The 50 most expensive militaries in the world, ranked by defense budget

• The International Institute for Strategic Studies compiled data about the world’s military budgets.
• The top militaries spend hundreds of billions of dollars on defense, with the US leading worldwide.
• President Donald Trump has proposed increasing annual defense spending to $1.5 trillion.

Still, looking at military budgets can reveal how much capital each country relies on to defend itself.

Earlier this year, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank, released its Military Balance report, which included data on nearly every country’s defense budget based on each’s reported 2025 figures.

The report includes each country’s total budget (in US dollars), per capita figures, and the defense budget as a share of GDP. Some countries, such as North Korea, Libya, Syria, Cuba, and Afghanistan, did not publicly report their defense budgets.

These are the 50 countries that spend the most on their military, ranked by the size of their defense budgets.

50. Chile

Defense budget: $4.24 billion

Defense budget per capita: $222

Percentage of GDP: 1.22%

1. Malaysia
   

Defense budget: $4.87 billion

Defense budget per capita: $140

Percentage of GDP: 1.04%

1. Hungary
   

Defense budget: $5.54 billion

Defense budget per capita: $564

Percentage of GDP: 2.24%

1. Thailand
   

Defense budget: $5.84 billion

Defense budget per capita: $83

Percentage of GDP: 1.05%

1. Iran
   

Defense budget: $6.09 billion

Defense budget per capita: $68

Percentage of GDP: 1.71%

1. Austria
   

Defense budget: $6.36 billion

Defense budget per capita: $693

Percentage of GDP: 1.12%

1. Oman
   

Defense budget: $6.66 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,677

Percentage of GDP: 6.33%

1. Czech Republic
   

Defense budget: $7.03 billion

Defense budget per capita: $649

Percentage of GDP: 1.83%

1. Philippines
   

Defense budget: $7.22 billion

Defense budget per capita: $60

Percentage of GDP: 1.46%

1. Morocco
   

Defense budget: $7.547 billion

Defense budget per capita: $200

Percentage of GDP: 4.2%

1. Switzerland
   

Defense budget: $7.554 billion

Defense budget per capita: $846

Percentage of GDP: 0.75%

1. Finland
   

Defense budget: $7.99 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,440

Percentage of GDP: 2.54%

1. Greece
   

Defense budget: $8.06 billion

Defense budget per capita: $773

Percentage of GDP: 2.86%

1. Kuwait
   

Defense budget: $8.19 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,580

Percentage of GDP: 5.2%

1. Colombia
   

Defense budget: $8.27 billion

Defense budget per capita: $166

Percentage of GDP: 1.89%

1. Vietnam
   

Defense budget: $8.41 billion

Defense budget per capita: $79

Percentage of GDP: 1.74%

1. Romania
   

Defense budget: $9.48 billion

Defense budget per capita: $527

Percentage of GDP: 2.24%

1. Pakistan
   

Defense budget: $10.02 billion

Defense budget per capita: $39

Percentage of GDP: 2.44%

1. Qatar
   

Defense budget: $10.11 billion

Defense budget per capita: $3,935

Percentage of GDP: 4.55%

1. Mexico
   

Defense budget: $11.36 billion

Defense budget per capita: $86

Percentage of GDP: 0.61%

1. Denmark
   

Defense budget: $12.18 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,013

Percentage of GDP: 2.65%

1. Iraq
   

Defense budget: $12.68 billion

Defense budget per capita: $295

Percentage of GDP: 4.78%

1. Belgium
   

Defense budget: $13.9 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,161

Percentage of GDP: 1.94%

1. Indonesia
   

Defense budget: $15.08 billion

Defense budget per capita: $53

Percentage of GDP: 1.04%

1. Norway
   

Defense budget: $16.44 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,966

Percentage of GDP: 3.18%

1. Sweden
   

Defense budget: $17.06 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,602

Percentage of GDP: 2.58%

1. Singapore
   

Defense budget: $17.99 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,958

Percentage of GDP: 3.13%

1. Taiwan
   

Defense budget: $21.2 billion

Defense budget per capita: $898

Percentage of GDP: 2.4%

1. Turkey
   

Defense budget: $21.48 billion

Defense budget per capita: $254

Percentage of GDP: 1.37%

1. United Arab Emirates
   

Defense budget: $21.68 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,148

Percentage of GDP: 3.81%

1. Brazil
   

Defense budget: $24.27 billion

Defense budget per capita: $110

Percentage of GDP: 1.08%

1. Algeria
   

Defense budget: $25.21 billion

Defense budget per capita: $528

Percentage of GDP: 8.75%

1. Spain
   

Defense budget: $28.91 billion

Defense budget per capita: $611

Percentage of GDP: 1.53%

1. The Netherlands
   

Defense budget: $29.12 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,633

Percentage of GDP: 2.2%

1. Canada
   

Defense budget: $31.21 billion

Defense budget per capita: $797

Percentage of GDP: 1.37%

1. Poland
   

Defense budget: $33.18 billion

Defense budget per capita: $865

Percentage of GDP: 3.19%

1. Australia
   

Defense budget: $37.28 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,378

Percentage of GDP: 2.04%

1. Israel
   

Defense budget: $39.68 billion

Defense budget per capita: $4,153

Percentage of GDP: 6.5%

1. Italy
   

Defense budget: $40.09 billion

Defense budget per capita: $658

Percentage of GDP: 1.58%

1. South Korea
   

Defense budget: $43.84 billion

Defense budget per capita: $851

Percentage of GDP: 2.36%

1. Ukraine
   

Defense budget: $44.45 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,217

Percentage of GDP: 21.19%

1. Japan
   

Defense budget: $58.91 billion

Defense budget per capita: $480

Percentage of GDP: 1.38%

1. France
   

Defense budget: $70 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,022

Percentage of GDP: 2.08%

1. Saudi Arabia
   

Defense budget: $72.53 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,951

Percentage of GDP: 5.72%

1. India
   

Defense budget: $78.31 billion

Defense budget per capita: $55

Percentage of GDP: 1.9%

1. United Kingdom
   

Defense budget: $94.26 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,371

Percentage of GDP: 2.38%

1. Germany
   

Defense budget: $107.31 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,277

Percentage of GDP: 2.14%

1. Russia
   

Defense budget: $161.18 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,150

Percentage of GDP: 6.34%

1. China
   

Defense budget: $251.29 billion

Defense budget per capita: $178

Percentage of GDP: 1.3%

1. United States
   

Defense budget: $921.02 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,725

Percentage of GDP: 3.01%

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in February 2026 and most recently updated in July 2026.

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