diff --git a/tools/lib/bpf/btf_dump.c b/tools/lib/bpf/btf_dump.c
index a9f974e5fb85..98cb3831aa18 100644
--- a/tools/lib/bpf/btf_dump.c
+++ b/tools/lib/bpf/btf_dump.c
@@ -1003,9 +1003,12 @@ static void btf_dump_emit_struct_def(struct btf_dump *d,
 	 * Keep `struct empty {}` on a single line,
 	 * only print newline when there are regular or padding fields.
 	 */
-	if (vlen || t->size)
+	if (vlen || t->size) {
 		btf_dump_printf(d, "\n");
-	btf_dump_printf(d, "%s}", pfx(lvl));
+		btf_dump_printf(d, "%s}", pfx(lvl));
+	} else {
+		btf_dump_printf(d, "}");
+	}
 	if (packed)
 		btf_dump_printf(d, " __attribute__((packed))");
 }