Bolivia: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 45 million in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 26 million in 1982. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Bolivia had the 23rd highest value of the 23 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Bolivia in the 2024 ranking

• Libya — 20th of 23: 5 million
• Malawi — 21st of 23: 2 million
• Zambia — 22nd of 23: 1 million

What this measures

Arms transfers (imports) cover the volume of transfers of major arms through sales and gifts, and those made through manufacturing licenses. Data cover major conventional weapons such as aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery, radar systems, missiles, and ships. Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs). A '0' indicates that the volume of deliveries is between 0 and 0.5 million SIPRI TIV.

Limitations: SIPRI calculates the volume of transfers to, from and between all parties using the TIV and the number of weapon systems or subsystems delivered in a given year. This data is intended to provide a common unit to allow the measurement if trends in the flow of arms to particular countries and regions over time. Therefore, the main priority is to ensure that the TIV system remains consistent over time, and that any changes introduced are backdated. SIPRI TIV figures do not represent sales prices for arms transfers.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 52 values

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 108 million (2025)
• Bahamas, The — 12 million (2017)
• Brazil — 462 million (2025)
• Chile — 14 million (2025)
• Colombia — 22 million (2025)
• Costa Rica — 8 million (2019)
• Dominican Republic — 13 million (2025)
• Ecuador — 30 million (2025)
• El Salvador — 3 million (2025)
• Guatemala — 6 million (2023)

More public sector data for Bolivia

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 688.31 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 4.76 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.21% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 3.18% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 71,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.21% (2020)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 1 data use score (scale 0-100) — 80 (2024)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 3 data products score (scale 0-100) — 78.07 (2024)
• Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Bolivia's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)?

0 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 100% from 6 million in 1960. The highest value was 66 million in 1989 and the lowest 0 in 2024.

How does Bolivia rank?

23rd highest of 23 economies with data for 2024.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.MPRT.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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