Data / Rankings / Military expenditure / Countries

Countries by military spending as a share of GDP

Saudi Arabia had the highest military spending as a share of GDP of 153 countries in 2015, at 12.6% of GDP. Panama had the lowest, at 0% of GDP. The median was 1.3% of GDP and the figure for the World was 2.2% of GDP. Source: the World Bank.

Highest12.6Saudi Arabia
Lowest0Panama
Median1.3153 countries
World2.2History

Top 40 countries, 2015

CSVChart (SVG)

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia: 12.6 % of GDP12.6OmanOman: 9.6 % of GDP9.6South SudanSouth Sudan: 8.6 % of GDP8.6AlgeriaAlgeria: 5.6 % of GDP5.6AzerbaijanAzerbaijan: 5.5 % of GDP5.5IraqIraq: 5.4 % of GDP5.4IsraelIsrael: 5.3 % of GDP5.3KuwaitKuwait: 5 % of GDP5RussiaRussia: 4.9 % of GDP4.9BahrainBahrain: 4.6 % of GDP4.6NamibiaNamibia: 4.5 % of GDP4.5LebanonLebanon: 4.5 % of GDP4.5ArmeniaArmenia: 4.2 % of GDP4.2JordanJordan: 4.2 % of GDP4.2MyanmarMyanmar: 4.1 % of GDP4.1UkraineUkraine: 3.8 % of GDP3.8United StatesUnited States: 3.5 % of GDP3.5KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan: 3.5 % of GDP3.5BruneiBrunei: 3.3 % of GDP3.3PakistanPakistan: 3.2 % of GDP3.2ColombiaColombia: 3.1 % of GDP3.1AngolaAngola: 3.1 % of GDP3.1CubaCuba: 3.1 % of GDP3.1SingaporeSingapore: 3 % of GDP3MoroccoMorocco: 3 % of GDP3BotswanaBotswana: 2.8 % of GDP2.8SudanSudan: 2.7 % of GDP2.7EcuadorEcuador: 2.7 % of GDP2.7IranIran: 2.6 % of GDP2.6VietnamVietnam: 2.6 % of GDP2.6GuineaGuinea: 2.5 % of GDP2.5GreeceGreece: 2.5 % of GDP2.5IndiaIndia: 2.5 % of GDP2.5Sri LankaSri Lanka: 2.4 % of GDP2.4South KoreaSouth Korea: 2.4 % of GDP2.4MaliMali: 2.4 % of GDP2.4Timor-LesteTimor-Leste: 2.3 % of GDP2.3MauritaniaMauritania: 2.2 % of GDP2.2TunisiaTunisia: 2.1 % of GDP2.1BurundiBurundi: 2.1 % of GDP2.1
% of GDP. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2015
% of GDP		Change on 2014
1Saudi Arabia12.6+2.3 pts
2Oman9.6+0.7 pts
3South Sudan8.60 pts
4Algeria5.6+0.6 pts
5Azerbaijan5.5+0.9 pts
6Iraq5.4+2.5 pts
7Israel5.3-0.2 pts
8Kuwait5+1.4 pts
9Russia4.9+0.8 pts
10Bahrain4.6+0.2 pts
11Namibia4.5+0.2 pts
12Lebanon4.5-0.2 pts
13Armenia4.2+0.3 pts
14Jordan4.2-0 pts
15Myanmar4.1+0.5 pts
16Ukraine3.8+0.9 pts
17United States3.5-0.2 pts
18Kyrgyzstan3.5+0.1 pts
19Brunei3.3+0.2 pts
20Pakistan3.2+0.1 pts
21Colombia3.10 pts
22Angola3.1-1.6 pts
23Cuba3.1-0.5 pts
24Singapore3-0 pts
25Morocco3-0.4 pts
26Botswana2.8+0.6 pts
27Sudan2.7n/a
28Ecuador2.7-0 pts
29Iran2.6+0.4 pts
30Vietnam2.6+0.1 pts
31Guinea2.5+0.2 pts
32Greece2.5+0.1 pts
33India2.5-0.1 pts
34Sri Lanka2.40 pts
35South Korea2.4-0 pts
36Mali2.4+0.8 pts
37Timor-Leste2.3+0.3 pts
38Mauritania2.2-0 pts
39Tunisia2.1+0.3 pts
40Burundi2.1-0.2 pts
41Poland2.1+0.2 pts
42United Kingdom2-0.1 pts
43Estonia2+0.1 pts
44Georgia2-0.3 pts
45Australia1.9+0.2 pts
46Chile1.9-0.1 pts
47Zimbabwe1.9-0 pts
48France1.90 pts
49Lesotho1.9-0.1 pts
50Türkiye1.8-0.1 pts
51Uruguay1.80 pts
52Belarus1.8-0.1 pts
53Bolivia1.8-0.1 pts
54Zambia1.8+0.1 pts
55Eswatini1.7-0.1 pts
56Croatia1.7-0.1 pts
57Peru1.7+0.1 pts
58China1.70 pts
59Egypt1.70 pts
60Serbia1.7-0.2 pts
61Togo1.7-0.1 pts
62Cyprus1.6+0.1 pts
63Central African Republic1.6-0.5 pts
64Portugal1.6+0.1 pts
65Chad1.5-0.6 pts
66Malaysia1.50 pts
67Norway1.50 pts
68Guinea-Bissau1.5-0.4 pts
69Finland1.5-0 pts
70Romania1.5+0.1 pts
71Bangladesh1.4+0.1 pts
72Montenegro1.4-0.1 pts
73Nepal1.4-0.1 pts
74Brazil1.40 pts
75Honduras1.4+0.2 pts
76Cambodia1.3+0.1 pts
77Thailand1.3-0 pts
78Tajikistan1.3+0.2 pts
79Seychelles1.3-1 pts
80Spain1.30 pts
81Burkina Faso1.3-0 pts
82Bulgaria1.2-0.1 pts
83Côte d’Ivoire1.2+0.2 pts
84Democratic Republic of the Congo1.2+0.3 pts
85Rwanda1.2+0.1 pts
86Senegal1.2-0 pts
87Kenya1.20 pts
88Gabon1.20 pts
89Italy1.2-0.1 pts
90Canada1.2+0.1 pts
91Albania1.2-0.2 pts
92Lithuania1.1+0.3 pts
93Netherlands1.1-0 pts
94Germany1.1-0 pts
95Denmark1.1-0 pts
96Kazakhstan1.1+0.1 pts
97Slovakia1.1+0.1 pts
98Cameroon1.1-0 pts
99Tanzania1.1+0.1 pts
100Philippines1.10 pts
101Guyana1.1+0.1 pts
102Sweden1.1-0.1 pts
103Latvia1.1+0.1 pts
104Paraguay1.1+0.1 pts
105El Salvador1.10 pts
106Equatorial Guinea1+0.3 pts
107Gambia1-0.2 pts
108South Africa1-0 pts
109Afghanistan1-0.3 pts
110North Macedonia1-0.1 pts
111Bosnia and Herzegovina1-0 pts
112New Zealand1-0 pts
113Uganda1+0.1 pts
114Belize10 pts
115Venezuela0.9-0.2 pts
116Czechia0.9-0 pts
117Slovenia0.9-0 pts
118Japan0.9-0 pts
119Belgium0.9-0.1 pts
120Fiji0.9-0.6 pts
121Hungary0.90 pts
122Indonesia0.9+0.1 pts
123Mongolia0.90 pts
124Jamaica0.9-0 pts
125Argentina0.9-0 pts
126Mozambique0.8-0.1 pts
127Benin0.8+0.1 pts
128Nicaragua0.8+0.1 pts
129Trinidad and Tobago0.8+0.1 pts
130Austria0.7-0.1 pts
131Somalia0.7-0.3 pts
132Ethiopia0.7-0.1 pts
133Switzerland0.70 pts
134Dominican Republic0.6-0 pts
135Sierra Leone0.6-0.2 pts
136Madagascar0.5-0 pts
137Cape Verde0.50 pts
138Liberia0.50 pts
139Papua New Guinea0.5-0 pts
140Malta0.5-0 pts
141Malawi0.5-0.1 pts
142Mexico0.5-0 pts
143Nigeria0.40 pts
144Guatemala0.4-0 pts
145Ghana0.4-0.1 pts
146Ireland0.3-0.1 pts
147Moldova0.30 pts
148Luxembourg0.30 pts
149Mauritius0.1-0 pts
150Haiti00 pts
151Costa Rica00 pts
151Iceland00 pts
151Panama00 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 12 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

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:

Rank Countries by military spending as a share of GDP using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"military_expenditure_gdp","level":"country","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=military_expenditure_gdp&level=country&limit=10

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

Questions

Which country has the highest military spending as a share of GDP?

Saudi Arabia, with 12.6% of GDP in 2015, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest military spending as a share of GDP?

Panama, with 0% of GDP in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Military expenditure, % of GDP (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-09. 12 countries have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Military expenditure: other rankings

Countries: more rankings