Military Spending by Country in 1980
In 1980, United States had the world's largest military budget at $547.0 billion, while Israel spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 18.9% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $547,007M | 5.15% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $66,838M | 5.02% |
| 3 | Germany | $64,867M | 2.95% |
| 4 | France | $50,669M | 3.16% |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | $35,224M | 12.61% |
| 6 | Italy | $22,028M | 1.76% |
| 7 | Japan | $21,565M | 0.91% |
| 8 | Spain | $15,864M | 2.49% |
| 9 | Canada | $14,798M | 1.76% |
| 10 | Netherlands | $14,439M | 2.78% |
| 11 | Israel | $14,063M | 18.92% |
| 12 | Argentina | $12,547M | 3.10% |
| 13 | India | $11,484M | 3.13% |
| 14 | Australia | $11,162M | 2.25% |
| 15 | Belgium | $10,363M | 3.25% |
| 16 | South Korea | $9,661M | 6.40% |
| 17 | Peru | $8,592M | 4.56% |
| 18 | Poland | $8,105M | 2.65% |
| 19 | Taiwan | $7,926M | 7.29% |
| 20 | Switzerland | $7,394M | 1.68% |
| 21 | Sudan | $7,052M | 2.30% |
| 22 | Greece | $6,990M | 4.66% |
| 23 | Sweden | $6,297M | 2.92% |
| 24 | Brazil | $5,977M | 1.14% |
| 25 | Romania | $5,288M | 2.20% |
| 26 | Turkey | $4,905M | 3.90% |
| 27 | Ecuador | $4,532M | 1.78% |
| 28 | Denmark | $4,523M | 2.36% |
| 29 | Iran | $3,801M | 5.34% |
| 30 | Austria | $3,736M | 1.42% |
| 31 | Hungary | $3,594M | 3.34% |
| 32 | Norway | $3,571M | 2.62% |
| 33 | South Africa | $3,544M | 3.30% |
| 34 | Egypt | $3,266M | 6.16% |
| 35 | Kuwait | $3,246M | 3.31% |
| 36 | Thailand | $3,044M | 4.24% |
| 37 | Chile | $2,786M | 6.48% |
| 38 | Lebanon | $2,786M | 12.36% |
| 39 | Indonesia | $2,601M | 2.92% |
| 40 | New Zealand | $2,524M | 3.02% |
| 41 | Philippines | $2,467M | 2.71% |
| 42 | Mexico | $2,400M | 0.42% |
| 43 | Qatar | $2,347M | 7.87% |
| 44 | Portugal | $2,272M | 2.03% |
| 45 | Pakistan | $2,138M | 5.52% |
| 46 | Finland | $2,110M | 1.67% |
| 47 | Singapore | $2,080M | 4.64% |
| 48 | Morocco | $2,033M | 5.94% |
| 49 | Nigeria | $1,934M | 3.30% |
| 50 | Uruguay | $1,674M | 4.70% |
| 51 | Oman | $1,591M | 14.91% |
| 52 | Malaysia | $1,580M | 4.23% |
| 53 | Kenya | $1,391M | 4.52% |
| 54 | Colombia | $1,239M | 1.83% |
| 55 | Ireland | $1,061M | 1.67% |
| 56 | Jordan | $1,021M | 10.65% |
| 57 | Algeria | $854M | 2.10% |
| 58 | Ethiopia | $724M | 8.71% |
| 59 | Libya | $674M | 2.67% |
| 60 | Guatemala | $506M | 1.32% |
| 61 | Bangladesh | $459M | 0.74% |
| 62 | Bolivia | $431M | 3.17% |
| 63 | El Salvador | $405M | 1.74% |
| 64 | Myanmar | $387M | 3.42% |
| 65 | Bahrain | $325M | 5.70% |
| 66 | Tanzania | $278M | 4.52% |
| 67 | Tunisia | $260M | 2.03% |
| 68 | Cameroon | $239M | 1.56% |
| 69 | Ivory Coast | $225M | 1.16% |
| 70 | Honduras | $213M | 2.22% |
| 71 | Dominican Republic | $208M | 1.58% |
| 72 | Trinidad and Tobago | $204M | 0.59% |
| 73 | Uganda | $196M | 2.22% |
| 74 | Senegal | $147M | 2.76% |
| 75 | Somalia | $146M | 0.55% |
| 76 | Paraguay | $141M | 2.18% |
| 77 | Madagascar | $137M | 2.77% |
| 78 | Mozambique | $135M | 1.86% |
| 79 | Luxembourg | $131M | 1.15% |
| 80 | Sri Lanka | $113M | 0.77% |
| 81 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $104M | — |
| 82 | Papua New Guinea | $103M | 1.40% |
| 83 | Republic of the Congo | $93M | 3.37% |
| 84 | Gabon | $89M | 1.60% |
| 85 | Guinea | $79M | 0.90% |
| 86 | Burundi | $67M | 2.92% |
| 87 | Botswana | $60M | 3.21% |
| 88 | Malawi | $54M | 1.76% |
| 89 | Nepal | $50M | 1.03% |
| 90 | Burkina Faso | $49M | 2.75% |
| 91 | Mali | $48M | 2.08% |
| 92 | Guyana | $45M | 3.70% |
| 93 | Rwanda | $45M | 1.88% |
| 94 | Togo | $44M | 2.19% |
| 95 | Zimbabwe | $38M | 6.63% |
| 96 | Sierra Leone | $34M | 0.59% |
| 97 | Ghana | $33M | 0.77% |
| 98 | Benin | $32M | 2.03% |
| 99 | Fiji | $22M | 0.86% |
| 100 | Eswatini | $21M | 2.42% |
| 101 | Niger | $19M | 0.67% |
| 102 | Mauritius | $12M | 0.49% |
| 103 | Djibouti | $7M | 0.54% |
| 104 | Lesotho | $7M | 3.16% |
| 105 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 106 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 107 | Nicaragua | $0M | 3.35% |
| 108 | Syria | — | 17.25% |
| 109 | Albania | — | 6.05% |
| 110 | Iraq | — | 5.51% |
| 111 | Venezuela | — | 1.70% |
| 112 | Liberia | — | 1.49% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.