South Africa: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)

Key figures

Since 1960 it is up 130.77% from 13 million in 1960 (1.29% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 12 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4,900% in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 99.2% in 2013. 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, South Africa had the 63rd 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 South Africa in the 2025 ranking

• Uzbekistan — 62nd of 105: 32 million
• Bahrain — 63rd of 105: 30 million
• Ecuador — 64th of 105: 30 million
• Austria — 66th of 105: 29 million
• Lithuania — 67th of 105: 29 million
• Cyprus — 68th of 105: 28 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 54 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 South Africa

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 3.17 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 56.76 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.74% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 115 million (2025)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (current LCU) — 414.86 billion (2024)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 5.64% (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 98.59 billion (2024)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.34% (2024)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -352.78 billion (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

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

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 130.77% from 13 million in 1960 (1.29% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 910 million in 2007 and the lowest 1 million in 2013.

How does South Africa rank?

63rd highest of 105 economies with data for 2025.

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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