Graph and download economic data for Government current expenditures: Federal: National defense (G160461A027NBEA) from 1959 to 2024 about defense, expenditures, federal, government, GDP, and USA.

In 2024, the military spending worldwide amounted to 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars, which was the highest during the period under consideration. Comparatively, global military spending was at 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2001 and at 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2010, past the peak of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Russia-Ukraine War The Russia-Ukraine War has been a major driver of more recent military spending increases. From 2021 to 2022, the ratio of Ukraine’s military spending to their GDP increased substantially from 3.8 percent to 33.5 percent, reaching 36 percent in 2023. By comparison, this ratio increased in Russia from 3.6 percent in 2021 to only 4 percent in 2022. As a result, large amounts of bilateral aid have gone towards Ukraine. While EU institutions have contributed the most financial and humanitarian aid, the United States has contributed the most military aid towards Ukraine. Spending by nation Globally, the United States had the largest amount of military spending by large in 2024. The United States spent 997 billion U.S. dollars in 2024 towards defense, compared to 314 billion U.S. dollars and 149 billion U.S. dollars spent by China and Russia, respectively. As a percentage of GDP, Ukraine spent the most globally, contributing nearly 35 percent of their GDP to defense, followed by Israel at 8.8 percent and Algeria at eight percent.

The United States led the ranking of the countries with the highest military spending in 2024, with 997 billion U.S. dollars dedicated to the military. That constituted almost 40 percent of the total military spending worldwide that year, which amounted to 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars. This amounted to 3.4 percent of the U.S.'s gross domestic product (GDP), placing the country lower in the ranking of military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, compared to Ukraine, Israel, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. China was the second largest military spender, with an estimated 314 billion U.S. dollars spent, with Russia following in third. Defense budgetAccording to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the outlays for defense will rise to 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2033. The largest parts of the budget are dedicated to the Departments of the Navy and the Air Force. The budget for the U.S. Air Force for 2024 was nearly 260 billion U.S. dollars.Global military spendingThe value of military spending globally has grown steadily in the past years and reached 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. Reasons for this are the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, the war in Gaza, as well as increasing tensions in the South China Sea. North America is by far the leading region worldwide in terms of expenditure on the military.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Government: National Defense Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment (FDEFX) from Q1 1947 to Q4 2025 about defense, investment, gross, consumption expenditures, federal, consumption, government, GDP, and USA.

Military Expenditure in the United States increased to 997309 USD Million in 2024 from 916014.70 USD Million in 2023. United States Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2026.

Military expenditure (% of GDP) in United States was reported at 3.3618 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Military expenditure (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2026.

In 2024, the United States spent around 997.3 billion U.S. dollars on its military. U.S. military spending has been increasing in current dollar terms since 2016. Spending increased dramatically in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After the first year of the war, the U.S. had contributed more than 40 billion euros worth of military aid to Ukraine. What military spending entails Military spending in the United States is the part of the national outlays of the Department of Defense. While the department has over two trillion dollars in budgetary resources, its outlays - money actually paid out - are significantly lower. This budget is designated for the four branches of the United States military, and is used for everything from salaries, trainings, development of new military technologies, and new aircraft and weaponry. The high cost of U.S. spending The United States is well known for spending more on its military than any other country. It was estimated that per capita defense spending amounted to 2,895 U.S. dollars in 2024. While this figure is extremely high, many Americans may find it worthwhile, as a majority believe the United States to be the number one military power in the world.

Historical dataset showing Virgin Islands (U.S.) military spending/defense budget by year from N/A to N/A.

Historical dataset showing Micronesia military spending/defense budget by year from N/A to N/A.

In 2024/25, the United Kingdom spent approximately 63.6 billion British pounds on defense, compared with 56.8 billion pounds in the previous year. This was the highest defense spending for the UK during this provided time period. NATO and the two percent pledge The UK is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military and political alliance initiated on the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Members of NATO are expected to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense, a target which the United Kingdom just missed between 2015/16 and 2020/21. Before 2016, the United Kingdom’s defense spending was always above this target and was higher than three percent of GDP before the mid-1990s. As of 2022/23, UK defense spending was slightly above this target, at 2.2 percent of GDP, with plans to increase it to three percent in the future. The UK and the War in Ukraine The recent pledge to increase UK defense spending is clearly linked to recent events in Europe. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 completely altered the European security landscape for the UK. Along with a coalition of other countries, the UK has been one of the key backers of the Ukrainian military effort, providing significant military aid over the course of the war. Apart from financial aid, the UK has provided Ukraine with equipment such as the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, a number of armored fighting vehicles, and missiles, including long-range Storm Shadow cruise-missiles.

This graph shows the defense expenditures of the United States per capita from 1995 to 2024. In 2024, it is estimated that around 2,239 U.S. dollars per capita were spent on military causes by the United States. A ranking of countries with the highest military expenditures can be accessed here.

Defense outlays in the United States amounted to 855 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Furthermore, defense spending was forecast to increase to 871 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, and 1.07 trillion U.S. dollars by 2035.

View yearly updates and historical trends for US Government Defense Spending. from United States. Source: Office of Management and Budget. Track economic …

Historical dataset showing Comoros military spending/defense budget by year from N/A to N/A.

Military Expenditure in Taiwan increased to 16475 USD Million in 2024 from 16344.60 USD Million in 2023. Taiwan Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2026.

In 2025, Poland's defense spending as a share of gross domestic product was 4.48 percent, the highest of all NATO member states, followed by Lithuania at four percent, and then Latvia at 3.73 percent. It is a target of NATO that every member country should spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense. As of this year, it is estimated that all the alliance's 32 member states would meet this target. The average expenditure on defense expenditure across all NATO member states was 2.76 percent in this year. NATO, Trump, and the War in Ukraine Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shook many European powers out of a creeping complacency that had set in since the end of the Cold War. It led directly to the applications of Sweden and Finland to the alliance in 2022, with the latter joining later that year. The conflict has however also underlined how Europe's security is still underpinned by American military power, with the United States the main contributor of military aid to Ukraine. Furthermore, in overall defense spending, the U.S. spends far more than the rest of NATO combined. The current Trump administration has frequently criticized NATO states that they see as taking advantage of this discrepancy, urging other members to reach and even exceed the two percent threshold. Article 5 triggered in the aftermath of 9/11 While NATO was founded with the aim of deterring the Soviet Union in the Cold War, its central defense clause "Article 5" whereby an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, has only been triggered once; after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. NATO's involvement in the subsequent War in Afghanistan was a direct result of this, with troops supporting the operation from across the alliance. Although NATO's focus drifted towards counter-insurgency, and the threat from terrorism in this period, its original purpose has become far more important recently.

The average for 2022 based on 148 countries was 1.92 percent. The highest value was in Ukraine: 25.64 percent and the lowest value was in Haiti: 0.07 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset provides values for MILITARY EXPENDITURE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), Ukraine spent more on its military than any other country in 2024, reaching 35 percent of the country's GDP. The high figure is due to the country being invaded by Russia in February 2022. Israel, that is fighting Hamas in the Gaza war, and Algeria followed behind.Leading military spending countriesIn gross terms, the countries with the highest military spending are the United States, China, and Russia. However, these are countries with large populations and GDPs, and smaller countries usually cannot compete alone, regardless of how much they invest. For this reason, they form alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO countries aim to pool two percent of their GDP towards their own militaries and to aid each other in case of war. Regional differencesThe past decade has seen an increase in global military spending. This has not been distributed evenly. That period saw large positive changes in military spending from several Asian countries, including a large increase from China. While this does not reflect the number of active conflicts, it reflects growing tensions in global affairs.

Military Expenditure in Germany increased to 88458.50 USD Million in 2024 from 67285.20 USD Million in 2023. Germany Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2026.