What Percent of GDP do Countries Spend on Their Military?

world

According to the CIA World Factbook, military spending worldwide amounts to a staggering 741 billion dollars annually. This figure represents approximately 1.5% of the world's GDP of $49,000 billion ($49 trillion). The United States has a $277 billion defense budget which accounts for 37% of the world's total.

Comparing military expenditures to a nation's GDP, however, presents a different picture. North Korea, for example, spends an amazing 33.9% of its GDP on their military. Some of the top spenders are listed below. The United States comes in 46th on this list at 3.2%.

country % GDP
North Korea 33.9 North Korea percent of GDP spent on military
Saudi Arabia 13.0 Saudi Arabia percent of GDP spent on military
Ethiopia 12.6 Ethiopia percent of GDP spent on military
Oman 12.2 Oman percent of GDP spent on military
Eritrea 12.0 Eritrea percent of GDP spent on military
Qatar 10.0 Qatar percent of GDP spent on military
Israel 8.8 Israel percent of GDP spent on military
Jordan 8.6 Jordan percent of GDP spent on military
Maldives 8.6 Maldives percent of GDP spent on military
Afghanistan 7.7 Afghanistan percent of GDP spent on military
Bahrain 6.7 Bahrain percent of GDP spent on military
Armenia 6.5 Armenia percent of GDP spent on military
Macedonia 6.0 Macedonia percent of GDP spent on military
Syria 5.9 Syria percent of GDP spent on military
Kuwait 5.5 Kuwait percent of GDP spent on military
Angola 5.4 Angola percent of GDP spent on military
Burundi 5.3 Burundi percent of GDP spent on military
New Caledonia 5.3 New Caledonia percent of GDP spent on military
Yemen 5.2 Yemen percent of GDP spent on military
Brunei 5.0 Brunei percent of GDP spent on military
Greece 4.9 Greece percent of GDP spent on military
Singapore 4.9 Singapore percent of GDP spent on military
Lebanon 4.8 Lebanon percent of GDP spent on military
Swaziland 4.8 Swaziland percent of GDP spent on military

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Source: CIA World Factbook 2002



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