Metric guide
Military expenditure by country: a total that needs context.
Military expenditure is a total spending measure, so it can be summed across countries. That makes it useful for comparing alliances, regions, or custom groups.
The figure still needs context. Exchange rates, reporting practices and the size of the wider economy all affect how spending should be interpreted.
Top countries in the current snapshot
Military spending totals are additive, which makes them useful for alliances and regions. They still need context because spending is not the same thing as capability, readiness or burden on the economy.
| Rank | Country | Value | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States of America | $997.31B | 2024 |
| 2 | People's Republic of China | $313.66B | 2024 |
| 3 | Russia | $148.97B | 2024 |
| 4 | Germany | $88.46B | 2024 |
| 5 | India | $86.13B | 2024 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $81.76B | 2024 |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | $80.33B | 2024 |
| 8 | Ukraine | $64.70B | 2024 |
| 9 | France | $64.68B | 2024 |
| 10 | Japan | $55.27B | 2024 |
| 11 | South Korea | $47.57B | 2024 |
| 12 | Israel | $46.51B | 2024 |
What this metric is useful for
- Compare defence spending totals across countries.
- Build group totals while keeping each member country visible in the bar.
- Switch to GDP or population to understand economic and demographic context.
Things to keep in mind
- Spending is not the same as military capability.
- Large economies can spend more in absolute terms even if the burden is modest relative to GDP.
- Source methodology should be checked before using figures in a formal analysis.
Open this metric on the map
Open the live map with Military expenditure selected. You can then click countries, search for groups, drag countries between comparison groups, or switch to a related metric without losing the context of the map.
Source and coverage
Source: World Development Indicators. Coverage in this snapshot: 148 countries out of 242. Reference year: 2024.
Economic, demographic, industrial, defence, water and health indicators. Reuse note: WDI data is generally CC BY 4.0 and commercial use is allowed, but individual indicator metadata can identify third-party content with different terms.