Military Spending by Country in 1971
In 1971, United States had the world's largest military budget at $606.3 billion, while Israel spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 22.8% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $606,252M | 6.94% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $55,738M | 5.08% |
| 3 | Germany | $53,046M | 3.05% |
| 4 | France | $37,721M | 3.32% |
| 5 | Italy | $18,519M | 2.24% |
| 6 | Japan | $14,463M | 0.82% |
| 7 | Canada | $11,788M | 2.13% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $11,430M | 2.84% |
| 9 | Australia | $10,364M | 2.76% |
| 10 | Israel | $10,273M | 22.80% |
| 11 | Spain | $9,618M | 2.11% |
| 12 | India | $9,353M | 3.65% |
| 13 | Sudan | $8,665M | 4.60% |
| 14 | Switzerland | $7,123M | 2.05% |
| 15 | Belgium | $7,098M | 2.90% |
| 16 | Poland | $6,976M | — |
| 17 | Sweden | $5,607M | 3.41% |
| 18 | Argentina | $4,766M | 1.81% |
| 19 | Egypt | $4,481M | 17.19% |
| 20 | Greece | $4,110M | 4.12% |
| 21 | Saudi Arabia | $4,062M | 8.64% |
| 22 | Peru | $3,928M | 3.62% |
| 23 | Denmark | $3,827M | 2.36% |
| 24 | Portugal | $3,786M | 4.33% |
| 25 | Brazil | $3,114M | 2.62% |
| 26 | Norway | $2,757M | 3.39% |
| 27 | Turkey | $2,635M | 3.50% |
| 28 | South Korea | $2,540M | 4.73% |
| 29 | Austria | $2,300M | 1.25% |
| 30 | Ecuador | $1,945M | 1.85% |
| 31 | Nigeria | $1,873M | 4.39% |
| 32 | New Zealand | $1,698M | 2.32% |
| 33 | Pakistan | $1,601M | 6.74% |
| 34 | South Africa | $1,538M | 2.46% |
| 35 | Thailand | $1,492M | 3.56% |
| 36 | Colombia | $1,415M | 3.37% |
| 37 | Mexico | $1,355M | 0.49% |
| 38 | Finland | $1,310M | 1.45% |
| 39 | Philippines | $1,253M | 2.07% |
| 40 | Singapore | $1,246M | 5.64% |
| 41 | Chile | $1,112M | 6.26% |
| 42 | Iran | $1,069M | 3.05% |
| 43 | Jordan | $887M | 17.15% |
| 44 | Iraq | $856M | 10.52% |
| 45 | Malaysia | $851M | 5.37% |
| 46 | Morocco | $565M | 2.63% |
| 47 | Uganda | $554M | 3.47% |
| 48 | Ireland | $519M | 1.24% |
| 49 | Myanmar | $479M | 5.65% |
| 50 | Oman | $378M | 9.65% |
| 51 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $370M | 0.00% |
| 52 | Libya | $347M | 5.32% |
| 53 | Kenya | $325M | 1.23% |
| 54 | Guatemala | $271M | 1.12% |
| 55 | Algeria | $269M | 2.09% |
| 56 | Ethiopia | $216M | 1.91% |
| 57 | Dominican Republic | $188M | 2.20% |
| 58 | Ivory Coast | $186M | 1.50% |
| 59 | Cameroon | $177M | 1.84% |
| 60 | El Salvador | $152M | 0.72% |
| 61 | Tanzania | $149M | 3.10% |
| 62 | Trinidad and Tobago | $129M | 0.96% |
| 63 | Ghana | $115M | 1.70% |
| 64 | Bolivia | $113M | 1.39% |
| 65 | Paraguay | $107M | 3.23% |
| 66 | Sri Lanka | $96M | 1.36% |
| 67 | Tunisia | $94M | 1.48% |
| 68 | Honduras | $91M | 1.47% |
| 69 | Bahrain | $83M | — |
| 70 | Somalia | $79M | 0.48% |
| 71 | Luxembourg | $69M | 0.79% |
| 72 | Republic of the Congo | $64M | 4.60% |
| 73 | Madagascar | $58M | 1.32% |
| 74 | Mali | $30M | 1.92% |
| 75 | Gabon | $27M | 1.44% |
| 76 | Nepal | $26M | 0.62% |
| 77 | Togo | $24M | 1.41% |
| 78 | Sierra Leone | $19M | 0.90% |
| 79 | Burkina Faso | $18M | 1.18% |
| 80 | Burundi | $18M | 1.03% |
| 81 | Benin | $17M | 1.60% |
| 82 | Malawi | $8M | 0.58% |
| 83 | Fiji | $3M | 0.22% |
| 84 | Mauritius | $3M | 0.22% |
| 85 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 86 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 87 | Syria | — | 8.44% |
| 88 | Lebanon | — | 4.00% |
| 89 | Hungary | — | 3.74% |
| 90 | Venezuela | — | 2.70% |
| 91 | Zimbabwe | — | 2.29% |
| 92 | Kuwait | — | 1.89% |
| 93 | Nicaragua | — | 1.51% |
| 94 | Liberia | — | 1.19% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.