Data / Military expenditure / Belgium

Military expenditure in Belgium

Military expenditure in Belgium was 2% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is up 0.7 pts from 2024. That is the 17th highest of 27 EU countries in 2025.

2025, % of GDP2
Change on 2024+0.7 pts
Rank17th of 27EU countries ranked
Series high3.41960
Series low0.92017

Military expenditure in Belgium, 1960 to 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

01234196019701980199020002010202020251960: 3.4 % of GDP1961: 3.3 % of GDP1962: 3.3 % of GDP1963: 3.2 % of GDP1964: 3.2 % of GDP1965: 3 % of GDP1966: 3.1 % of GDP1967: 3.1 % of GDP1968: 3.1 % of GDP1969: 2.9 % of GDP1970: 2.9 % of GDP1971: 2.9 % of GDP1972: 2.9 % of GDP1973: 2.8 % of GDP1974: 2.8 % of GDP1975: 3.1 % of GDP1976: 3.1 % of GDP1977: 3.1 % of GDP1978: 3.3 % of GDP1979: 3.3 % of GDP1980: 3.3 % of GDP1981: 3.4 % of GDP1982: 3.3 % of GDP1983: 3.2 % of GDP1984: 3 % of GDP1985: 2.9 % of GDP1986: 3 % of GDP1987: 2.9 % of GDP1988: 2.6 % of GDP1989: 2.5 % of GDP1990: 2.4 % of GDP1991: 2.3 % of GDP1992: 1.8 % of GDP1993: 1.7 % of GDP1994: 1.7 % of GDP1995: 1.5 % of GDP1996: 1.5 % of GDP1997: 1.5 % of GDP1998: 1.4 % of GDP1999: 1.4 % of GDP2000: 1.4 % of GDP2001: 1.3 % of GDP2002: 1.2 % of GDP2003: 1.2 % of GDP2004: 1.2 % of GDP2005: 1.1 % of GDP2006: 1.1 % of GDP2007: 1.1 % of GDP2008: 1.2 % of GDP2009: 1.2 % of GDP2010: 1.1 % of GDP2011: 1 % of GDP2012: 1 % of GDP2013: 1 % of GDP2014: 1 % of GDP2015: 0.9 % of GDP2016: 0.9 % of GDP2017: 0.9 % of GDP2018: 0.9 % of GDP2019: 0.9 % of GDP2020: 1 % of GDP2021: 1 % of GDP2022: 1.2 % of GDP2023: 1.2 % of GDP2024: 1.3 % of GDP2025: 2 % of GDP
% of GDP. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09, published 2026-10-08.
All 66 values
Period% of GDP
20252
20241.3
20231.2
20221.2
20211
20201
20190.9
20180.9
20170.9
20160.9
20150.9
20141
20131
20121
20111
20101.1
20091.2
20081.2
20071.1
20061.1
20051.1
20041.2
20031.2
20021.2
20011.3
20001.4
19991.4
19981.4
19971.5
19961.5
19951.5
19941.7
19931.7
19921.8
19912.3
19902.4
19892.5
19882.6
19872.9
19863
19852.9
19843
19833.2
19823.3
19813.4
19803.3
19793.3
19783.3
19773.1
19763.1
19753.1
19742.8
19732.8
19722.9
19712.9
19702.9
19692.9
19683.1
19673.1
19663.1
19653
19643.2
19633.2
19623.3
19613.3
19603.4

Rankings

Definition

Military expenditure as a percentage of GDP: current and capital spending on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces, defence ministries, paramilitary forces trained for military operations and military space activities. World Bank series from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI definition, so values can differ from the NATO defence expenditure figures used for the 2% target.

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators. Military expenditure, % of GDP (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

What is the latest military spending as a share of GDP in Belgium? Cite the source.
get_value {"indicator":"military_expenditure_gdp","place":"be"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=military_expenditure_gdp&place=be

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

What is the military spending as a share of GDP in Belgium?

Military expenditure in Belgium was 2% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is up 0.7 pts from 2024. That is the 17th highest of 27 EU countries in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

World Bank. Military expenditure, % of GDP (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-09.

What was the highest military spending as a share of GDP in Belgium?

3.4% of GDP in 1960, the highest value since 1960 in this series.

More statistics for Belgium

All statistics for Belgium