Data

Military expenditure (% of government spending)

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What you should know about this indicator

Although the lack of sufficiently detailed data makes it difficult to apply a common definition of military expenditure on a worldwide basis, SIPRI has adopted a definition as a guideline. Where possible, SIPRI military expenditure data include all current and capital expenditure on: (a) the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; (b) defence ministries and other government agencies engaged in defence projects; (c) paramilitary forces, when judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and (d) military space activities. This should include expenditure on: i. personnel, including: a. salaries of military and civil personnel; b. retirement pensions of military personnel, and; c. social services for personnel; ii. operations and maintenance; iii. procurement; iv. military research and development; v. military infrastructure spending, including military bases. and; vi. military aid (in the military expenditure of the donor country). SIPRI’s estimate of military aid includes financial contributions, training and operational costs, replacement costs of the military equipment stocks donated to recipients and payments to procure additional military equipment for the recipient. However, it does not include the estimated value of military equipment stocks donated. Civil defence and current expenditures on previous military activities, such as veterans' benefits, demobilization, conversion and weapon destruction are excluded. In practice it is not possible to apply this definition for all countries, and in many cases SIPRI is confined to using the national data provided. Priority is then given to the choice of a uniform definition over time for each country in order to achieve consistency over time, rather than to adjusting the figures for single years according to a common definition. In the light of these difficulties, military expenditure data is most appropriately used for comparisons over time, and may be less suitable for close comparison between individual countries. Reference should always be made, when comparing data for different countries, to the footnotes and special notes attached to the data for these countries, which indicate deviations from the SIPRI definition, where these are known.

Military expenditure (% of government spending)
Includes military and civil personnel, operation and maintenance, procurement, military research and development, infrastructure, and aid. Civil defense and current expenditures for previous military activities are excluded.
Source
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
July 8, 2024
Next expected update
July 2025
Date range
1988–2023
Unit
% of government spending

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database contains consistent time series on the military spending of countries for the period 1949–2023. The database is updated annually, which may include updates to data for any of the years included in the database.

Military expenditure in local currency at current prices is presented according to both the financial year of each country and according to calendar year, calculated on the assumption that, where financial years do not correspond to calendar years, spending is distributed evenly through the year. Figures in constant (2022) and current US dollars, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita are presented according to calendar year. Figures given as a share of government expenditure are presented according to financial year.

The availability of data varies considerably by country, but for a majority of countries that were independent at the time, data is available from at least the late 1950s. Estimates for regional military expenditure have been extended backwards depending on availability of data for countries in the region, but no estimates for total world military expenditure are available before 1988 due to the lack of data for the Soviet Union.

SIPRI military expenditure data is based on open sources only.

Retrieved on
July 8, 2024
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Military Expenditure Database, https://doi.org/10.55163/CQGC9685

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Military expenditure (% of government spending)”, part of the following publication: Bastian Herre and Pablo Arriagada (2013) - “Military Personnel and Spending”. Data adapted from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/military-expenditure-as-a-share-of-government-spending [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data

Full citation

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. “Military expenditure (% of government spending)” [dataset]. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, “SIPRI Military Expenditure Database” [original data]. Retrieved December 7, 2024 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/military-expenditure-as-a-share-of-government-spending