Military Spending by Country in 1996
In 1996, United States had the world's largest military budget at $575.9 billion, while Eritrea 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 | $575,901M | 3.55% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $61,247M | 2.71% |
| 3 | France | $51,357M | 2.44% |
| 4 | Germany | $50,251M | 1.46% |
| 5 | Japan | $35,763M | 0.88% |
| 6 | Italy | $31,300M | 1.58% |
| 7 | China | $27,234M | 1.64% |
| 8 | Russia | $24,366M | 3.76% |
| 9 | India | $23,209M | 2.47% |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | $22,961M | 8.47% |
| 11 | South Korea | $20,264M | 2.74% |
| 12 | Spain | $17,712M | 1.81% |
| 13 | Canada | $15,518M | 1.40% |
| 14 | Australia | $14,381M | 1.93% |
| 15 | Brazil | $13,814M | 1.65% |
| 16 | Taiwan | $13,779M | 4.02% |
| 17 | Israel | $13,376M | 7.28% |
| 18 | Netherlands | $12,253M | 1.73% |
| 19 | Turkey | $10,484M | 3.00% |
| 20 | Yemen | $8,142M | 5.28% |
| 21 | Kuwait | $7,090M | 10.29% |
| 22 | Switzerland | $7,045M | 1.28% |
| 23 | Singapore | $6,975M | 4.26% |
| 24 | Poland | $6,807M | 1.92% |
| 25 | Greece | $6,793M | 3.24% |
| 26 | Belgium | $6,545M | 1.52% |
| 27 | Ecuador | $6,476M | 1.69% |
| 28 | Sweden | $6,376M | 2.12% |
| 29 | Colombia | $6,308M | 4.45% |
| 30 | Pakistan | $5,265M | 6.04% |
| 31 | Thailand | $5,257M | 2.15% |
| 32 | Denmark | $4,443M | 1.65% |
| 33 | Argentina | $4,364M | 1.24% |
| 34 | Norway | $4,161M | 2.16% |
| 35 | Mexico | $4,065M | 0.44% |
| 36 | Austria | $3,862M | 1.05% |
| 37 | Indonesia | $3,505M | 1.26% |
| 38 | Czech Republic | $3,503M | 1.66% |
| 39 | Croatia | $3,342M | 8.08% |
| 40 | Portugal | $2,969M | 1.60% |
| 41 | Iran | $2,832M | 2.24% |
| 42 | Sudan | $2,805M | 1.27% |
| 43 | Romania | $2,798M | 2.37% |
| 44 | Finland | $2,796M | 1.53% |
| 45 | Philippines | $2,741M | 2.27% |
| 46 | South Africa | $2,651M | 1.76% |
| 47 | Egypt | $2,522M | 2.97% |
| 48 | Malaysia | $2,475M | 2.40% |
| 49 | Chile | $2,406M | 2.42% |
| 50 | Slovakia | $2,354M | 2.93% |
| 51 | Peru | $2,350M | 2.50% |
| 52 | Oman | $2,294M | 9.41% |
| 53 | New Zealand | $2,095M | 1.79% |
| 54 | Morocco | $2,094M | 3.95% |
| 55 | Algeria | $1,984M | 3.09% |
| 56 | Ukraine | $1,766M | 3.18% |
| 57 | Sri Lanka | $1,574M | 5.52% |
| 58 | Lebanon | $1,491M | 5.66% |
| 59 | Serbia | $1,449M | 3.16% |
| 60 | Bangladesh | $1,390M | 1.38% |
| 61 | Hungary | $1,266M | 1.25% |
| 62 | Ireland | $1,169M | 0.99% |
| 63 | Uruguay | $1,121M | 2.81% |
| 64 | Jordan | $921M | 6.03% |
| 65 | Bulgaria | $906M | 1.74% |
| 66 | Angola | $817M | 2.45% |
| 67 | Kazakhstan | $745M | 1.20% |
| 68 | Myanmar | $713M | 3.49% |
| 69 | Kenya | $676M | 1.42% |
| 70 | Cyprus | $666M | 4.52% |
| 71 | Slovenia | $553M | 1.54% |
| 72 | Guatemala | $496M | 0.90% |
| 73 | Bahrain | $466M | 5.27% |
| 74 | Tunisia | $419M | 1.87% |
| 75 | Brunei | $398M | 6.25% |
| 76 | Bolivia | $341M | 1.99% |
| 77 | Nigeria | $334M | 0.41% |
| 78 | Ethiopia | $302M | 2.12% |
| 79 | Paraguay | $295M | 2.06% |
| 80 | Cambodia | $229M | 3.24% |
| 81 | El Salvador | $221M | 1.07% |
| 82 | Botswana | $210M | 2.90% |
| 83 | Cameroon | $210M | 1.22% |
| 84 | Luxembourg | $210M | 0.68% |
| 85 | North Macedonia | $189M | 2.81% |
| 86 | Uganda | $180M | 2.21% |
| 87 | Ivory Coast | $178M | 0.61% |
| 88 | Dominican Republic | $177M | 0.63% |
| 89 | Panama | $176M | 1.09% |
| 90 | Armenia | $164M | 3.28% |
| 91 | Albania | $157M | 1.41% |
| 92 | Azerbaijan | $155M | 2.25% |
| 93 | Laos | $150M | 4.19% |
| 94 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $149M | 1.55% |
| 95 | Papua New Guinea | $148M | 1.02% |
| 96 | Tanzania | $146M | 1.56% |
| 97 | Georgia | $141M | 2.21% |
| 98 | Lithuania | $137M | 0.50% |
| 99 | Turkmenistan | $136M | 2.19% |
| 100 | Senegal | $117M | 1.24% |
| 101 | Estonia | $115M | 0.87% |
| 102 | Belarus | $105M | 0.62% |
| 103 | Rwanda | $105M | 5.33% |
| 104 | Latvia | $102M | 0.66% |
| 105 | Nepal | $95M | 0.73% |
| 106 | Burundi | $93M | 5.86% |
| 107 | Kyrgyzstan | $89M | 2.99% |
| 108 | Jamaica | $85M | 0.57% |
| 109 | Namibia | $85M | 1.90% |
| 110 | Madagascar | $83M | 1.24% |
| 111 | Zambia | $77M | 1.05% |
| 112 | Burkina Faso | $61M | 1.29% |
| 113 | Moldova | $61M | 0.91% |
| 114 | Mali | $58M | 1.43% |
| 115 | Mozambique | $58M | 0.89% |
| 116 | Malta | $56M | 0.87% |
| 117 | Nicaragua | $52M | 0.95% |
| 118 | Djibouti | $50M | 5.08% |
| 119 | Mauritania | $50M | 2.63% |
| 120 | Fiji | $49M | 1.42% |
| 121 | Chad | $48M | 1.00% |
| 122 | Mongolia | $44M | 1.78% |
| 123 | Ghana | $43M | 0.29% |
| 124 | Eswatini | $35M | 1.65% |
| 125 | Uzbekistan | $35M | 0.98% |
| 126 | Niger | $28M | 0.86% |
| 127 | Central African Republic | $26M | 1.21% |
| 128 | Zimbabwe | $26M | 2.88% |
| 129 | Sierra Leone | $25M | 0.85% |
| 130 | Mauritius | $19M | 0.29% |
| 131 | Malawi | $15M | 0.36% |
| 132 | Tajikistan | $14M | 1.29% |
| 133 | Lesotho | $13M | 2.82% |
| 134 | Guyana | $11M | 0.79% |
| 135 | Cape Verde | $6M | 0.84% |
| 136 | Guinea-Bissau | $4M | 0.57% |
| 137 | Gambia | $3M | 0.40% |
| 138 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 139 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 140 | Eritrea | — | 20.34% |
| 141 | Syria | — | 6.04% |
| 142 | Venezuela | — | 1.04% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.