Congo, Dem. Rep.: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Congo, Dem. Rep.'s arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) rose 4 million on 2024 (from 40 million to 44 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1972 to 2024), the average change was +966,667 and a typical year strayed about 110.91 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above 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 436 million in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 311 million in 1976. 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 2025, Congo, Dem. Rep. had the 58th highest value of the 105 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 Congo, Dem. Rep. in the 2025 ranking

• Sudan — 55th of 105: 57 million
• Iraq — 56th of 105: 55 million
• Finland — 57th of 105: 51 million
• Burkina Faso — 59th of 105: 34 million
• Thailand — 60th of 105: 33 million
• Bangladesh — 61st of 105: 32 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 53 values

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) in nearby economies

• Angola — 84 million (2025)
• Benin — 4 million (2025)
• Botswana — 11 million (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 34 million (2025)
• Burundi — 2 million (2019)
• Cameroon — 2 million (2023)
• Central African Republic — 43 million (2023)
• Chad — 4 million (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 9 million (2024)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 15 million (2025)

More public sector data for Congo, Dem. Rep.

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.23 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 3.32 trillion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.38% (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 8.54 trillion (2022)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 6.04% (2022)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -2.92 trillion (2022)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -2.07% (2022)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 8.14 trillion (2022)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 35.08% (2022)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Congo, Dem. Rep.'s arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)?

44 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 2,100% from 2 million in 1960 (4.87% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 445 million in 1975 and the lowest 0 in 1995.

How does Congo, Dem. Rep. rank?

58th highest of 105 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) unusual for Congo, Dem. Rep.?

In 2025, Congo, Dem. Rep.'s arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) rose 4 million on 2024 (from 40 million to 44 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1972 to 2024), the average change was +966,667 and a typical year strayed about 110.91 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

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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