List of countries with highest military expenditures

The following is a list of countries with the highest military expenditures.

By total spending

The first list is based on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) fact sheet, which includes a list of the world's top 40 military spenders as of 2025, based on current market exchange rates.[1]

The second list is based on the 2026 edition of The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) using average market exchange rates.[2]

40 countries with the highest military spending worldwide in 2025[1]
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database
List by the International Institute for Strategic Studies

2026 edition of "The Military Balance" from the
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

for the year 2025[2]

By share of GDP

The following lists are of countries by military spending as a share of GDP—more specifically, a list of the 15 countries with the highest share in recent years:

The first list uses the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute as a source, while the second list gets its data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

List by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (2025)
[3]
List by the International Institute for Strategic Studies
Top 15 Defence Budgets 2020
[4]
Rank Country % of GDP
1 Ukraine 39.56%
2 Algeria 8.83%
3 Israel 7.81%
4 Russia 7.50%
5 Saudi Arabia 6.48%
6 Azerbaijan 6.47%
7 Armenia 6.09%
8 Oman 5.68%
9 Kuwait 4.69%
10 Jordan 4.56%
11 Poland 4.50%
12 Mali 3.87%
13 Latvia 3.61%
14 Morocco 3.54%
15 South Sudan 3.42%
16 Estonia 3.37%
17 Burkina Faso 3.30%
18 Norway 3.28%
19 Denmark 3.25%
20 Burundi 3.24%
21 Colombia 3.20%
22 Chad 3.19%
23 United States 3.12%
24 Botswana 3.11%
25 Bahrain 3.11%
26 Lithuania 3.08%
27 Singapore 3.05%
28 Greece 2.99%
29 Kyrgyzstan 2.92%
30 Pakistan 2.91%
Rank Country % of GDP
1 Oman 12.0%
2 Afghanistan 10.6%
3 Lebanon 10.5%
4 Kuwait 7.1%
5 Saudi Arabia 7.1%
6 Algeria 6.7%
7 Iraq 5.8%
8 UAE 5.6%
9 Azerbaijan 5.4%
10 Morocco 5.3%
11 Israel 5.2%
12 Jordan 4.9%
13 Armenia 4.8%
14 Mali 4.5%
15 Qatar 4.4%
* Italic values are SIPRI estimates.

Graphics

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c SIPRI estimate
  2. ^ a b c The figures for France, Poland and Turkey exclude expenditure for National Gendarmerie, Żandarmeria Wojskowa and Gendarmerie General Command.

References

  1. ^ a b "Trends in Military Expenditure 2025" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. April 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b "The Military Balance 2026: Global defence spending". IISS. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  3. ^ "SIPRI Military Expenditure Database | SIPRI". www.sipri.org. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  4. ^ "IISS Military Balance 2021". The Military Balance. 121 (1). International Institute for Strategic Studies: 23–29. January 2021. doi:10.1080/04597222.2021.1868791. S2CID 232050862. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.