Military Spending by Country in 1981
In 1981, United States had the world's largest military budget at $609.3 billion, while Israel spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 20.3% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $609,291M | 5.65% |
| 2 | Germany | $65,629M | 3.03% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | $65,471M | 4.98% |
| 4 | France | $51,930M | 3.25% |
| 5 | Saudi Arabia | $41,018M | 13.27% |
| 6 | Italy | $23,165M | 1.82% |
| 7 | Japan | $22,338M | 0.92% |
| 8 | Israel | $16,503M | 20.26% |
| 9 | Spain | $16,113M | 2.58% |
| 10 | Canada | $14,620M | 1.71% |
| 11 | Netherlands | $14,586M | 2.86% |
| 12 | Argentina | $13,355M | 3.47% |
| 13 | India | $12,124M | 3.19% |
| 14 | Australia | $11,918M | 2.30% |
| 15 | Belgium | $10,455M | 3.37% |
| 16 | South Korea | $10,010M | 6.42% |
| 17 | Greece | $8,273M | 5.74% |
| 18 | Poland | $8,193M | 2.91% |
| 19 | Peru | $7,508M | 3.98% |
| 20 | Switzerland | $7,381M | 1.66% |
| 21 | Taiwan | $7,366M | 6.65% |
| 22 | Sweden | $6,189M | 2.95% |
| 23 | Sudan | $5,939M | 1.78% |
| 24 | Brazil | $5,833M | 1.14% |
| 25 | Iran | $5,655M | 8.19% |
| 26 | Turkey | $5,534M | 3.82% |
| 27 | Romania | $5,338M | 2.20% |
| 28 | Denmark | $4,572M | 2.44% |
| 29 | Ecuador | $4,360M | 1.68% |
| 30 | Egypt | $3,952M | 7.42% |
| 31 | South Africa | $3,921M | 3.64% |
| 32 | Hungary | $3,710M | 3.33% |
| 33 | Qatar | $3,698M | 12.22% |
| 34 | Austria | $3,620M | 1.38% |
| 35 | Norway | $3,610M | 2.62% |
| 36 | Kuwait | $3,417M | 4.13% |
| 37 | Mexico | $3,177M | 0.51% |
| 38 | Chile | $2,986M | 7.02% |
| 39 | Thailand | $2,969M | 4.06% |
| 40 | Indonesia | $2,931M | 2.88% |
| 41 | Philippines | $2,563M | 2.76% |
| 42 | New Zealand | $2,397M | 2.73% |
| 43 | Pakistan | $2,323M | 5.71% |
| 44 | Singapore | $2,307M | 4.74% |
| 45 | Portugal | $2,261M | 2.00% |
| 46 | Uruguay | $2,210M | 6.26% |
| 47 | Lebanon | $2,191M | 9.58% |
| 48 | Malaysia | $2,129M | 5.79% |
| 49 | Morocco | $2,072M | 6.38% |
| 50 | Finland | $1,973M | 1.55% |
| 51 | Oman | $1,918M | 15.71% |
| 52 | Kenya | $1,349M | 4.23% |
| 53 | Nigeria | $1,275M | 2.77% |
| 54 | Colombia | $1,170M | 1.76% |
| 55 | Jordan | $1,109M | 10.01% |
| 56 | Ireland | $1,016M | 1.58% |
| 57 | Algeria | $759M | 1.82% |
| 58 | Guatemala | $712M | 1.89% |
| 59 | Ethiopia | $697M | 7.54% |
| 60 | Bolivia | $490M | 3.90% |
| 61 | Bangladesh | $486M | 0.84% |
| 62 | El Salvador | $446M | 2.28% |
| 63 | Myanmar | $433M | 3.46% |
| 64 | Bahrain | $398M | 6.90% |
| 65 | Tunisia | $344M | 2.48% |
| 66 | Cameroon | $335M | 1.82% |
| 67 | Tanzania | $319M | 5.58% |
| 68 | Libya | $315M | 1.61% |
| 69 | Dominican Republic | $230M | 1.72% |
| 70 | Honduras | $207M | 2.15% |
| 71 | Ivory Coast | $206M | 1.09% |
| 72 | Paraguay | $184M | 2.53% |
| 73 | Uganda | $172M | 1.89% |
| 74 | Trinidad and Tobago | $170M | 0.51% |
| 75 | Senegal | $161M | 2.73% |
| 76 | Mozambique | $152M | 2.79% |
| 77 | Somalia | $141M | 0.61% |
| 78 | Luxembourg | $136M | 1.21% |
| 79 | Gabon | $135M | 2.29% |
| 80 | Republic of the Congo | $132M | 3.19% |
| 81 | Madagascar | $129M | 2.98% |
| 82 | Jamaica | $104M | 1.51% |
| 83 | Sri Lanka | $100M | 0.63% |
| 84 | Papua New Guinea | $94M | 1.41% |
| 85 | Burundi | $65M | 3.03% |
| 86 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $57M | — |
| 87 | Burkina Faso | $56M | 2.84% |
| 88 | Guinea | $56M | 0.79% |
| 89 | Botswana | $55M | 2.98% |
| 90 | Rwanda | $52M | 2.04% |
| 91 | Nepal | $50M | 0.99% |
| 92 | Mali | $45M | 1.96% |
| 93 | Togo | $43M | 2.37% |
| 94 | Guyana | $42M | 3.94% |
| 95 | Malawi | $39M | 1.27% |
| 96 | Zimbabwe | $31M | 4.86% |
| 97 | Sierra Leone | $30M | 0.54% |
| 98 | Benin | $29M | 1.55% |
| 99 | Ghana | $25M | 0.74% |
| 100 | Fiji | $22M | 0.92% |
| 101 | Djibouti | $19M | 1.42% |
| 102 | Eswatini | $19M | 2.17% |
| 103 | Niger | $17M | 0.63% |
| 104 | Mauritius | $11M | 0.47% |
| 105 | Lesotho | $8M | 3.31% |
| 106 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 107 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 108 | Nicaragua | $0M | 4.34% |
| 109 | Syria | — | 14.55% |
| 110 | Iraq | — | 10.83% |
| 111 | Albania | — | 5.85% |
| 112 | Liberia | — | 3.11% |
| 113 | Venezuela | — | 1.52% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.