Data / Military expenditure / United States

Military expenditure in United States

Military expenditure in the United States was 3.1% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.3 pts from 2024. That is the 23rd highest of 149 countries in 2025.

2025, % of GDP3.1
Change on 2024-0.3 pts
Rank23rd of 149Countries ranked
Series high9.41967
Series low3.11999

Military expenditure in United States, 1960 to 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

246810196019701980199020002010202020251960: 9 % of GDP1961: 9.2 % of GDP1962: 9.3 % of GDP1963: 8.8 % of GDP1964: 8.1 % of GDP1965: 7.6 % of GDP1966: 8.4 % of GDP1967: 9.4 % of GDP1968: 9.3 % of GDP1969: 8.6 % of GDP1970: 8 % of GDP1971: 6.9 % of GDP1972: 6.5 % of GDP1973: 5.9 % of GDP1974: 6 % of GDP1975: 5.6 % of GDP1976: 5.2 % of GDP1977: 5.2 % of GDP1978: 4.9 % of GDP1979: 5 % of GDP1980: 5.2 % of GDP1981: 5.6 % of GDP1982: 6.8 % of GDP1983: 6.3 % of GDP1984: 6.2 % of GDP1985: 6.5 % of GDP1986: 6.6 % of GDP1987: 6.4 % of GDP1988: 6.1 % of GDP1989: 5.9 % of GDP1990: 5.6 % of GDP1991: 4.9 % of GDP1992: 5 % of GDP1993: 4.6 % of GDP1994: 4.2 % of GDP1995: 3.9 % of GDP1996: 3.6 % of GDP1997: 3.4 % of GDP1998: 3.2 % of GDP1999: 3.1 % of GDP2000: 3.1 % of GDP2001: 3.1 % of GDP2002: 3.4 % of GDP2003: 3.8 % of GDP2004: 4 % of GDP2005: 4.1 % of GDP2006: 4 % of GDP2007: 4.1 % of GDP2008: 4.4 % of GDP2009: 4.9 % of GDP2010: 4.9 % of GDP2011: 4.8 % of GDP2012: 4.5 % of GDP2013: 4 % of GDP2014: 3.7 % of GDP2015: 3.5 % of GDP2016: 3.4 % of GDP2017: 3.3 % of GDP2018: 3.3 % of GDP2019: 3.4 % of GDP2020: 3.6 % of GDP2021: 3.4 % of GDP2022: 3.3 % of GDP2023: 3.3 % of GDP2024: 3.4 % of GDP2025: 3.1 % of GDP
% of GDP. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09, published 2026-10-08.
All 66 values
Period% of GDP
20253.1
20243.4
20233.3
20223.3
20213.4
20203.6
20193.4
20183.3
20173.3
20163.4
20153.5
20143.7
20134
20124.5
20114.8
20104.9
20094.9
20084.4
20074.1
20064
20054.1
20044
20033.8
20023.4
20013.1
20003.1
19993.1
19983.2
19973.4
19963.6
19953.9
19944.2
19934.6
19925
19914.9
19905.6
19895.9
19886.1
19876.4
19866.6
19856.5
19846.2
19836.3
19826.8
19815.6
19805.2
19795
19784.9
19775.2
19765.2
19755.6
19746
19735.9
19726.5
19716.9
19708
19698.6
19689.3
19679.4
19668.4
19657.6
19648.1
19638.8
19629.3
19619.2
19609

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.

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Questions

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

Military expenditure in the United States was 3.1% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.3 pts from 2024. That is the 23rd 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 United States?

9.4% of GDP in 1967, the highest value since 1960 in this series.

More statistics for United States

All statistics for United States