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 2025.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Shares of gross domestic product: Government consumption expenditures and gross investment: Federal: National defense (A824RE1Q156NBEA) from Q1 1947 to Q4 2024 about Shares of GDP, defense, investment, gross, federal, consumption expenditures, consumption, government, GDP, and USA.

The statistic represents the U.S. defense outlays from 2000 to 2023 with an additional forecast from 2024 to 2034, as a percentage of the gross domestic product. Defense outlays amounted to 746 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, which was about three percent of the U.S. GDP. The forecast predicts an increase in defense outlays up to 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2033, which would be about 2.8 percent of U.S. GDP.

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Government current expenditures: Federal: National defense (G160461A027NBEA) from 1959 to 2023 about defense, expenditures, federal, government, GDP, and USA.

The ratio of military expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 3.45 percent. Still, 2022 marked the second consecutive decline of the ratio. These figures refer to the total amount of money spent on a country's military, as a share of its gross domestic product (GDP). These figures apply to current expenditure on a country's armed forces, including peacekeeping forces and defense ministries, among others.Find more key insights for the ratio of military expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) in countries like Mexico and Canada.

In 2024, Poland's defense spending as a share of gross domestic product was 4.12 percent, the highest of all NATO member states, followed by Estonia at 3.43 percent, and then the United States at 3.38 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 2.71 percent in 2024, compared with 2.53 percent in the previous year. 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. NATO, America, 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 by far the main contributor of military aid to Ukraine. Furthermore, in overall defense spending,the U.S. spends more than the rest of NATO combined. Threats from former U.S. President, and likely 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump to withdraw from the alliance, therefore put NATO's ability to provide European security at risk in the future.

Sweden's military expenditure as a share of its gross domestic product (GDP) was around one percent from 2011 to 2019. However, it has increased since, reaching 1.5 percent in 2023. The country's total military expenditure amounted to 78 billion Swedish kronor in 2022.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Government: National Defense Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment (FDEFX) from Q1 1947 to Q4 2024 about defense, investment, gross, federal, consumption expenditures, consumption, government, GDP, and USA.

Georgia: Military spending, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2022 is 1.43 percent, a decline from 1.61 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 1.98 percent, based on data from 145 countries. Historically, the average for Georgia from 1996 to 2022 is 2.65 percent. The minimum value, 0.62 percent, was reached in 2000 while the maximum of 9.16 percent was recorded in 2007.

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.

Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Hungary was reported at 2.1278 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Hungary - Military expenditure (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

Cyprus CY: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data was reported at 1.825 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.823 % for 2022. Cyprus CY: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 1.920 % from Dec 1985 (Median) to 2023, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.129 % in 1992 and a record low of 1.270 % in 1985. Cyprus CY: Military Expenditure: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Cyprus – Table CY.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 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.

In 2023, military expenditure as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Israel reached 5.3 percent. This represented a significant increase in defense spending in comparison to 2022. This can be attributed to the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.

In 2024, NATO countries spent an average of 2.71 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, compared with 2.53 percent in the previous year. Members of the alliance are pledged to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense, although several countries spend less than this, with defense spending ranging from 4.1 percent in Poland, to 1.28 percent in Spain in 2024.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Military spending, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2022 is 0.81 percent, a decline from 0.93 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 1.98 percent, based on data from 145 countries. Historically, the average for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2022 is 1.32 percent. The minimum value, 0.81 percent, was reached in 2022 while the maximum of 3.9 percent was recorded in 2002.

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.