United States US: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data was reported at 3.149 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.222 % for 2016. United States US: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 4.864 % from Sep 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.063 % in 1967 and a record low of 2.908 % in 1999. United States US: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Defense and Official Development Assistance. 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). Excluded are civil defense and current expenditures for previous military activities, such as for veterans' benefits, demobilization, conversion, and destruction of weapons. This definition cannot be applied for all countries, however, since that would require much more detailed information than is available about what is included in military budgets and off-budget military expenditure items. (For example, military budgets might or might not cover civil defense, reserves and auxiliary forces, police and paramilitary forces, dual-purpose forces such as military and civilian police, military grants in kind, pensions for military personnel, and social security contributions paid by one part of government to another.); ; Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security.; Weighted average; Data for some countries are based on partial or uncertain data or rough estimates.

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.

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.

Content

Lists the military spending, GDP, and population estimate for the US each year from 1960 to 2020.

Acknowledgements

Banner image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/BQgAYwERXhs

Military Expenditure in Cambodia increased to 720.50 USD Million in 2024 from 668 USD Million in 2023. Cambodia Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.

The dataset comprises the Quad (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) member countries’ military expenditure (ME) and related economic indicators, 1991-2020. lnME is logarithms of the Quad member countries’ ME. lnSpillover1 is the product of the Quad member countries’ ME divided by its own ME. lnSpillover2 is logarithms of the sum of the Quad member countries’ ME minus its own ME. lnGDP is the Quad member countries’ GDP. And lnChineseME is logarithms of Chinese ME. lnME_fd is the first difference value of lnME. lnSpillover1_fd is the first difference value of lnSpillover1. lnSpillover2_fd is the first difference value of lnSpillover2. lnGDP_fd is the first difference value of ln lnGDP. And lnChineseME_fd is the first difference value of lnChineseME. IV_1_1 is the 2 periods lagged lnSpillover1_fd. IV_1_2 is logarithms of the first difference value of the product of the Quad member countries’ GDP divided by its own GDP. IV_2_1 is the 2 periods lagged lnSpillover2_fd. IV_2_2 is logarithms of the first difference value of the sum of the Quad member countries’ GDP minus its own GDP. Data on the Quad member countries’ ME (in current US dollars) from 1991–2020 were obtained from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2022), and data on their GDP (in current US dollars) during the same period were obtained from World Bank (2022). Further, Chinese ME (in current US dollars) from 1991–2020 were obtained from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2022). The data were converted to constant US dollars using the US GDP deflator taken from World Bank (2022). Data source Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 2022. “SIPRI Military Expenditure Database.” https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex. World Bank. 2022. “World Development Indicators.” https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators.

Military Expenditure in Ghana decreased to 268.70 USD Million in 2024 from 285.40 USD Million in 2023. Ghana Military Expenditure - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on June of 2025.