Military Spending by Country in 1970
In 1970, United States had the world's largest military budget at $673.8 billion, while Israel spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 23.4% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $673,818M | 8.03% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $55,863M | 5.20% |
| 3 | Germany | $49,513M | 3.00% |
| 4 | France | $37,212M | 3.46% |
| 5 | Italy | $16,479M | 2.06% |
| 6 | Japan | $13,116M | 0.77% |
| 7 | Canada | $11,406M | 2.19% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $10,930M | 2.87% |
| 9 | Australia | $10,665M | 2.97% |
| 10 | Spain | $10,007M | 2.29% |
| 11 | Israel | $9,503M | 23.45% |
| 12 | Sudan | $8,641M | 4.95% |
| 13 | India | $7,844M | 3.19% |
| 14 | Switzerland | $6,848M | 2.10% |
| 15 | Belgium | $6,811M | 2.92% |
| 16 | Poland | $6,535M | — |
| 17 | Sweden | $5,485M | 3.36% |
| 18 | Argentina | $4,618M | 1.88% |
| 19 | Egypt | $3,988M | 15.99% |
| 20 | Greece | $3,889M | 4.20% |
| 21 | Denmark | $3,763M | 2.43% |
| 22 | Peru | $3,700M | 3.51% |
| 23 | Portugal | $3,472M | 4.14% |
| 24 | Saudi Arabia | $3,417M | 9.40% |
| 25 | Brazil | $3,125M | 2.89% |
| 26 | Norway | $2,689M | 3.47% |
| 27 | Austria | $2,389M | 1.38% |
| 28 | Turkey | $2,300M | 3.26% |
| 29 | Nigeria | $2,256M | 5.28% |
| 30 | Ecuador | $2,180M | 1.83% |
| 31 | South Korea | $2,161M | 4.40% |
| 32 | New Zealand | $1,805M | 2.63% |
| 33 | Iran | $1,717M | 5.86% |
| 34 | Pakistan | $1,441M | 6.16% |
| 35 | South Africa | $1,396M | 2.33% |
| 36 | Philippines | $1,342M | 2.16% |
| 37 | Mexico | $1,319M | 0.50% |
| 38 | Thailand | $1,240M | 3.07% |
| 39 | Finland | $1,205M | 1.38% |
| 40 | Singapore | $1,029M | 5.40% |
| 41 | Jordan | $939M | 18.51% |
| 42 | Colombia | $900M | 2.26% |
| 43 | Iraq | $842M | 11.17% |
| 44 | Malaysia | $759M | 5.17% |
| 45 | Chile | $735M | 4.45% |
| 46 | Morocco | $471M | 2.32% |
| 47 | Myanmar | $470M | 5.60% |
| 48 | Ireland | $460M | 1.16% |
| 49 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $394M | 0.00% |
| 50 | Guatemala | $393M | 1.70% |
| 51 | Libya | $336M | 6.07% |
| 52 | Uganda | $324M | 1.97% |
| 53 | Algeria | $274M | 2.13% |
| 54 | Kenya | $260M | 1.06% |
| 55 | Ethiopia | $208M | 1.88% |
| 56 | Dominican Republic | $191M | 2.42% |
| 57 | Cameroon | $174M | 1.87% |
| 58 | Ghana | $142M | 2.12% |
| 59 | Ivory Coast | $138M | 1.18% |
| 60 | El Salvador | $128M | 0.63% |
| 61 | Bolivia | $124M | 1.61% |
| 62 | Tanzania | $108M | 2.30% |
| 63 | Paraguay | $104M | 3.32% |
| 64 | Trinidad and Tobago | $97M | 0.75% |
| 65 | Tunisia | $90M | 1.56% |
| 66 | Honduras | $80M | 1.37% |
| 67 | Somalia | $78M | 0.50% |
| 68 | Luxembourg | $68M | 0.75% |
| 69 | Republic of the Congo | $64M | 4.86% |
| 70 | Sri Lanka | $64M | 0.92% |
| 71 | Madagascar | $58M | 1.35% |
| 72 | Mali | $38M | 2.23% |
| 73 | Gabon | $24M | 1.43% |
| 74 | Nepal | $23M | 0.59% |
| 75 | Togo | $22M | 1.37% |
| 76 | Sierra Leone | $19M | 0.93% |
| 77 | Benin | $17M | 1.63% |
| 78 | Burkina Faso | $17M | 1.17% |
| 79 | Malawi | $8M | 0.64% |
| 80 | Afghanistan | $5M | 1.63% |
| 81 | Fiji | $3M | 0.19% |
| 82 | Mauritius | $2M | 0.22% |
| 83 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 84 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 85 | Syria | — | 11.22% |
| 86 | Lebanon | — | 4.34% |
| 87 | Hungary | — | 4.03% |
| 88 | Zimbabwe | — | 2.44% |
| 89 | Kuwait | — | 2.39% |
| 90 | Venezuela | — | 2.29% |
| 91 | Nicaragua | — | 1.58% |
| 92 | Liberia | — | 1.10% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.