Military Spending by Country in 1973
In 1973, United States had the world's largest military budget at $575.3 billion, while Israel spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 27.9% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $575,308M | 5.89% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $59,485M | 4.91% |
| 3 | Germany | $58,921M | 3.14% |
| 4 | France | $40,120M | 3.14% |
| 5 | Italy | $20,521M | 2.20% |
| 6 | Japan | $17,038M | 0.82% |
| 7 | Israel | $15,342M | 27.86% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $11,974M | 2.70% |
| 9 | Canada | $11,777M | 1.83% |
| 10 | Spain | $11,296M | 2.11% |
| 11 | Australia | $9,932M | 2.38% |
| 12 | India | $8,709M | 3.16% |
| 13 | Belgium | $7,823M | 2.84% |
| 14 | Poland | $7,481M | — |
| 15 | Saudi Arabia | $7,358M | 10.84% |
| 16 | Switzerland | $7,033M | 1.86% |
| 17 | Sudan | $6,809M | 3.16% |
| 18 | Sweden | $5,802M | 3.28% |
| 19 | Brazil | $5,341M | 2.15% |
| 20 | Argentina | $5,136M | 1.85% |
| 21 | Peru | $4,930M | 3.93% |
| 22 | Greece | $4,406M | 3.52% |
| 23 | Egypt | $3,755M | 13.51% |
| 24 | Denmark | $3,620M | 1.98% |
| 25 | Portugal | $3,586M | 3.48% |
| 26 | South Korea | $2,989M | 4.03% |
| 27 | Turkey | $2,937M | 3.35% |
| 28 | Norway | $2,776M | 3.13% |
| 29 | Hungary | $2,773M | 3.01% |
| 30 | Ecuador | $2,642M | 1.98% |
| 31 | Nigeria | $2,530M | 5.48% |
| 32 | Austria | $2,476M | 1.18% |
| 33 | South Africa | $1,982M | 2.65% |
| 34 | Philippines | $1,948M | 2.81% |
| 35 | Mexico | $1,811M | 0.54% |
| 36 | Pakistan | $1,677M | 6.21% |
| 37 | New Zealand | $1,674M | 1.97% |
| 38 | Finland | $1,569M | 1.45% |
| 39 | Thailand | $1,444M | 2.88% |
| 40 | Singapore | $1,276M | 4.70% |
| 41 | Chile | $1,250M | 6.28% |
| 42 | Uruguay | $1,126M | 3.76% |
| 43 | Iraq | $1,026M | 12.26% |
| 44 | Iran | $994M | 1.86% |
| 45 | Jordan | $945M | 18.67% |
| 46 | Kuwait | $901M | 2.52% |
| 47 | Colombia | $803M | 1.69% |
| 48 | Malaysia | $777M | 3.87% |
| 49 | Morocco | $710M | 3.06% |
| 50 | Oman | $684M | 18.60% |
| 51 | Ireland | $659M | 1.31% |
| 52 | Uganda | $554M | 3.50% |
| 53 | Kenya | $467M | 1.66% |
| 54 | Myanmar | $439M | 5.11% |
| 55 | Libya | $333M | 3.98% |
| 56 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $278M | 0.00% |
| 57 | Algeria | $269M | 1.69% |
| 58 | Guatemala | $250M | 0.91% |
| 59 | Ethiopia | $238M | 1.93% |
| 60 | Tanzania | $225M | 4.17% |
| 61 | Bangladesh | $208M | 0.66% |
| 62 | El Salvador | $206M | 0.86% |
| 63 | Bolivia | $181M | 1.62% |
| 64 | Cameroon | $176M | 1.76% |
| 65 | Dominican Republic | $173M | 1.79% |
| 66 | Ivory Coast | $162M | 1.13% |
| 67 | Paraguay | $129M | 3.42% |
| 68 | Honduras | $116M | 1.68% |
| 69 | Trinidad and Tobago | $106M | 0.68% |
| 70 | Tunisia | $104M | 1.40% |
| 71 | Ghana | $100M | 1.36% |
| 72 | Somalia | $96M | 0.51% |
| 73 | Bahrain | $84M | — |
| 74 | Luxembourg | $84M | 0.78% |
| 75 | Sri Lanka | $69M | 0.87% |
| 76 | Madagascar | $67M | 1.52% |
| 77 | Republic of the Congo | $65M | 4.22% |
| 78 | Rwanda | $51M | 1.88% |
| 79 | Mali | $36M | 2.66% |
| 80 | Burundi | $34M | 1.95% |
| 81 | Gabon | $34M | 1.30% |
| 82 | Togo | $29M | 1.69% |
| 83 | Nepal | $27M | 0.66% |
| 84 | Sierra Leone | $22M | 1.04% |
| 85 | Benin | $20M | 1.68% |
| 86 | Guyana | $20M | 1.65% |
| 87 | Burkina Faso | $19M | 1.24% |
| 88 | Malawi | $14M | 1.06% |
| 89 | Afghanistan | $6M | 1.87% |
| 90 | Fiji | $4M | 0.22% |
| 91 | Mauritius | $3M | 0.19% |
| 92 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 93 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 94 | Nicaragua | $0M | 1.42% |
| 95 | Syria | — | 15.07% |
| 96 | Lebanon | — | 3.82% |
| 97 | Zimbabwe | — | 2.63% |
| 98 | Venezuela | — | 2.47% |
| 99 | Liberia | — | 0.97% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.