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 July of 2025.

U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2022 was 876.94 billion US dollars, a 8.77% increase from 2021.

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<li>U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2021 was <strong>806.23 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>3.58% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2020 was <strong>778.40 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>6% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>U.S. military spending/defense budget for 2019 was <strong>734.34 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>7.6% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Military expenditures data from SIPRI are derived from the NATO definition, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country).

The United States led the ranking of the countries with the highest military spending in 2023, with 916 billion U.S. dollars dedicated to the military. That constituted over 40 percent of the total military spending worldwide that year, which amounted to 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars. This amounted to 3.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), placing the U.S. lower in the ranking of military expenditure as a percentage of GDP than for instance Saudi Arabia, Israel, Algeria, and Russia. China was the second largest military spender with an estimated 296 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 2.44 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. 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.

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 July of 2025.

In 2023, the United States spent around 916.02 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. In 2023, it was estimated that per capita defense spending amounted to 2,220 U.S. dollars. 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 chart and dataset showing Japan military spending/defense budget by year from 1960 to 2023.

In 2023, the military spending worldwide amounted to 2.44 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. 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 in total, 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 2023. The United States spent nearly 916 billion U.S. dollars in 2023 towards defense, compared to 296 billion U.S. dollars and 109 billion U.S. dollars spent by China and Russia respectively. As a percentage of GDP, Ukraine spent the most globally, contributing nearly 37 percent of their GDP to defense, followed by Algeria at 8.2 percent and Saudi Arabia at 7.1 percent.

The Netherlands: Military spending, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2022 is 1.58 percent, an increase from 1.38 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 1.98 percent, based on data from 145 countries. Historically, the average for the Netherlands from 1960 to 2022 is 2.26 percent. The minimum value, 1.13 percent, was reached in 2015 while the maximum of 4.12 percent was recorded in 1962.

Military Expenditure in Poland increased to 38000.70 USD Million in 2024 from 26342.80 USD Million in 2023. Poland Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Military Expenditure in China increased to 313658.30 USD Million in 2024 from 296821.40 USD Million in 2023. China Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Historical chart and dataset showing Russia military spending/defense budget by year from 1987 to 2023.

Historical chart and dataset showing Ukraine military spending/defense budget by year from 1992 to 2023.

Historical chart and dataset showing Indonesia military spending/defense budget by year from 1974 to 2023.

Israel military spending/defense budget for 2023 was 27.50 billion US dollars, a 17.48% increase from 2022.

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<li>Israel military spending/defense budget for 2022 was <strong>23.41 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>3.84% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Israel military spending/defense budget for 2021 was <strong>24.34 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>11.57% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Israel military spending/defense budget for 2020 was <strong>21.82 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>7.26% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Military expenditures data from SIPRI are derived from the NATO definition, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country).

Italy: Military spending, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2022 is 1.68 percent, a decline from 1.72 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 1.98 percent, based on data from 145 countries. Historically, the average for Italy from 1960 to 2022 is 1.89 percent. The minimum value, 1.21 percent, was reached in 2015 while the maximum of 2.99 percent was recorded in 1966.

Historical chart and dataset showing Denmark military spending/defense budget by year from 1960 to 2023.

Military spending in Germany has increased in recent years. In 2022, it amounted to almost 67 billion U.S. dollars. Military spending is regulated by a military budget, otherwise referred to as a defense budget. German army Germany is known for having had comparatively low military expenditure lately. Based on definitions provided by NATO, military or defense spending is supported not only by the military budget, but also by the Foreign Office for peacemaking and peacekeeping measures. Germany has a Ministry of Defence (Bundesministerium der Verteidigung). The current Minister of Defence is Boris Pistorius. His duties include not only being the commander in chief of the German armed forces (Bundeswehr) in times of peace, but also heading the German army administration and overseeing civilian staff in the military. International operations The largest number of German soldiers participating in international operations were stationed in Syria, Kosovo, and Lebanon. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany provided a lot of military support for soldiers. Recently, there has been a lot of debate about whether Germany needs to increase the amount of funding they put into the military. However, there is no simple answer and there are many different opinions in the government about what should be done.

Of the world's 40 largest military spenders in 2023, Ukraine saw the largest increase over the past 10 years, their military spending increasing by 1,272 percent. This is explained by the Russian invasion of the country in 2022. Behind Ukraine, Poland saw the largest increase in spending at more than 180 percent, with Denmark following in third.

Military Expenditure in Ireland increased to 1330.50 USD Million in 2024 from 1269.20 USD Million in 2023. Ireland Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

Canada military spending/defense budget for 2023 was 27.22 billion US dollars, a 6.47% increase from 2022.

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<li>Canada military spending/defense budget for 2022 was <strong>25.57 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>0.81% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Canada military spending/defense budget for 2021 was <strong>25.36 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>9.88% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Canada military spending/defense budget for 2020 was <strong>23.08 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>3.07% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Military expenditures data from SIPRI are derived from the NATO definition, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country).