Military Spending by Country in 1988
In 1988, United States had the world's largest military budget at $821.4 billion, while Angola spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 22.0% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $821,399M | 6.07% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $74,427M | 4.21% |
| 3 | Germany | $67,193M | 2.63% |
| 4 | France | $56,678M | 3.00% |
| 5 | Italy | $33,222M | 2.07% |
| 6 | Japan | $30,472M | 0.95% |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | $26,796M | 15.15% |
| 8 | India | $21,063M | 3.73% |
| 9 | Canada | $20,089M | 1.99% |
| 10 | Spain | $19,486M | 2.49% |
| 11 | Israel | $16,053M | 15.95% |
| 12 | Netherlands | $14,911M | 2.61% |
| 13 | Brazil | $14,438M | 2.12% |
| 14 | South Korea | $14,127M | 4.28% |
| 15 | Australia | $13,731M | 2.16% |
| 16 | Romania | $10,779M | 4.21% |
| 17 | Taiwan | $10,692M | 5.14% |
| 18 | Poland | $10,204M | 2.59% |
| 19 | Argentina | $9,474M | 2.12% |
| 20 | Belgium | $9,224M | 2.63% |
| 21 | Switzerland | $8,250M | 1.56% |
| 22 | Sudan | $7,985M | 3.55% |
| 23 | Greece | $6,764M | 4.20% |
| 24 | Sweden | $6,695M | 2.59% |
| 25 | Ecuador | $6,092M | 1.62% |
| 26 | Turkey | $5,580M | 2.93% |
| 27 | South Africa | $5,539M | 4.62% |
| 28 | Denmark | $4,695M | 2.09% |
| 29 | Kuwait | $4,681M | 8.24% |
| 30 | Pakistan | $4,446M | 6.79% |
| 31 | Norway | $4,266M | 2.84% |
| 32 | Hungary | $4,214M | 3.60% |
| 33 | Austria | $3,974M | 1.30% |
| 34 | Thailand | $3,596M | 2.93% |
| 35 | Singapore | $3,566M | 4.55% |
| 36 | Iran | $3,526M | 6.27% |
| 37 | Peru | $3,479M | 2.19% |
| 38 | Egypt | $3,175M | 5.06% |
| 39 | Mexico | $2,908M | 0.54% |
| 40 | Qatar | $2,832M | 16.27% |
| 41 | Finland | $2,720M | 1.61% |
| 42 | Portugal | $2,665M | 1.89% |
| 43 | Philippines | $2,412M | 2.46% |
| 44 | Chile | $2,273M | 4.14% |
| 45 | Indonesia | $2,260M | 1.53% |
| 46 | New Zealand | $2,169M | 2.12% |
| 47 | Oman | $2,160M | 13.70% |
| 48 | Colombia | $2,149M | 2.20% |
| 49 | Morocco | $1,902M | 4.13% |
| 50 | Vietnam | $1,432M | 7.10% |
| 51 | Kenya | $1,314M | 2.95% |
| 52 | Jordan | $1,311M | 9.36% |
| 53 | Uruguay | $1,210M | 3.16% |
| 54 | Malaysia | $1,208M | 2.43% |
| 55 | Ireland | $918M | 1.20% |
| 56 | Ethiopia | $912M | 8.50% |
| 57 | Bangladesh | $833M | 1.14% |
| 58 | Algeria | $769M | 1.75% |
| 59 | Guatemala | $766M | 1.87% |
| 60 | El Salvador | $598M | 4.27% |
| 61 | Cyprus | $510M | 5.70% |
| 62 | Sri Lanka | $501M | 2.37% |
| 63 | Nigeria | $389M | 0.88% |
| 64 | Brunei | $379M | 6.63% |
| 65 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $360M | — |
| 66 | Tunisia | $341M | 2.10% |
| 67 | Bahrain | $327M | 5.60% |
| 68 | Honduras | $316M | 2.85% |
| 69 | Paraguay | $307M | 3.20% |
| 70 | Lebanon | $294M | 1.19% |
| 71 | Bolivia | $266M | 2.02% |
| 72 | Angola | $248M | 21.98% |
| 73 | Zambia | $248M | 2.39% |
| 74 | Myanmar | $242M | 2.14% |
| 75 | Cameroon | $238M | 1.28% |
| 76 | Tanzania | $215M | 2.45% |
| 77 | Ivory Coast | $208M | 1.25% |
| 78 | Uganda | $199M | 2.46% |
| 79 | Panama | $194M | 2.11% |
| 80 | Botswana | $191M | 4.90% |
| 81 | Luxembourg | $188M | 1.05% |
| 82 | Dominican Republic | $152M | 0.88% |
| 83 | Chad | $131M | 3.56% |
| 84 | Senegal | $129M | 2.11% |
| 85 | Mozambique | $101M | 3.01% |
| 86 | Papua New Guinea | $101M | 1.27% |
| 87 | Jamaica | $87M | 0.81% |
| 88 | Djibouti | $84M | — |
| 89 | Madagascar | $79M | 1.35% |
| 90 | Burkina Faso | $78M | 2.31% |
| 91 | Nepal | $78M | 0.88% |
| 92 | Togo | $76M | 3.12% |
| 93 | Burundi | $75M | 3.15% |
| 94 | Benin | $62M | 1.56% |
| 95 | Mali | $59M | 2.21% |
| 96 | Mauritania | $56M | 4.49% |
| 97 | Fiji | $54M | 2.05% |
| 98 | Malta | $43M | 1.22% |
| 99 | Rwanda | $43M | 1.59% |
| 100 | Zimbabwe | $35M | 5.21% |
| 101 | Ghana | $22M | 0.44% |
| 102 | Guyana | $19M | 2.66% |
| 103 | Malawi | $18M | 0.62% |
| 104 | Eswatini | $13M | 1.26% |
| 105 | Cape Verde | $11M | 1.91% |
| 106 | Haiti | $11M | 0.09% |
| 107 | Lesotho | $11M | 3.37% |
| 108 | Sierra Leone | $11M | 0.30% |
| 109 | Mauritius | $10M | 0.22% |
| 110 | Cambodia | $3M | 1.28% |
| 111 | Gambia | $2M | 0.81% |
| 112 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 113 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 114 | Somalia | — | 17.44% |
| 115 | Syria | — | 7.85% |
| 116 | Mongolia | — | 6.34% |
| 117 | Albania | — | 5.62% |
| 118 | Liberia | — | 2.41% |
| 119 | Venezuela | — | 1.82% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.