China: Military expenditure (current USD)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, China's military expenditure (current USD) rose 7.6% on 2024 (from 311.9 billion to 335.52 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +12.4% and a typical year strayed about 7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 26.9% in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 20.2% in 1994. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 14.79 billion a year. A straight line explains 98% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 371.98 billion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 5.8 billion, against 22.99 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2025, China had the 2nd highest value of the 150 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 China in the 2025 ranking

• United States — 1st of 150: 954.39 billion
• Russian Federation — 3rd of 150: 190.42 billion
• Germany — 4th of 150: 113.59 billion
• India — 5th of 150: 92.06 billion

What this measures

Military spending USD, in current prices (converted at the exchange rate for the given year)

Limitations: SIPRI strives to compile reliable, consistent military expenditure data by assessing multiple sources, but accuracy depends on the quality and transparency of those sources. Challenges arise from two key issues: whether reported figures reflect actual spending and how closely they match SIPRI’s definition. While data is generally accurate in developed and many developing countries, weak governance, corruption, and secret transfers in others can lead to major discrepancies. SIPRI sometimes makes estimates, when sources conflict or lack coverage, introducing uncertainty, especially for countries like China or the UAE.

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

All 37 values

Military expenditure (current USD) in nearby economies

• Australia — 35.33 billion (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 560.27 million (2024)
• Cambodia — 738.95 million (2025)
• Fiji — 81.16 million (2025)
• Indonesia — 15.03 billion (2025)
• Japan — 62.16 billion (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — 47.77 billion (2025)
• Malaysia — 4.93 billion (2025)
• Mongolia — 221.32 million (2025)
• Myanmar — 5.01 billion (2024)
• New Zealand

More public sector data for China

• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 880 million (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 207 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 2.41 trillion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.72% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 5.12% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 2.54 million (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.33% (2020)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 0.5 (2020)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 1 data use score (scale 0-100) — 73.4 (2024)

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 China's military expenditure (current USD)?

335.52 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is up 2,882% from 11.25 billion in 1989 (9.89% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 335.52 billion in 2025 and the lowest 9.8 billion in 1991.

How does China rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.XPND.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://www.sipri.org/databases 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.