Military Spending by Country in 1997
In 1997, United States had the world's largest military budget at $572.9 billion, while Eritrea spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 11.9% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $572,922M | 3.41% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $59,072M | 2.54% |
| 3 | France | $51,542M | 2.39% |
| 4 | Germany | $48,396M | 1.40% |
| 5 | Japan | $36,066M | 0.89% |
| 6 | Italy | $32,819M | 1.62% |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia | $31,182M | 11.00% |
| 8 | China | $29,054M | 1.62% |
| 9 | Russia | $26,639M | 4.04% |
| 10 | India | $25,692M | 2.65% |
| 11 | South Korea | $20,762M | 2.66% |
| 12 | Spain | $17,539M | 1.72% |
| 13 | Australia | $14,639M | 1.86% |
| 14 | Canada | $14,300M | 1.25% |
| 15 | Taiwan | $13,721M | 3.73% |
| 16 | Brazil | $13,719M | 1.58% |
| 17 | Israel | $13,398M | 7.08% |
| 18 | Netherlands | $12,133M | 1.64% |
| 19 | Turkey | $10,926M | 2.95% |
| 20 | Yemen | $10,198M | 5.81% |
| 21 | Singapore | $7,828M | 4.45% |
| 22 | United Arab Emirates | $7,682M | 6.76% |
| 23 | Poland | $7,459M | 2.00% |
| 24 | Greece | $7,238M | 3.30% |
| 25 | Switzerland | $6,790M | 1.22% |
| 26 | Belgium | $6,463M | 1.46% |
| 27 | Sweden | $6,049M | 1.94% |
| 28 | Ecuador | $5,903M | 1.81% |
| 29 | Kuwait | $5,402M | 8.09% |
| 30 | Thailand | $5,107M | 2.17% |
| 31 | Pakistan | $5,041M | 5.62% |
| 32 | Indonesia | $4,606M | 1.50% |
| 33 | Denmark | $4,500M | 1.62% |
| 34 | Argentina | $4,291M | 1.14% |
| 35 | Norway | $4,092M | 2.02% |
| 36 | Mexico | $4,073M | 0.42% |
| 37 | Colombia | $4,056M | 2.80% |
| 38 | Austria | $3,870M | 1.05% |
| 39 | Croatia | $3,371M | 7.48% |
| 40 | Czech Republic | $3,312M | 1.58% |
| 41 | Iran | $3,159M | 2.50% |
| 42 | Romania | $3,137M | 3.02% |
| 43 | Portugal | $3,029M | 1.54% |
| 44 | Finland | $3,007M | 1.54% |
| 45 | Egypt | $2,581M | 2.84% |
| 46 | Chile | $2,568M | 2.47% |
| 47 | Philippines | $2,448M | 1.91% |
| 48 | South Africa | $2,437M | 1.58% |
| 49 | Algeria | $2,387M | 3.64% |
| 50 | Oman | $2,374M | 9.36% |
| 51 | Malaysia | $2,326M | 2.09% |
| 52 | Sudan | $2,207M | 0.95% |
| 53 | Morocco | $2,193M | 4.19% |
| 54 | Ukraine | $2,188M | 3.99% |
| 55 | New Zealand | $2,052M | 1.72% |
| 56 | Peru | $1,984M | 2.00% |
| 57 | Slovakia | $1,894M | 2.27% |
| 58 | Serbia | $1,609M | 3.37% |
| 59 | Hungary | $1,557M | 1.47% |
| 60 | Bangladesh | $1,479M | 1.43% |
| 61 | Sri Lanka | $1,397M | 4.63% |
| 62 | Angola | $1,309M | 5.97% |
| 63 | Lebanon | $1,250M | 4.31% |
| 64 | Ireland | $1,238M | 0.92% |
| 65 | Uruguay | $1,108M | 2.40% |
| 66 | Jordan | $951M | 6.13% |
| 67 | Bulgaria | $846M | 2.16% |
| 68 | Cyprus | $844M | 5.57% |
| 69 | Kazakhstan | $696M | 1.11% |
| 70 | Kenya | $642M | 1.34% |
| 71 | Myanmar | $593M | 2.31% |
| 72 | Ethiopia | $555M | 3.34% |
| 73 | Slovenia | $530M | 1.40% |
| 74 | Brunei | $463M | 7.18% |
| 75 | Bahrain | $455M | 5.07% |
| 76 | Guatemala | $425M | 0.74% |
| 77 | Tunisia | $414M | 1.73% |
| 78 | Bolivia | $413M | 2.27% |
| 79 | Nigeria | $359M | 0.44% |
| 80 | Libya | $354M | 4.01% |
| 81 | Paraguay | $243M | 1.69% |
| 82 | Botswana | $242M | 3.20% |
| 83 | Dominican Republic | $238M | 0.80% |
| 84 | Cameroon | $232M | 1.30% |
| 85 | Luxembourg | $227M | 0.69% |
| 86 | Lithuania | $225M | 0.74% |
| 87 | Cambodia | $217M | 3.00% |
| 88 | El Salvador | $214M | 1.01% |
| 89 | Armenia | $208M | 3.91% |
| 90 | Turkmenistan | $205M | 4.25% |
| 91 | Panama | $202M | 1.17% |
| 92 | Azerbaijan | $178M | 2.32% |
| 93 | Ivory Coast | $178M | 0.58% |
| 94 | Uganda | $178M | 2.12% |
| 95 | Belarus | $171M | 0.74% |
| 96 | Papua New Guinea | $157M | 1.08% |
| 97 | Tanzania | $156M | 1.54% |
| 98 | Estonia | $153M | 1.03% |
| 99 | North Macedonia | $148M | 2.13% |
| 100 | Laos | $138M | 3.84% |
| 101 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $122M | 1.41% |
| 102 | Guinea | $122M | 1.17% |
| 103 | Senegal | $116M | 1.20% |
| 104 | Albania | $110M | 1.32% |
| 105 | Madagascar | $106M | 1.48% |
| 106 | Namibia | $105M | 2.30% |
| 107 | Nepal | $101M | 0.72% |
| 108 | Burundi | $100M | 6.36% |
| 109 | Kyrgyzstan | $99M | 3.11% |
| 110 | Latvia | $99M | 0.60% |
| 111 | Jamaica | $98M | 0.66% |
| 112 | Rwanda | $97M | 4.17% |
| 113 | Georgia | $88M | 1.25% |
| 114 | Zambia | $77M | 1.01% |
| 115 | Burkina Faso | $70M | 1.42% |
| 116 | Mali | $68M | 1.50% |
| 117 | Mozambique | $65M | 0.86% |
| 118 | Moldova | $62M | 0.90% |
| 119 | Mauritania | $59M | 2.97% |
| 120 | Malta | $54M | 0.82% |
| 121 | Djibouti | $53M | 5.47% |
| 122 | Nicaragua | $51M | 0.89% |
| 123 | Fiji | $46M | 1.36% |
| 124 | Ghana | $43M | 0.29% |
| 125 | Uzbekistan | $41M | 1.12% |
| 126 | Mongolia | $40M | 1.64% |
| 127 | Chad | $34M | 0.70% |
| 128 | Eswatini | $33M | 1.49% |
| 129 | Niger | $31M | 0.93% |
| 130 | Zimbabwe | $28M | 3.00% |
| 131 | Lesotho | $22M | 2.71% |
| 132 | Tajikistan | $21M | 1.70% |
| 133 | Malawi | $19M | 0.41% |
| 134 | Mauritius | $16M | 0.23% |
| 135 | Sierra Leone | $12M | 0.48% |
| 136 | Cape Verde | $6M | 0.83% |
| 137 | Gambia | $4M | 0.41% |
| 138 | Guinea-Bissau | $4M | 0.65% |
| 139 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 140 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 141 | Eritrea | — | 11.86% |
| 142 | Syria | — | 5.88% |
| 143 | Venezuela | — | 1.80% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.