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 154 countries in 2017, at 9.5% of GDP. Panama had the lowest, at 0% of GDP. The median was 1.4% of GDP and the figure for the World was 2.1% of GDP. Source: the World Bank.

Highest9.5Saudi Arabia
Lowest0Panama
Median1.4154 countries
World2.1History

Top 40 countries, 2017

CSVChart (SVG)

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia: 9.5 % of GDP9.5OmanOman: 8.4 % of GDP8.4KuwaitKuwait: 5.6 % of GDP5.6AlgeriaAlgeria: 5.3 % of GDP5.3IsraelIsrael: 5.3 % of GDP5.3JordanJordan: 4.7 % of GDP4.7LebanonLebanon: 4.6 % of GDP4.6BahrainBahrain: 4.3 % of GDP4.3RussiaRussia: 4.2 % of GDP4.2South SudanSouth Sudan: 4 % of GDP4IraqIraq: 3.9 % of GDP3.9ArmeniaArmenia: 3.8 % of GDP3.8AzerbaijanAzerbaijan: 3.8 % of GDP3.8NamibiaNamibia: 3.5 % of GDP3.5PakistanPakistan: 3.4 % of GDP3.4MyanmarMyanmar: 3.4 % of GDP3.4United StatesUnited States: 3.3 % of GDP3.3SudanSudan: 3.3 % of GDP3.3BotswanaBotswana: 3.2 % of GDP3.2UkraineUkraine: 3.2 % of GDP3.2ColombiaColombia: 3.2 % of GDP3.2Republic of the CongoRepublic of the Congo: 3.2 % of GDP3.2KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan: 3.1 % of GDP3.1MaliMali: 3 % of GDP3SingaporeSingapore: 3 % of GDP3MoroccoMorocco: 2.9 % of GDP2.9CubaCuba: 2.9 % of GDP2.9BruneiBrunei: 2.9 % of GDP2.9IranIran: 2.8 % of GDP2.8GreeceGreece: 2.6 % of GDP2.6IndiaIndia: 2.5 % of GDP2.5AngolaAngola: 2.5 % of GDP2.5EcuadorEcuador: 2.4 % of GDP2.4South KoreaSouth Korea: 2.3 % of GDP2.3VietnamVietnam: 2.3 % of GDP2.3LesothoLesotho: 2.3 % of GDP2.3VenezuelaVenezuela: 2.2 % of GDP2.2MauritaniaMauritania: 2.1 % of GDP2.1TürkiyeTürkiye: 2 % of GDP2TunisiaTunisia: 2 % of GDP2
% of GDP. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2017
% of GDP		Change on 2016
1Saudi Arabia9.5+0.3 pts
2Oman8.4-2.1 pts
3Kuwait5.6-0.3 pts
4Algeria5.3-0.3 pts
5Israel5.3+0.1 pts
6Jordan4.7+0.2 pts
7Lebanon4.6-0.5 pts
8Bahrain4.3-0.3 pts
9Russia4.2-1.2 pts
10South Sudan4-0.9 pts
11Iraq3.9+0.4 pts
12Armenia3.8-0.2 pts
13Azerbaijan3.8+0.1 pts
14Namibia3.5-0.4 pts
15Pakistan3.4+0.2 pts
16Myanmar3.4-0.4 pts
17United States3.3-0.1 pts
18Sudan3.3+1 pts
19Botswana3.2-0.2 pts
20Ukraine3.2-0.4 pts
21Colombia3.2+0.1 pts
22Republic of the Congo3.2-1.4 pts
23Kyrgyzstan3.1-0.2 pts
24Mali3+0.4 pts
25Singapore3-0.1 pts
26Morocco2.9-0 pts
27Cuba2.9-0.2 pts
28Brunei2.9-0.7 pts
29Iran2.80 pts
30Greece2.6-0 pts
31India2.5-0 pts
32Angola2.5-0.2 pts
33Ecuador2.4-0.2 pts
34South Korea2.3-0 pts
35Vietnam2.3-0.2 pts
36Lesotho2.3+0.3 pts
37Venezuela2.2+1.8 pts
38Mauritania2.1-0 pts
39Türkiye2-0 pts
40Tunisia2-0.2 pts
41Burundi2-0.2 pts
42Australia2-0.1 pts
43Sri Lanka2-0 pts
44Estonia2-0.1 pts
45Georgia1.9-0.1 pts
46Chile1.90 pts
47United Kingdom1.9-0 pts
48Eswatini1.9-0.1 pts
49Poland1.9-0 pts
50France1.90 pts
51Gabon1.8+0.4 pts
52Niger1.8+0.2 pts
53Uruguay1.8+0.1 pts
54Guinea1.8-0.1 pts
55Serbia1.8-0.1 pts
56Romania1.7+0.3 pts
57Lithuania1.7+0.2 pts
58Norway1.7+0.1 pts
59China1.7-0.1 pts
60Chad1.7-0.7 pts
61Latvia1.7+0.2 pts
62Croatia1.60 pts
63Timor-Leste1.60 pts
64Belarus1.6-0.2 pts
65Honduras1.6+0.1 pts
66Cyprus1.6+0.2 pts
67Cambodia1.6+0.1 pts
68Bolivia1.50 pts
69Nepal1.50 pts
70Zimbabwe1.5-0.3 pts
71Senegal1.5-0.1 pts
72Portugal1.5-0.1 pts
73Egypt1.4-0.2 pts
74Brazil1.4+0.1 pts
75Fiji1.4+0.3 pts
76Togo1.40 pts
77Montenegro1.4-0 pts
78Burkina Faso1.4+0.2 pts
79Finland1.4-0.1 pts
80Central African Republic1.3-0.1 pts
81Thailand1.30 pts
82Seychelles1.3-0.1 pts
83Guinea-Bissau1.3+0.1 pts
84Zambia1.3-0.1 pts
85Canada1.3+0.2 pts
86Italy1.3-0 pts
87Peru1.3-0.1 pts
88Guyana1.3+0.1 pts
89Rwanda1.20 pts
90Kenya1.2-0 pts
91Bulgaria1.2-0 pts
92Spain1.2+0.1 pts
93Hungary1.2+0.2 pts
94Philippines1.2+0.1 pts
95Denmark1.1-0 pts
96Cameroon1.1-0 pts
97Netherlands1.1-0 pts
98Bangladesh1.1-0.1 pts
99Germany1.10 pts
100Equatorial Guinea1.1-0.1 pts
101Slovakia1.1-0 pts
102Malaysia1.1-0.3 pts
103Albania1.1-0 pts
104Belize1.10 pts
105Tanzania1.1-0 pts
106New Zealand1.10 pts
107El Salvador10 pts
108Uganda10 pts
109Tajikistan1-0.2 pts
110Sweden1-0 pts
111Slovenia1-0 pts
112Mozambique1+0.1 pts
113Jamaica10 pts
114Côte d’Ivoire1-0.3 pts
115Afghanistan0.9-0 pts
116Czechia0.9-0 pts
117South Africa0.9-0 pts
118Benin0.9+0.2 pts
119North Macedonia0.9-0 pts
120Japan0.9-0 pts
121Paraguay0.9-0.1 pts
122Belgium0.9-0 pts
123Indonesia0.9+0.1 pts
124Bosnia and Herzegovina0.9-0.1 pts
125Argentina0.80 pts
126Trinidad and Tobago0.8-0.1 pts
127Kazakhstan0.8-0.1 pts
128Mongolia0.8-0.1 pts
129Austria0.80 pts
130Somalia0.7+0.1 pts
131Democratic Republic of the Congo0.7-0.3 pts
132Sierra Leone0.7-0 pts
133Ethiopia0.7-0 pts
134Dominican Republic0.70 pts
135Switzerland0.70 pts
136Nicaragua0.6-0 pts
137Malawi0.5+0.1 pts
138Madagascar0.50 pts
139Cape Verde0.5-0.1 pts
140Malta0.5-0 pts
141Nigeria0.4-0 pts
142Mexico0.4-0.1 pts
143Liberia0.4-0.1 pts
144Guatemala0.4-0.1 pts
145Papua New Guinea0.4-0 pts
146Luxembourg0.3+0.1 pts
147Moldova0.3-0 pts
148Ghana0.30 pts
149Ireland0.3-0 pts
150Mauritius0.2-0 pts
151Haiti0-0 pts
152Costa Rica00 pts
152Iceland00 pts
152Panama00 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. 11 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2017 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.

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Questions

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

Saudi Arabia, with 9.5% of GDP in 2017, according to the World Bank.

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

Panama, with 0% of GDP in 2017.

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. 11 countries have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.

Military expenditure: other rankings

Countries: more rankings