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.

The average for 2022 based on 14 countries was 65.36 billion U.S. dollars. The highest value was in the USA: 876.94 billion U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Costa Rica: 0 billion U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, the military spending of the United States accounted for 37 percent of the total military spending worldwide. In total, the expenditure on the military worldwide was assessed at 2.44 trillion U.S. dollars.

The average for 2022 based on 145 countries was 1.98 percent. The highest value was in Ukraine: 33.55 percent and the lowest value was in Haiti: 0.07 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

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 May of 2025.

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.

In 2023, the military expenditure of North America constituted 40 percent of global military spending, of which the United States alone stood behind 37 percent. On the other hand, Africa and South America only accounted for two percent each of the military spending worldwide. The overall global military spending in 2023 was 2.44 trillion U.S. dollars.

Germany DE: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data was reported at 1.520 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.377 % for 2022. Germany DE: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 1.929 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.899 % in 1963 and a record low of 1.066 % in 2005. Germany DE: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.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.

The world has become much more peaceful, and yet, even after adjusting for inflation, global military spending is now three times greater than at the height of the Cold War. These developments have motivated a renewed interest from both policy makers and scholars about the drivers of military spending and the implications that follow. Existing findings on the relationship between threat and arming and arms races and war hinge on the completeness and accuracy of existing military spending data. Moreover, data on military spending is used to measure important concepts from international relations such as the distribution of power, balancing, the severity of states’ military burdens, and arms races. Everything we know about which states are most powerful, whether nations are balancing, and whether military burdens and arms races are growing more or less severe rests on the accuracy of existing military spending 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.

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 June of 2025.

Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Thailand was reported at 1.1656 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Thailand - Military expenditure (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on May of 2025.

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.

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

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<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).

World military spending/defense budget for 2022 was 2.207 trillion US dollars, a 6.68% increase from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>World military spending/defense budget for 2021 was <strong>2.069 trillion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>6.91% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>World military spending/defense budget for 2020 was <strong>1.935 trillion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>4.25% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>World military spending/defense budget for 2019 was <strong>1.856 trillion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>2.84% 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).

United States US: Military Expenditure: % of Central Government Expenditure data was reported at 8.807 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.042 % for 2016. United States US: Military Expenditure: % of Central Government Expenditure data is updated yearly, averaging 11.141 % from Sep 2001 (Median) to 2017, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.769 % in 2011 and a record low of 8.807 % in 2017. United States US: Military Expenditure: % of Central Government Expenditure 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.

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Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Spain was reported at 1.509 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Military expenditure (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Denmark DK: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data was reported at 1.174 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.172 % for 2016. Denmark DK: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 1.965 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.042 % in 1963 and a record low of 1.116 % in 2015. Denmark DK: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Denmark – Table DK.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.