Sub-Saharan Africa: Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)

Key figures

Since 1960 it is up 377.87% from 122 million in 1960 (2.44% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 16 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 121.4% in 1970 and the biggest yearly fall was 63.8% in 1989. 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

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 50 values

Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 65 million (2021)
• Algeria — 108 million (2025)
• Bahrain — 30 million (2025)
• Djibouti — 0 (2023)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 697 million (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 42 million (2024)
• Iraq — 55 million (2025)
• Israel — 537 million (2025)
• Jordan — 34 million (2024)
• Kuwait — 311 million (2025)

More public sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 23.28 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.13% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 1.73 million (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.38% (2020)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.03 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.09 (2025)
• CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high) — 3.2 (2025)
• CPIA policy and institutions for environmental sustainability rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.28 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)?

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

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 377.87% from 122 million in 1960 (2.44% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3.06 billion in 1978 and the lowest 122 million in 1960.

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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