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.

As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), Ukraine spent more on its military than any other country in 2023, reaching 37 percent of the country's GDP. The high figure is due to the country being invaded by Russia in February 2022. Algeria and Saudi Arabia 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.

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.

In 2024, Poland's defense spending as a share of gross domestic product was **** percent, the highest of all NATO member states, followed by Estonia at **** percent, and then the United States at **** 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 but eight of the alliance's 31 member states were meeting this target. The average expenditure on defense expenditure across all NATO member states was **** percent in 2024, compared with **** percent in the previous 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 40 countries was 2.4 percent. The highest value was in Ukraine: 33.55 percent and the lowest value was in Ireland: 0.23 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 9 countries was 1.84 percent. The highest value was in Burma (Myanmar): 3.05 percent and the lowest value was in Indonesia: 0.7 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, the military expenditure of Colombia accounted for approximately 2.87 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the highest share in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecuador is also one of the countries in the region with the highest military budget in relation to its GDP, having spent an estimated sum comparable to 2.3 percent of its GDP on military expenditures.

The Second World War was fought on such a large scale that it became total war in many countries - this is where the war effort is prioritized above all else, and the entire population and economy are mobilized to support all military endeavors. Germany and Japan were committing over 70 percent of their national income to the war effort in its final years.

There were also notable fluctuations that coincided with major events for corresponding powers. These included the UK's mobilization of its defenses in 1940, after Germany took most of Western Europe; the spike in Soviet military spending after Operation Barbarossa in June, 1941; and the U.S. entry into the war following the Pearl Harbor attacks in December, 1941.

The average for 2022 based on 42 countries was 1.49 percent. The highest value was in Togo: 5.44 percent and the lowest value was in Mauritius: 0.17 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 12 countries was 4.05 percent. The highest value was in Saudi Arabia: 7.42 percent and the lowest value was in Egypt: 1.06 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Austria was reported at 0.84427 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Austria - Military expenditure (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

As of 2023, the military expenditure share of Lebanon's GDP was about 8.91 percent. In comparison,Iran allocated around 2.06 percent of their GDP for military expenditure for the same year.

The average for 2022 based on 17 countries was 1.16 percent. The highest value was in Colombia: 3.08 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.

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

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

<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).

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

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

<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).

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).

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 July 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 July of 2025.

In 2022, the U.S. government spent more on healthcare than any other country, at 16.6 percent of GDP. In the same year, U.S. military expenditure was 3.45 percent of GDP. This statistic shows the healthcare and military expenditure as a percentage of GDP in select countries in 2022.

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