Tanzania's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) was 4 million in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 80% from 20 million in 2015 (14.87% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4 million | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 9 million | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 20 million | 2015 |
| Highest | 260 million | 1979 |
| Lowest | 1 million | 1967 |
| Average since 2016 | 17.5 million | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 4 million |
What the numbers say
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5,000% in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 95.5% in 1967. 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, Tanzania had the 92nd 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Tanzania | 4 million | 2025 |
| World | 33.33 billion | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 583 million | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 5.14 billion | 2025 |
Closest to Tanzania in the 2025 ranking
- Benin — 92nd of 105: 4 million
- Chad — 93rd of 105: 4 million
- Niger — 94th of 105: 4 million
- El Salvador — 96th of 105: 3 million
- Madagascar — 97th of 105: 3 million
- Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 98th of 105: 2 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 39 values
| Year | Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,000,000 |
| 2024 | no data |
| 2023 | no data |
| 2022 | no data |
| 2021 | 53,000,000 |
| 2020 | 9,000,000 |
| 2019 | no data |
| 2018 | 17,000,000 |
| 2017 | 2,000,000 |
| 2016 | 20,000,000 |
| 2015 |
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 Tanzania
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 1.03 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 2.64 trillion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.16% (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 5.81% (2025)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 28,000 (2020)
- Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.1% (2020)
- CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
- CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 4 (2025)
- CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high) — 4.17 (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Tanzania's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)?
- 4 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1964?
- It is unchanged at from 4 million in 1964. The highest value was 260 million in 1979 and the lowest 1 million in 1967.
- How does Tanzania rank?
- 92nd 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.
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.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in