Namibia: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)

Key figures

Since 1994 it is down 100% from 2 million in 1994. The World Bank has no value for 13 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2025, Namibia's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) fell 56 million on 2024 (from 56 million to 0).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +100,000 and a typical year strayed about 27.62 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 56 million in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 56 million in 2025. 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, Namibia had the 104th 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 Namibia in the 2025 ranking

• Haiti — 102nd of 105: 1 million
• Uruguay — 103rd of 105: 1 million
• Liberia — 104th of 105: 0

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 19 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, Dem. Rep. — 44 million (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 9 million (2024)

More public sector data for Namibia

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 410.52 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 7.34 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.77% (2025)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 3.68 billion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 4.14% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 88.9 billion (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 35.56% (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 29.08 billion (2024)
• Taxes on international trade (% of revenue) — 32.72% (2024)
• Tax revenue (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

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

How has it changed since 1994?

It is down 100% from 2 million in 1994. The highest value was 75 million in 2006 and the lowest 0 in 2025.

How does Namibia rank?

104th highest of 105 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) unusual for Namibia?

In 2025, Namibia's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) fell 56 million on 2024 (from 56 million to 0). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +100,000 and a typical year strayed about 27.62 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

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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