Nigeria vs Papua New Guinea: Military spending per military personnel
Nigeria
27,384 constant 2022 US$
in 2022
Papua New Guinea
28,941 constant 2022 US$
in 2022
Nigeria rank
101st
Papua New Guinea rank
99th
Military spending per military personnel over time
- Nigeria
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Papua New Guinea currently reports 28,941 constant 2022 US$ against 27,384 constant 2022 US$ in Nigeria, a difference of 1,557 constant 2022 US$.
That makes Papua New Guinea's figure about 1.1 times Nigeria's.
The two have swapped places 9 times across 48 shared years of data; in 1975 it was Nigeria ahead.
Nigeria ranks 101st and Papua New Guinea ranks 99th of 170 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Nigeria averaged higher in 2 and Papua New Guinea in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Nigeria | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 24,649 constant 2022 US$ | 19,512 constant 2022 US$ | 5,137 constant 2022 US$ | Nigeria |
| 1980s | 12,226 constant 2022 US$ | 27,234 constant 2022 US$ | 15,007 constant 2022 US$ | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 15,464 constant 2022 US$ | 24,852 constant 2022 US$ | 9,387 constant 2022 US$ | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 15,335 constant 2022 US$ | 12,306 constant 2022 US$ | 3,030 constant 2022 US$ | Nigeria |
| 2010s | 26,358 constant 2022 US$ | 36,953 constant 2022 US$ | 10,595 constant 2022 US$ | Papua New Guinea |
| 2020s | 26,301 constant 2022 US$ | 27,847 constant 2022 US$ | 1,545 constant 2022 US$ | Papua New Guinea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending per military personnel, Nigeria or Papua New Guinea?
- Papua New Guinea, at 28,941 constant 2022 US$ against 27,384 constant 2022 US$ in Nigeria as of 2022.
- What is the difference in military spending per military personnel between Nigeria and Papua New Guinea?
- 1,557 constant 2022 US$, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and Papua New Guinea?
- 48 years are reported by both, from 1975 to 2022.
- How do Nigeria and Papua New Guinea rank globally for military spending per military personnel?
- Nigeria ranks 101st and Papua New Guinea ranks 99th of 170 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025); Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending per military personnel. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
This data is expressed in US dollars. It is adjusted for inflation but does not account for differences in the cost of living between countries.