Military spending by country worldwide 2023 | Statista (2024)

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Apr 22, 2024

The United States led the ranking of the countries with the highest military spending in 2023, with 916 billion U.S. dollars dedicated to the military. That constituted over 40 percent of the totalmilitary spending worldwide that year, which amounted to 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars. This amounted to 3.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), placing the U.S. lower in the ranking of military expenditure as a percentage of GDP than for instance Saudi Arabia, Israel, Algeria, and Russia. China was the second largest military spender with an estimated 296 billion U.S. dollars spent, with Russia following in third.

Defense budget

According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the outlays for defense will rise to 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2033. The largest parts of the budget are dedicated to theDepartments of the Navy and the Air Force. The budget for the U.S. Air Force for 2024 was nearly 260 billion U.S. dollars.

Global military spending

The value of military spending globally has grown steadily in the past years and reached 2.44 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. Reasons for this are the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, the war in Gaza, as well as increasing tensions in the South China Sea. North America is by far the leading region worldwide in terms of expenditure on the military.

Countries with the highest military spending worldwide in 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Military spending by country worldwide 2023 | Statista (2024)

FAQs

Military spending by country worldwide 2023 | Statista? ›

ș The USA and China remained the top two biggest spenders in the world and both increased their military spending in 2023. US spending was $916 billion while Chinese spending was an estimated $296 billion. ș Russia's military spending grew by 24 per cent in 2023 to an estimated $109 billion.

What countries spend the most on military spending? ›

ș The USA and China remained the top two biggest spenders in the world and both increased their military spending in 2023. US spending was $916 billion while Chinese spending was an estimated $296 billion. ș Russia's military spending grew by 24 per cent in 2023 to an estimated $109 billion.

Which country is responsible for the highest level of military spending in the world? ›

The US remains the world's largest defense spender, outlaying $916 billion last year, a 2.3 percent annual increase, ahead of China in second place, which spent an estimated $296 billion, a 6 percent increase over the same period.

What are the 3 top countries in military spending by GDP? ›

Leading military spending countries

In gross terms, the countries with the highest military spending are the United States, China, and Russia.

How much is spent globally on the military? ›

Military expenditure increases in all regions

World military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2443 billion.

Who is the largest defense spender in the world? ›

Countries with the highest military spending worldwide in 2023 (in billion U.S. dollars)
CharacteristicMilitary spending in billion U.S. dollars
United States916
China*296
Russia*109
India83.6
9 more rows
Apr 22, 2024

Who has the strongest military in the world? ›

1. The United States. The world's biggest power i.e. 'The United States' has the most powerful army in the world.

Which country has the best military industry? ›

The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in the world, 2022
RankCompanybArms revenue
2022a2021
11United States
22United States
34United States
37 more rows

How much does China spend on military spending compared to the US? ›

The annual analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which estimates the full range of military spending by country beyond official figures, puts China's military spending at $292 billion in 2022, compared to U.S. spending of $877 billion in the same year.

What does the US spend the most money on? ›

Nearly half of mandatory spending in 2022 was for Social Security and other income support programs such as the Child Tax Credit, food and nutrition assistance, and federal employee benefits (figure 3). Most of the remainder paid for the two major government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

Where does the US rank in military spending? ›

The United States has the largest military budget, spending $876.9 billion. The next largest military spender is China, which spends $292 billion.

What country has the most military assets? ›

The United States of America is a North American nation that is the world's most dominant economic and military power.

What country spends the least on the military? ›

The average for 2022 based on 145 countries was 1.98 percent. The highest value was in Ukraine: 33.55 percent and the lowest value was in Haiti: 0.07 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022.

Who has the largest army in the world? ›

China currently maintains the largest army in the world, commanded by a single country, with 2.18 active military personnel. India, the United States, and Russia each maintain 1.45 million, 1.33 million, and 1.32 million active military personnel, respectively.

How big is the Chinese army? ›

People's Liberation Army
Chinese People's Liberation Army
Active personnel2,035,000 (2022) (ranked 1st)
Reserve personnel510,000 (2022)
Expenditure
BudgetUS$293 billion (2022) (ranked 2nd)
27 more rows

How big is the US military? ›

How many people are in the military? The military includes 2,079,142 military personnel and 778,539 civilians as of September 2023. The US military's strength of 2.86 million troops is slightly greater than the population of Chicago, Illinois, the country's third-largest city.

What is the biggest expense of the US government? ›

The 10 largest budget functions for 2023 are listed below.
  • Social Security ($1,354 billion). ...
  • Health ($889 billion). ...
  • Medicare ($848 billion). ...
  • National Defense ($820 billion). ...
  • Income Security ($775 billion). ...
  • Net Interest ($658 billion). ...
  • Veterans Benefits and Services ($302 billion). ...
  • Transportation ($126 billion).
Mar 21, 2024

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