Military expenditure by country

The ranking of countries on military spending presented on the website is based on the annual report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). For some countries where spending on military needs is not published in open sources, the institute's experts give their own assessment based on the information received and comparing previous data and current activity in the defense and arms sectors for a particular state.

The presented data are necessary for the world community to analyze global security and defense policy. The report reflects which States pay the most attention to their military budgets and how resources are allocated to defense on a global scale.

The SIPRI bulletin includes data on military expenditures of 173 countries for the period from 1949 to 2023. For a better understanding of the difference, data on military expenditures are presented in a single currency - US dollars.

Ranking of countries by military spending in 2023

Rank		Military expendituremillions of US dollars	World Populationpeople
1	United States	880 thousand	343.5 million
2	China	309 thousand	1.4 billion
3	Russia	126 thousand	145.4 million
4	India	83 thousand	1.4 billion
5	Saudi Arabia	74 thousand	33.3 million
6	United Kingdom	69 thousand	68.7 million
7	Ukraine	62 thousand	37.7 million
8	Germany Freelance visa Work visa The Blue Card The Chance Card Study visa Career Counseling Career support	61 thousand	84.5 million
9	France	57 thousand	66.4 million
10	Japan	52 thousand	124.4 million
11	South Korea	47 thousand	51.7 million
12	Italy Visa Digital Nomad Study visa	33 thousand	59.5 million
13	Australia	32 thousand	26.5 million
14	Israel	29 thousand	9.3 million
15	Canada	27 thousand	39.3 million
16	Poland	27 thousand	38.8 million
17	Spain Visa Digital Nomad Startup Visa Study visa Financially Independent Residence Permit	22 thousand	47.9 million
18	Brazil	21 thousand	211.1 million
19	Taiwan	17 thousand	23.3 million
20	Algeria	16 thousand	46.2 million
21	Netherlands	16 thousand	18.1 million
22	Turkey Visa Digital Nomad	15 thousand	87.3 million
23	Singapore	12 thousand	5.8 million
24	Mexico	10 thousand	129.7 million
25	Colombia	10 thousand	52.3 million
26	Indonesia	9 thousand	281.2 million
27	Pakistan	9 thousand	247.5 million
28	Norway	9 thousand	5.5 million
29	Sweden	9 thousand	10.6 million
30	Denmark	8 thousand	5.9 million
31	Kuwait	8 thousand	4.8 million
32	Iran	7 thousand	90.6 million
33	Belgium	7 thousand	11.7 million
34	Greece	7 thousand	10.2 million
35	Finland	7 thousand	5.6 million
36	Switzerland	6 thousand	8.9 million
37	Oman	6 thousand	5.0 million
38	Thailand	6 thousand	71.7 million
39	Philippines	5 thousand	114.9 million
40	Romania	5 thousand	19.1 million
41	Chile	5 thousand	19.7 million
42	Morocco	5 thousand	37.7 million
43	Iraq	5 thousand	45.1 million
44	Bangladesh	4 thousand	171.5 million
45	Czechia	4 thousand	10.8 million
46	Egypt	4 thousand	114.5 million
47	Austria	4 thousand	9.1 million
48	Malaysia	4 thousand	35.1 million
49	Portugal Visa Digital Nomad Financially Independent Residence Permit Freelance visa Study visa Startup visa	4 thousand	10.4 million
50	Hungary Visa Digital Nomad Business Residence Permit	4 thousand	9.7 million
51	Nigeria	4 thousand	227.9 million
52	Myanmar (Burma}	4 thousand	54.1 million
53	Azerbaijan	3 thousand	10.3 million
54	New Zealand	3 thousand	5.2 million
55	South Africa	3 thousand	63.2 million
56	Argentina	3 thousand	45.5 million
57	Peru	3 thousand	33.8 million
58	Ecuador	3 thousand	18.0 million
59	Jordan	2 thousand	11.4 million
60	Slovakia	2 thousand	5.5 million
61	Lithuania	2 thousand	2.9 million
62	Serbia Business Residence Permit	2 thousand	6.8 million
63	Bulgaria Business Residence Permit	2 thousand	6.8 million
64	Angola	2 thousand	36.7 million
65	Uruguay	1 thousand	3.4 million
66	Bahrain	1 thousand	1.6 million
67	Croatia Visa Digital Nomad	1 thousand	3.9 million
68	Belarus	1 thousand	9.1 million
69	Ireland	1 thousand	5.2 million
70	Armenia	1 thousand	2.9 million
71	Sri Lanka	1 thousand	23.0 million
72	Tunisia	1 thousand	12.2 million
73	Kenya	1 thousand	55.3 million
74	Kazakhstan	1 thousand	20.3 million
75	Estonia	1 thousand	1.4 million
76	Ethiopia	999	128.7 million
77	Uganda	931	48.7 million
78	Latvia	926	1.9 million
79	South Sudan	925	11.5 million
80	Tanzania	903	66.6 million
81	Dominican Republic	865	11.3 million
82	Slovenia	823	2.1 million
83	Burkina Faso	793	23.0 million
84	Congo - Kinshasa	761	105.8 million
85	Mali	727	23.8 million
86	Cambodia	659	17.4 million
87	Côte d’Ivoire	636	31.2 million
88	Bolivia	627	12.2 million
89	Luxembourg	625	665 thousand
90	Botswana	522	2.5 million
91	Honduras	509	10.6 million
92	Cyprus	506	1.3 million
93	Guinea	456	14.4 million
94	Georgia	442	3.8 million
95	El Salvador	435	6.3 million
96	Kyrgyzstan	434	7.1 million
97	Brunei	430	459 thousand
98	Cameroon	414	28.4 million
99	Senegal	412	18.1 million
100	Nepal	408	29.7 million
101	Guatemala	401	18.1 million
102	Zambia	399	20.7 million
103	Paraguay	385	6.8 million
104	Namibia	360	3.0 million
105	Mozambique	350	33.6 million
106	Albania	340	2.8 million
107	Chad	339	19.3 million
108	Niger	309	26.2 million
109	Congo - Brazzaville	268	-
110	Ghana	260	33.8 million
111	Togo	256	9.3 million
112	Mauritania	253	5.0 million
113	Gabon	244	2.5 million
114	North Macedonia	236	1.8 million
115	Zimbabwe	233	16.3 million
116	Trinidad & Tobago	228	1.5 million
117	Jamaica	217	2.8 million
118	Bosnia & Herzegovina	200	3.2 million
119	Lebanon	195	5.8 million
120	Rwanda	171	14.0 million
121	Equatorial Guinea	154	1.8 million
122	Burundi	152	13.7 million
123	Tajikistan	132	10.4 million
124	Mongolia	132	3.4 million
125	Benin	131	14.1 million
126	Kosovo (Disputed Territory)	124	1.7 million
127	Malawi	123	21.1 million
128	Malta	104	533 thousand
129	Montenegro Visa Digital Nomad Business Residence Permit	103	634 thousand
130	Madagascar	99	31.2 million
131	Papua New Guinea	94	10.4 million
132	Guyana	92	826 thousand
133	Nicaragua	88	6.8 million
134	Moldova	79	3.1 million
135	Fiji	72	924 thousand
136	Eswatini	72	1.2 million
137	Central African Republic	57	5.2 million
138	Timor-Leste	52	1.4 million
139	Lesotho	36	2.3 million
140	Liberia	34	5.5 million
141	Seychelles	34	128 thousand
142	Belize	26	411 thousand
143	Guinea-Bissau	23	2.2 million
144	Sierra Leone	22	8.5 million
145	Mauritius	21	1.3 million
146	Gambia	13	2.7 million
147	Cape Verde	12	522 thousand
148	Haiti	10	11.6 million
149	Venezuela	4	28.3 million
150	Costa Rica	-	5.1 million
151	Iceland	-	388 thousand
152	Panama	-	4.5 million
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Top 10 countries with the highest military spending

The United States is the leader in military spending ($880.071 million), justifying this by the need to ensure national security and global influence. U.S. defense spending exceeds the combined military spending of the next five countries in the ranking.

China is in second place, rapidly increasing its military capabilities ($309.484 million). This is due to the growing ambitions to strengthen positions in the region and in the international arena. Beijing is actively investing in modern technology and military infrastructure.

Russia ranks third ($126.473 million), which is actively increasing its military spending starting in 2022. According to the financial plan, military spending will reach 6% of the country's total GDP in 2025.

India ranks fourth in the world in terms of military spending and spends $83.335 million on defense. The country's leadership justifies this with threats from the north from China and Pakistan.

Next in the ranking are: Saudi Arabia ($73.984 million), the United Kingdom ($69.153 million), Ukraine ($62.076 million), Germany ($61.187 million), France ($57.125 million) and Japan ($51.888 million).

Top 10 countries with the lowest military spending

The countries with the lowest level of military spending are, as a rule, remote island states that do not participate in world conflicts and the struggle for dominance in the international arena and are engaged in the development of internal infrastructure and invest in the well—being of the country. The second option is very poor regions that simply have nothing to invest in the military sphere.

The first place from the end is occupied by Panama, which has one of the lowest levels of military spending. The country abandoned the regular army after the U.S. invasion in 1989. Panama relies on peaceful diplomatic solutions and international cooperation to ensure its security.

The second place is occupied by prosperous Iceland. It also does not have a full-fledged army and does not spend money on military needs at all. Iceland's role in international security is to participate in peacekeeping operations and agreements through NATO. The protection of the country is carried out at the expense of other members of the alliance.

Costa Rica is in third place, demonstrating a unique strategy. The country's leadership completely abolished the army in 1949. The country finances social development and education programs, relying on diplomacy to resolve conflicts. Military expenses amount to $0.

This is followed by Venezuela ($4 million), which, amid the economic crisis and political instability, is reducing its military spending, although it is still investing in the armed forces to maintain control over the situation in the country. In fifth place and further: Haiti ($10 million), Cape Verde (12 million), Gambia ($13 million), Mauritius ($21 million), Sierra Leone ($22 million) and Guinea-Bissau ($23 million).

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