- Rank, 2025
- 56 of 151
- counting from the highest
US dollars per person · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- The highest was $237 in 2025, the lowest $8 in 1994.
Every year
US dollars per person · SIPRI
| Year | China |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $237 |
| 2024 | $220 |
| 2023 | $208 |
| 2022 | $205 |
| 2021 | $201 |
| 2020 | $181 |
| 2019 | $169 |
| 2018 | $164 |
| 2017 | $150 |
| 2016 | $142 |
| 2015 | $141 |
| 2014 | $132 |
| 2013 | $119 |
| 2012 | $106 |
| 2011 | $92 |
| 2010 | $78 |
| 2009 | $72 |
| 2008 | $59 |
| 2007 | $47 |
| 2006 | $39 |
| 2005 | $33 |
| 2004 | $29 |
| 2003 | $26 |
| 2002 | $24 |
| 2001 | $21 |
| 2000 | $18 |
| 1999 | $16 |
| 1998 | $14 |
| 1997 | $13 |
| 1996 | $12 |
| 1995 | $10 |
| 1994 | $8 |
| 1993 | $10 |
| 1992 | $10 |
| 1991 | $8 |
| 1990 | $9 |
| 1989 | $10 |
- Estimate
Good to know
- What the country spends on its armed forces and defence for each person living there, in US dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation.
- 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 151 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
China in numbers
Every measure for China on one page
Health
People
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spending1.73% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollars$335B in 2025
- Military share of state spending5.1% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnel2.54 million people in 2020
- National power23.41% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workers0.33% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms imports207 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exports880 million TIV in 2025