Rwanda's military expenditure (current LCU) was 273.65 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 266.5% from 74.67 billion in 2015 (13.87% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 273.65 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 141.43 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 74.67 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 273.65 billion | 2025 |
| Lowest | 724 million | 1974 |
| Average since 2016 | 159.78 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 786 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Rwanda's military expenditure (current LCU) rose 18.4% on 2024 (from 231.1 billion to 273.65 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +15.5% and a typical year strayed about 29.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 159.6% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 55.8% 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 20.67 billion a year. A straight line explains 96% 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 300.62 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 43.34 billion, against 54.69 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, Rwanda had the 48th 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 Rwanda in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
Military expenditure in local currency at current prices (by calendar 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.
All 53 values
| Year | Military expenditure (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 273,650,000,000 |
| 2024 | 231,100,000,000 |
| 2023 | 208,160,000,000 |
| 2022 | 182,951,500,000 |
| 2021 | 165,477,500,000 |
| 2020 | 141,432,500,000 |
| 2019 | 111,467,500,000 |
| 2018 | 102,492,500,000 |
| 2017 | 96,090,000,000 |
| 2016 | 84,937,500,000 |
Military expenditure (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Angola — 1.34 trillion (2025)
- Benin — 126.13 billion (2025)
- Botswana — 8.34 billion (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 518.42 billion (2025)
- Burundi — 670.49 billion (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 1.96 billion (2025)
- Cameroon — 364.86 billion (2025)
- Central African Republic — 43.14 billion (2025)
- Chad — 377.27 billion (2025)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 3.32 trillion (2025)
- Congo, Rep.
More public sector data for Rwanda
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 191.19 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.29% (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 37 million (2023)
- Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 4.7% (2025)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 35,000 (2020)
- Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.7% (2020)
- Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 1.5 trillion (2024)
- Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 33.97% (2024)
- Social contributions (current LCU) — 388.33 billion (2024)
- Social contributions (% of revenue)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Rwanda's military expenditure (current LCU)?
- 273.65 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1973?
- It is up 34,716% from 786 million in 1973 (11.91% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 273.65 billion in 2025 and the lowest 724 million in 1974.
- How does Rwanda rank?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.XPND.CN, 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.
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