Zimbabwe Military Spending

Zimbabwe’s military expenditure has contracted dramatically over the 58‑year series covered by the World Bank, falling from a high of 8.52 percent of GDP in 1979 to a historic low of 0.04 percent in 2025, the lowest level among the 150 economies ranked and equal to Haiti’s current share. The earliest recorded figure in 1964 was 1.04 percent, indicating that the post‑independence era saw a gradual decline that accelerated after the turn of the millennium, driven by fiscal constraints, a shift toward peace‑keeping roles, and limited external financing for defense. By contrast, neighboring Mauritius records a modest 0.14 percent, while Ireland and Kazakhstan each allocate 0.22 percent, underscoring Zimbabwe’s uniquely restrained budgetary stance. The all‑time peak in the late 1970s coincided with the Rhodesian Bush War, after which demobilisation and economic collapse reduced spending. If macro‑economic stability improves and regional security demands increase, the trajectory could reverse, but absent such pressures the current low‑level pattern is likely to persist.