World Military Spending 2024: $2,666.6bn Across 151 Countries
World military spending reached $2,666.6bn in 2024, our calculation from SIPRI's 151-country dataset shows.
Key takeaways
- World military spending totalled $2,666.6bn in 2024 across 151 countries, our calculation from SIPRI country-level data.
- The United States alone accounts for 37.7% of the $2,666.6bn world total, at $1,004.9bn.
- The top five spenders — US, China, Russia, UK, Germany — together account for 61.6% of world spending.
- Ukraine's $64.8bn in spending equals 33.96% of its GDP, far above any other top-ten spender.
- Coverage caveat: see the callout in Section 01 for what's excluded from this total.
Verdict
World military spending reached $2,666.6bn in 2024 across the 151 countries SIPRI reports, with the United States alone responsible for 37.7% of that total. See the coverage caveat in Section 01 for what this figure excludes.
At a glance
| World total, 2024 | $2,666.6bnOur calculation from 151 SIPRI country series |
|---|---|
| Countries included | 151 |
| US share of world total | 37.7%$1,004.9bn |
| Top 5 cumulative share | 61.6% |
| Top 10 cumulative share | 74.7% |
| Highest GDP share (top 10) | Ukraine, 33.96% |
World military spending totalled $2,666.6bn in 2024, our calculation from the 151 countries SIPRI reports data for. The United States alone accounted for 37.7% of that total, and the top five spenders together made up 61.6%.
Who this is for: analysts and journalists who need a sourced, dated total for 2024 world military spending.
01 World Military Spending in 2024: The Total
Summing SIPRI's country-level series for 2024 across all 151 countries in the dataset produces a world total of $2,666.6bn. This is our calculation from SIPRI country-level data, not a world figure SIPRI itself publishes, and it is built entirely from actual 2024 reporting rather than any projected or estimated year.
Sum of the 151 countries SIPRI reports for 2024. Some spenders are absent from the dataset (North Korea has no series; several states have gaps), so this is a floor, not the whole world.
02 How Concentrated Is Global Military Spending?
Military spending is heavily concentrated among a small number of states. The top five countries — the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany — account for 61.6% of the $2,666.6bn world total. The top ten extend that to 74.7%, meaning the remaining 141 countries in the dataset together spend the other 25.3%.
| Rank | Country | Spending | Share of world total | Cumulative share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $1,004.9bn | 37.7% | 37.7% |
| 2 | China | $311.9bn | 11.7% | 49.4% |
| 3 | Russia | $149.4bn | 5.6% | 55.0% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | $89.8bn | 3.4% | 58.4% |
| 5 | Germany | $86.1bn | 3.2% | 61.6% |
03 The Top 10 Military Spenders in 2024
Rounding out the top ten are India ($85.6bn, 3.2% of the world total), Saudi Arabia ($80.3bn, 3.0%), Ukraine ($64.8bn, 2.4%), France ($63.6bn, 2.4%) and Japan ($54.2bn, 2.0%). Together the ten reach a cumulative 74.7% share of the $2,666.6bn total.
- United States — $1,004.9bn, 37.7% of the world total, equal to 3.43% of US GDP.
- China — $311.9bn, 11.7% of the world total, equal to 1.66% of China's GDP.
- Russia — $149.4bn, 5.6% of the world total, equal to 6.87% of Russia's GDP.
- Ukraine — $64.8bn, 2.4% of the world total, equal to 33.96% of Ukraine's GDP — a wartime outlier among the top ten.
04 The United States' Share of World Spending
At $1,004.9bn, the United States' 2024 outlay is 37.7% of the $2,666.6bn world total — more than the combined spending of China, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, the next four largest spenders, whose outlays sum to $637.2bn. US spending equals 3.43% of US GDP, a lower GDP share than Russia (6.87%), Saudi Arabia (6.41%) or Ukraine (33.96%), even though it is by far the largest single spender in dollar terms.
05 Spending as a Share of GDP: Who Spends Hardest
Ranking the top ten by dollar spending obscures how hard each economy is straining to fund its military. Ukraine devotes 33.96% of GDP to defense, an order of magnitude above any other top-ten spender, reflecting its ongoing war footing. Russia (6.87% of GDP) and Saudi Arabia (6.41%) follow, both well above the 1.29%-3.43% range that covers the US, China, the UK, Germany, India, France and Japan.
Dollar share of the $2,666.6bn world total and GDP share answer different questions: the former measures a country's weight in global military spending, the latter measures the domestic economic burden of that spending.
06 Data Coverage and Methodology
The $2,666.6bn figure is our calculation from SIPRI country-level data, not SIPRI's own published total. It sums the 151 countries SIPRI reports for 2024, using constant 2024 US dollars throughout. See the coverage note in Section 01 for what this total excludes. Shares and cumulative shares in this article are all calculated against that $2,666.6bn base.
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, data as of 28 April 2025. See also the 2024 world rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much did the world spend on its military in 2024?
- $2,666.6bn, our calculation summing the 151 countries SIPRI reports data for in 2024. See the coverage note in Section 01 for what's excluded.
- What share of world military spending is the United States?
- The United States spent $1,004.9bn in 2024, 37.7% of the $2,666.6bn world total.
- How concentrated is global military spending among the top countries?
- The top five spenders (US, China, Russia, UK, Germany) account for 61.6% of the $2,666.6bn world total, and the top ten account for 74.7%.
- Is the $2,666.6bn figure a SIPRI-published total?
- No. It is our calculation from SIPRI's country-level data for 2024, not a total SIPRI itself publishes, and it excludes countries with no or gapped data such as North Korea.
defensebudget.org
Defense spending data, sourced from SIPRI
defensebudget.org tracks military expenditure for 160 countries using the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Pages are generated from that dataset and reviewed before publication.