Military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Military expenditure as a share of government spending was 8.14 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1996–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 8.14.
That represents a change of up 12.8% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 16.48 in 2004 and was at its lowest, 3.09, in 2022.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 48th of 162 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 16.06 | — |
| 1997 | 12.67 | -21.1% |
| 1998 | 3.47 | -72.6% |
| 1999 | 12.16 | +250.4% |
| 2000 | 8.85 | -27.3% |
| 2003 | 9.59 | +8.4% |
| 2004 | 16.48 | +71.9% |
| 2005 | 15.82 | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 15.67 | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 12.6 | -19.6% |
| 2008 | 6.93 | -45.0% |
| 2009 | 5.26 | -24.0% |
| 2010 | 5.35 | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 6.61 | +23.5% |
| 2012 | 8.26 | +25.0% |
| 2013 | 8.99 | +8.8% |
| 2014 | 6.88 | -23.5% |
| 2015 | 8.03 | +16.8% |
| 2016 | 7.36 | -8.3% |
| 2017 | 7.16 | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 5.22 | -27.1% |
| 2019 | 5.16 | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 5.81 | +12.5% |
| 2021 | 3.85 | -33.8% |
| 2022 | 3.09 | -19.7% |
| 2023 | 6.74 | +118.4% |
| 2024 | 7.21 | +7.0% |
| 2025 | 8.14 | +12.8% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 8.14 is below the median for low income countries, which is 9.26, 88% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 8.14 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.9, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +250.4% | 3.47 | 12.16 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.09 | 3.47 | 16.06 | 4 |
| 2000s | 11.4 | 5.26 | 16.48 | 8 |
| 2010s | 6.9 | 5.16 | 8.99 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.81 | 3.09 | 8.14 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 380.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 3,062 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 313.43 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 483.39 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Burning - Crop 57.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Agricultural 2,624 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0.2179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on 1,764 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Military expenditure as a share of government spending in Democratic Republic of Congo was 8.14 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military expenditure as a share of government spending recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 16.48 in 2004.
- What is the lowest military expenditure as a share of government spending recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.09 in 2022.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for military expenditure as a share of government spending?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 48th out of 162 countries with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure as a share of government spending rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Military expenditure as a share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).