COUNTRY / INDICATOR
Afghanistan Military Spending
Afghanistan military spending: latest available value for 2021, historical series from 2016, ranking context and source documentation.
Series overview
MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,83 | 0,47 |
| 2020 | 1,36 | 0,19 |
| 2019 | 1,17 | 0,16 |
| 2018 | 1,01 | 0,06 |
| 2017 | 0,95 | -0,01 |
| 2016 | 0,96 | — |
Source methodology
World Development IndicatorsIndicator note: Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product
Source organization: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://www.sipri.org/databases
Metadata fetched: 2026-09-27 05:39:08. Open original metadata response.
Revision history
24 detected changesSource revisions are retained before the current observation is replaced. This table documents the previous and replacement value for reproducibility.
| Detected | Data year | Previous value | Replacement value | Source | Source update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-28 20:31:18 | 2016 | 0,96 | 0,96 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-28 20:31:18 | 2017 | 0,95 | 0,95 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-28 20:31:18 | 2018 | 1,01 | 1,01 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-28 20:31:18 | 2019 | 1,17 | 1,17 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-28 20:31:18 | 2020 | 1,36 | 1,36 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-28 20:31:18 | 2021 | 1,83 | 1,83 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-09 16:04:08 | 2016 | 0,96 | 0,96 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-09 16:04:08 | 2017 | 0,95 | 0,95 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-09 16:04:08 | 2018 | 1,01 | 1,01 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-09 16:04:08 | 2019 | 1,17 | 1,17 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-09 16:04:08 | 2020 | 1,36 | 1,36 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-09-09 16:04:08 | 2021 | 1,83 | 1,83 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-08 19:16:23 | 2016 | 0,96 | 0,96 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-08 19:16:23 | 2017 | 0,95 | 0,95 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-08 19:16:23 | 2018 | 1,01 | 1,01 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-08 19:16:23 | 2019 | 1,17 | 1,17 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-08 19:16:23 | 2020 | 1,36 | 1,36 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-08 19:16:23 | 2021 | 1,83 | 1,83 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-05 03:42:58 | 2016 | 0,96 | 0,96 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-05 03:42:58 | 2017 | 0,95 | 0,95 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-05 03:42:58 | 2018 | 1,01 | 1,01 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-05 03:42:58 | 2019 | 1,17 | 1,17 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-05 03:42:58 | 2020 | 1,36 | 1,36 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
| 2026-08-05 03:42:58 | 2021 | 1,83 | 1,83 | World Bank Indicators API | 2026-07-13 02:00:00 |
Country-specific interpretation
Automatically derived from the displayed seriesAfghanistan recorded 1,83 percent of GDP in 2021, the latest year available in this series.
Compared with 2020, the military spending increased by 0,47.
Across the latest five-year comparison window, the series shows an upward direction.
Across 6 observations from 2016 to 2021, the average was 1,21; the minimum was 0,95 in 2017 and the maximum was 1,83 in 2021.
Afghanistan ranks 80 out of 164 countries with a current value in the portal ranking.
The latest value is below the available average for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.
It is also below the available average for the Low income group.
Defense burden and spending priorities.