Saudi Arabia: arms imports 2021

In 2021, Saudi Arabia's arms imports were worth 1.7 billion trend-indicator value (TIV), compared to 2019, when imports were worth about 3.4 billion TIV. To date, the accumulated value of TIV in Saudi Arabia was 28.9 billion TIV.

Military industry in Saudi Arabia

Most recent data revealed that the military spending to GDP ratio was around 6.6 percent, reaching the lowest number in the last ten years. Despite this, Saudi Arabia’s expenditure on military purposes remains the highest in the region, with more than 53 billion U.S. dollars spent in the previous year.

Military in MENA

In the Middle East and North Africa, Iran led the countries in active military personnel with 575 thousand soldiers. Saudi Arabia ranked third with around 224 thousand soldiers available. Regarding military equipment, Egypt led the countries in the region with the highest number of armored vehicle and military aircraft.

Value of arms imports in Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2021 (in millions TIV)*

Characteristic	Millions TIV
2021	1,723
2020	2,543
2019	3,485
2018	3,266
2017	3,929
2016	2,961
2015	3,377
2014	2,740
2013	1,614
2012	1,033
2011	1,222
2010	1,092

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Release date

March 2022

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Region

Saudi Arabia

Survey time period

2010 to 2021

Supplementary notes

*TIV (trend-indicator value) is a unit invented by SIPRI. It is used to allow comparison between the data on deliveries of major conventional weapons and to identify general trends. The TIV is based on the known unit production costs of a core set of weapons and is intended to represent the transfer of military resources rather than the financial value of the transfer. For further information please refer to the SIPRI explanation of TIV.

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