Military spending (share of GDP) over time (1988–2025)
Follow military spending (share of GDP) for the world’s countries, year by year, from 1988 to 2025.
- The country ranked first was Angola (22.0%) in 1988 and is Ukraine (39.6%) in 2025. In between, the country ranked first changed 16 times.
- Japan’s military spending (share of GDP) went from 0.9% in 1988 to 1.4% in 2025 (up 0.5 points).
- Japan ranked #104 of 117 countries in 1988 and #86 of 149 in 2025. The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.
Japan and countries at the top, middle and bottom
| Country | 1988 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ukraine | – | 3.5% | 2.7% | 4.4% | 39.6% |
 Sweden | 2.6% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 2.5% |
 Lesotho | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 1.9% | 1.6% |
 Japan | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.4% |
 Trinidad & Tobago | – | – | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
 Panama | 2.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Countries with data | 117 | 145 | 150 | 153 | 149 |
Ranking and map for any year
Choose a year to see that year’s top countries and the world map. Colors split that year’s ranking into seven steps.
| Rank | Country | Military spending (share of GDP) |
|---|
Biggest changes, 1988–2025
Compared among the countries that have data in both 1988 and 2025. Countries with a very small starting value are left out, because their ratios look exaggerated.
| Country | 1988 | 2025 | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria | 1.7% | 8.8% | up 7.1 points | #85 → #2 |
 Poland | 2.6% | 4.5% | up 1.9 points | #54 → #11 |
 Mali | 2.2% | 3.9% | up 1.7 points | #65 → #12 |
 Lebanon | 1.2% | 2.5% | up 1.3 points | #101 → #36 |
 Denmark | 2.1% | 3.3% | up 1.2 points | #76 → #19 |
| Country | 1988 | 2025 | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Angola | 22.0% | 1.4% | down 20.6 points | #1 → #87 |
 Somalia | 17.4% | 1.5% | down 15.9 points | #2 → #81 |
 Saudi Arabia | 15.2% | 6.5% | down 8.7 points | #5 → #5 |
 Israel | 15.9% | 7.8% | down 8.1 points | #4 → #3 |
 Oman | 13.7% | 5.7% | down 8 points | #6 → #8 |
The number of countries differs between the years, so the ranks are not directly comparable.
All countries in key years
Open the table (countries with data)
| Country | 1988 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | – | 3.5% | 2.7% | 4.4% | 39.6% |
| Algeria | 1.7% | 3.4% | 3.2% | 5.9% | 8.8% |
| Israel | 15.9% | 6.0% | 5.7% | 5.1% | 7.8% |
 Russia | – | 3.3% | 3.6% | 4.1% | 7.5% |
| Saudi Arabia | 15.2% | 10.5% | 8.6% | 8.4% | 6.5% |
 Azerbaijan | – | 2.3% | 2.8% | 5.2% | 6.5% |
 Armenia | – | 3.6% | 4.3% | 5.0% | 6.1% |
| Oman | 13.7% | 7.1% | 5.6% | 8.0% | 5.7% |
 Kuwait | 8.2% | 7.2% | 3.8% | 6.3% | 4.7% |
 Jordan | 9.4% | 6.3% | 5.7% | 4.7% | 4.6% |
| Poland | 2.6% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 4.5% |
| Mali | 2.2% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 3.4% | 3.9% |
 Latvia | – | 0.9% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 3.6% |
 Morocco | 4.1% | 2.2% | 3.4% | 4.0% | 3.5% |
 South Sudan | – | – | 4.1% | 1.9% | 3.4% |
 Estonia | – | 1.4% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 3.4% |
 Burkina Faso | 2.3% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 2.1% | 3.3% |
 Norway | 2.8% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 3.3% |
| Denmark | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 3.3% |
 Burundi | 3.1% | 4.9% | – | 2.2% | 3.2% |
 Colombia | 2.2% | 3.0% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 3.2% |
 Chad | 3.6% | 1.0% | 4.3% | 2.2% | 3.2% |
 United States | 6.1% | 3.1% | 4.9% | 3.6% | 3.1% |
 Botswana | 4.9% | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.1% |
 Bahrain | 5.6% | 4.0% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 3.1% |
 Lithuania | – | 1.2% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 3.1% |
 Singapore | 4.5% | 4.5% | 3.4% | 2.8% | 3.0% |
 Greece | 4.2% | 3.6% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.0% |
 Kyrgyzstan | – | 2.9% | 3.8% | 3.1% | 2.9% |
 Pakistan | 6.8% | 4.2% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 2.9% |
 Namibia | – | 2.7% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 2.8% |
 Serbia | – | 4.6% | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2.8% |
 Mauritania | 4.5% | 2.9% | – | 2.4% | 2.7% |
 South Korea | 4.3% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 2.6% |
 Finland | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 2.6% |
| Lebanon | 1.2% | 5.4% | 4.1% | 3.0% | 2.5% |
 Tunisia | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 2.7% | 2.5% |
| Sweden | 2.6% | 1.8% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 2.5% |
 Iraq | – | – | 2.7% | 3.1% | 2.4% |
 Belarus | – | 1.4% | 2.3% | 1.6% | 2.4% |
 United Kingdom | 4.2% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 2.4% |
 Central African Republic | – | – | 2.4% | 1.9% | 2.3% |
 India | 3.7% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.3% |
 Uruguay | 3.2% | 2.4% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.3% |
 Romania | 4.2% | 2.5% | 1.2% | 2.0% | 2.3% |
 Germany | 2.6% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 2.3% |
 Timor-Leste | – | – | 3.0% | 1.8% | 2.3% |
 Netherlands | 2.6% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 2.2% |
 Vietnam | 7.1% | – | 1.8% | 2.1% | 2.2% |
 Niger | – | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 2.1% |
 Spain | 2.5% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 2.1% |
 Ecuador | 1.6% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.1% |
 Iran | 6.3% | 2.3% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 2.1% |
 Hungary | 3.6% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 2.0% |
 Albania | 5.6% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 2.0% |
 Slovakia | – | 1.7% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 2.0% |
 Guinea | – | 1.5% | – | 1.5% | 2.0% |
 France | 3.0% | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% |
 Croatia | – | 3.0% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 2.0% |
 Belgium | 2.6% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 2.0% |
 Bulgaria | – | 2.7% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 2.0% |
 North Macedonia | – | 1.9% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 2.0% |
 Uganda | 2.5% | 1.8% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
 Australia | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
 Türkiye | 2.9% | 3.6% | 2.3% | 2.2% | 1.9% |
 Montenegro | – | – | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.9% |
 Italy | 2.1% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.9% |
 Togo | 3.1% | – | 1.7% | 2.2% | 1.9% |
 Mozambique | 3.0% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
 Czechia | – | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.8% |
 Georgia | – | 0.6% | 3.7% | 1.8% | 1.7% |
 China | – | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
 Portugal | 1.9% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.7% |
 Gabon | – | 1.7% | 1.9% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| Lesotho | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 1.9% | 1.6% |
 Canada | 2.0% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
 Cyprus | 5.7% | 2.8% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.6% |
 Eswatini | 1.3% | 1.5% | 2.4% | 1.9% | 1.6% |
 Senegal | 2.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
 Slovenia | – | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 1.5% |
| Somalia | 17.4% | – | – | 1.1% | 1.5% |
 Chile | 4.1% | 2.7% | 2.3% | 2.1% | 1.5% |
 Tajikistan | – | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.5% |
 Honduras | 2.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
 Cambodia | 1.3% | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 1.5% |
| Japan | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.4% |
| Angola | 22.0% | 6.4% | 4.2% | 1.8% | 1.4% |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo | – | 0.2% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.4% |
 Jamaica | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 1.4% |
 El Salvador | 4.3% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.3% |
 Fiji | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.3% |
 Sri Lanka | 2.4% | 5.0% | 2.7% | 1.8% | 1.3% |
 Republic of the Congo | – | – | 1.7% | 2.6% | 1.3% |
 Philippines | 2.5% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.3% |
 Rwanda | 1.6% | 3.5% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
 Zambia | 2.4% | – | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.3% |
 Seychelles | 4.3% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 1.2% |
 Bolivia | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 1.4% | 1.2% |
 Tanzania | 2.4% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.2% |
 Malawi | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 1.1% |
 New Zealand | 2.1% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.1% |
 Austria | 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.1% |
 Kenya | 2.9% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.1% |
 Cameroon | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 1.1% |
 Brazil | 2.1% | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.1% |
 Indonesia | 1.5% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 1.0% |
 Thailand | 2.9% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.0% |
 Malaysia | 2.4% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
 Belize | – | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1.0% |
 Guyana | 2.7% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1.0% |
 Nepal | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.0% |
| Trinidad & Tobago | – | – | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
 Nigeria | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.9% |
 Equatorial Guinea | – | – | – | 1.6% | 0.9% |
 Benin | 1.6% | 0.4% | – | 0.5% | 0.9% |
 Guinea-Bissau | – | 2.6% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 0.9% |
 Mongolia | 6.3% | 2.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% |
 Paraguay | 3.2% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.9% |
 Liberia | 2.4% | – | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.9% |
 Luxembourg | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.9% |
 Peru | 2.2% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
 Bangladesh | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
 Dominican Republic | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% |
 Côte d’Ivoire | 1.2% | – | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.8% |
 Switzerland | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
 South Africa | 4.6% | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.7% |
 Mexico | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
 Bosnia & Herzegovina | – | – | 1.3% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
 Cape Verde | 1.9% | 1.2% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.7% |
 Madagascar | 1.3% | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
 Egypt | 5.1% | 2.6% | 2.0% | 1.1% | 0.6% |
 Gambia | 0.8% | 0.3% | – | 0.8% | 0.6% |
 Nicaragua | – | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
 Zimbabwe | 5.2% | 3.1% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.6% |
 Argentina | 2.1% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
 Moldova | – | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.6% |
 Guatemala | 1.9% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
 Ethiopia | 8.5% | 7.7% | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
 Ghana | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
 Malta | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
 Kazakhstan | – | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.4% |
 Sierra Leone | 0.3% | 1.6% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
 Papua New Guinea | 1.3% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
 Ireland | 1.2% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
 Mauritius | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
 Haiti | 0.1% | – | – | 0.1% | 0.1% |
 Costa Rica | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
 Iceland | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Panama | 2.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
 United Arab Emirates | – | 8.3% | 6.0% | – | – |
 Afghanistan | – | – | 1.9% | 1.4% | – |
 Brunei | 6.6% | 4.1% | 2.9% | 3.6% | – |
 Cuba | – | – | 3.3% | – | – |
 Djibouti | – | 5.1% | – | – | – |
 Eritrea | – | 32.7% | – | – | – |
 Laos | – | 0.8% | 0.2% | – | – |
 Libya | – | 2.7% | – | – | – |
 Myanmar | 2.1% | 2.2% | – | 3.3% | – |
 Qatar | 16.3% | – | 1.5% | – | – |
 Sudan | 3.6% | 4.5% | – | 1.0% | – |
 Syria | 7.9% | 5.5% | 4.1% | – | – |
 Turkmenistan | – | – | – | – | – |
 Uzbekistan | – | 0.9% | – | – | – |
 Venezuela | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.0% | – | – |
 Yemen | – | 4.9% | 4.7% | – | – |
| Countries with data | 117 | 145 | 150 | 153 | 149 |
Notes on reading this history
Yearly values come from the same World Bank indicator. The number of countries with data differs by year, so each year’s ranks are given only among the countries that have data that year. The ranking page uses each country’s latest year, so it may not match a single year’s ranking here.
Older years have fewer countries with data. See the “Countries with data” row in the table.
Source: Military expenditure (% of GDP), indicator MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS. Processed by this site. data.worldbank.org
World Bank data last updated: 2026-10-08
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- Access to electricity (share of people)
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- Urban population (share of people)
- Goods exports (total)
- Air passengers carried
- Women in the labor force (share of women)
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- Cattle number of animals
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- Barley production
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- Sunflower seeds production
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- Palm oil production
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- Pineapples production
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- Tea production
- Sugar beet production
- Cotton (fibre) production
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- Sheep meat (mutton and lamb) production
- Goat meat production
- Goats number of animals
- Horses number of animals
- Cereal production
- Cereal yield (per hectare of farmland)
- Fish and seafood production (catch + farmed)
- Fish catch (from sea, rivers and lakes)
- Aquaculture (farmed fish and seafood)
- Energy use per person
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- Safe drinking water (share of people)
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- Labor force (number of people)
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- Tuberculosis cases (per 100,000 people)
- Health spending per person
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- Rye production
- Yams production
- Chickpeas production
- Lentils production
- Dry peas production
- Coconuts production
- Carrots (with turnips) production
- Lettuce (with chicory) production
- Cauliflower (with broccoli) production
- Eggplants (aubergines) production
- Green chilies and sweet peppers production
- Garlic production
- Tangerines (mandarins) production
- Strawberries production
- Peaches (with nectarines) production
- Avocados production
- Dates production
- Olives production
- Melons (cantaloupes and others) production
- Pears production
- Plums (with sloes) production
- Apricots production
- Cherries production
- Papayas production
- Grapefruits (with pomelos) production
- Tobacco production
- Goat’s milk production
- Butter (with ghee) production
- Cheese (all kinds) production
- Buffaloes number of animals
- Camels number of animals
- Donkeys number of animals
- Ducks number of animals
- Turkeys number of animals
- Forest area
- Agricultural land (share of land)
- Arable land (share of land)
- Under-5 mortality (per 1,000 births)
- Maternal mortality ratio
- Exports (share of GDP)
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- Electricity from hydropower (share of total)
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- Crabs production
- Lobsters production
- Crayfish and other freshwater crustaceans production
- Oysters production
- Clams and cockles production
- Scallops production
- Mussels production
- Squids, cuttlefish and octopuses production
- Tunas, bonitos and billfishes production
- Carps and other cyprinids production
- Tilapias and other cichlids production
- Herrings, sardines and anchovies production
- Cods, hakes and haddocks production
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