Military Spending by Country in 1959
In 1959, United States had the world's largest military budget at $514.5 billion, while Jordan spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 22.5% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $514,511M | 9.44% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $52,743M | 7.29% |
| 3 | Germany | $31,860M | 4.15% |
| 4 | France | $31,558M | 5.64% |
| 5 | Canada | $12,767M | 4.40% |
| 6 | Italy | $10,507M | 2.95% |
| 7 | Japan | $6,990M | 1.26% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $6,524M | 4.02% |
| 9 | Australia | $4,978M | 3.10% |
| 10 | Switzerland | $4,659M | 2.71% |
| 11 | Belgium | $4,597M | 3.52% |
| 12 | Spain | $3,523M | 1.91% |
| 13 | India | $3,369M | 2.14% |
| 14 | Denmark | $2,237M | 2.59% |
| 15 | Brazil | $1,972M | 2.96% |
| 16 | Argentina | $1,939M | 0.81% |
| 17 | Sudan | $1,852M | 1.71% |
| 18 | Norway | $1,670M | 3.58% |
| 19 | Austria | $1,662M | 1.70% |
| 20 | Greece | $1,620M | 4.86% |
| 21 | Peru | $1,366M | 2.80% |
| 22 | Portugal | $1,209M | 2.60% |
| 23 | New Zealand | $1,203M | 2.82% |
| 24 | Israel | $1,167M | — |
| 25 | Turkey | $1,162M | — |
| 26 | Ecuador | $1,087M | 1.90% |
| 27 | Finland | $830M | 1.87% |
| 28 | South Korea | $795M | 7.64% |
| 29 | Mexico | $728M | 0.64% |
| 30 | Pakistan | $640M | 4.34% |
| 31 | Philippines | $620M | 1.84% |
| 32 | Thailand | $490M | 3.01% |
| 33 | Myanmar | $472M | — |
| 34 | Colombia | $385M | 1.83% |
| 35 | Ireland | $299M | 1.42% |
| 36 | Morocco | $277M | 2.47% |
| 37 | Iraq | $273M | 6.71% |
| 38 | South Africa | $269M | 0.88% |
| 39 | Malaysia | $232M | 3.08% |
| 40 | Guatemala | $171M | 1.27% |
| 41 | Chile | $170M | 2.15% |
| 42 | El Salvador | $85M | — |
| 43 | Luxembourg | $85M | 1.76% |
| 44 | Sri Lanka | $54M | 1.23% |
| 45 | Ghana | $53M | 1.03% |
| 46 | Honduras | $50M | 1.51% |
| 47 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 48 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 49 | Jordan | — | 22.54% |
| 50 | Venezuela | — | 2.96% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.