Data / Military expenditure / New Zealand

Military expenditure in New Zealand

Military expenditure in New Zealand was 1.1% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.1 pts from 2024. That is the 101st highest of 149 countries in 2025.

2025, % of GDP1.1
Change on 2024-0.1 pts
Rank101st of 149Countries ranked
Series high31980
Series low12015

Military expenditure in New Zealand, 1960 to 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

0.511.522.533.5196019701980199020002010202020251960: 2.7 % of GDP1961: 2.5 % of GDP1962: 2.3 % of GDP1963: 2.2 % of GDP1964: 2.5 % of GDP1965: 2.4 % of GDP1966: 2.6 % of GDP1967: 2.6 % of GDP1968: 2.7 % of GDP1969: 2.6 % of GDP1970: 2.6 % of GDP1971: 2.3 % of GDP1972: 2.2 % of GDP1973: 2 % of GDP1974: 2.1 % of GDP1975: 2.1 % of GDP1976: 1.9 % of GDP1977: 2.1 % of GDP1978: 2.2 % of GDP1979: 2.2 % of GDP1980: 3 % of GDP1981: 2.7 % of GDP1982: 2.6 % of GDP1983: 2.4 % of GDP1984: 2.4 % of GDP1985: 2.4 % of GDP1986: 2.4 % of GDP1987: 2.4 % of GDP1988: 2.1 % of GDP1989: 2.2 % of GDP1990: 2.3 % of GDP1991: 2.3 % of GDP1992: 2.1 % of GDP1993: 1.9 % of GDP1994: 1.9 % of GDP1995: 1.8 % of GDP1996: 1.8 % of GDP1997: 1.7 % of GDP1998: 1.7 % of GDP1999: 1.6 % of GDP2000: 1.6 % of GDP2001: 1.5 % of GDP2002: 1.4 % of GDP2003: 1.3 % of GDP2004: 1.2 % of GDP2005: 1.1 % of GDP2006: 1.2 % of GDP2007: 1.2 % of GDP2008: 1.2 % of GDP2009: 1.2 % of GDP2010: 1.2 % of GDP2011: 1.2 % of GDP2012: 1.1 % of GDP2013: 1 % of GDP2014: 1 % of GDP2015: 1 % of GDP2016: 1 % of GDP2017: 1.1 % of GDP2018: 1.1 % of GDP2019: 1.3 % of GDP2020: 1.3 % of GDP2021: 1.2 % of GDP2022: 1.2 % of GDP2023: 1.2 % of GDP2024: 1.2 % of GDP2025: 1.1 % of GDP
% of GDP. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09, published 2026-10-08.
All 66 values
Period% of GDP
20251.1
20241.2
20231.2
20221.2
20211.2
20201.3
20191.3
20181.1
20171.1
20161
20151
20141
20131
20121.1
20111.2
20101.2
20091.2
20081.2
20071.2
20061.2
20051.1
20041.2
20031.3
20021.4
20011.5
20001.6
19991.6
19981.7
19971.7
19961.8
19951.8
19941.9
19931.9
19922.1
19912.3
19902.3
19892.2
19882.1
19872.4
19862.4
19852.4
19842.4
19832.4
19822.6
19812.7
19803
19792.2
19782.2
19772.1
19761.9
19752.1
19742.1
19732
19722.2
19712.3
19702.6
19692.6
19682.7
19672.6
19662.6
19652.4
19642.5
19632.2
19622.3
19612.5
19602.7

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 New Zealand? Cite the source.
get_value {"indicator":"military_expenditure_gdp","place":"nz"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=military_expenditure_gdp&place=nz

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 New Zealand?

Military expenditure in New Zealand was 1.1% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.1 pts from 2024. That is the 101st highest of 149 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 New Zealand?

3% of GDP in 1980, the highest value since 1960 in this series.

More statistics for New Zealand

All statistics for New Zealand