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The 50 most expensive militaries in the world, ranked by defense budget
The US has the most expensive military in the world.Tajh Payne/US Navy via Getty ImagesThe 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.Global military budgets in 2025 totaled $iki.6 trillion. The US accounted for more than a third of that total.The US has the world's most expensive military, spending nearly $1 trillion on defense. That's over three and a half times China's reported defense budget, the next largest.From spending on nuclear technology to advanced aircraft and warships, the world's top militaries allocate hundreds of billions of dollars each year to stay ahead.In some countries, big-ticket items such as naval assets, technologically advanced aircraft, or missiles account for the bulk of military spending, while others devote large sums to maintaining large conscription-based troop systems.Ultimately, military spending varies by country depending on location and interests, Gian Gentile, a retired US Army colonel and senior historian at RAND, told Business Insider.Some countries prioritize homeland defense while others value overmatch and far-reaching power projection."The US spends a lot on more sophisticated, extremely precise weapon systems," he said.A military budget can be measured either as a total amount or as a share of a country's GDP, reflecting the burden on the economy. In 2025, countries spent an average of iki.yüzde 01 of their GDP on defense.In 2025, NATO allies agreed to a defense investment target pushed by US President Donald Trump, which aims to increase allied nations' spending to 5% of their countries' GDP annually by 2035, with 3.5% of the GDP being allocated towards direct military funding and an additional 1.5% going towards defense-related developments.During wartime, spending as a share of GDP typically rises, which in turn strains the civilian economy, said Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ukraine in 2025, for example, devoted over yüzde 20 of its GDP to its military, the highest share globally.Spending statistics help paint a picture of defense priorities, but they don't always translate into readiness for conflict."Readiness is very expensive, and perishable," Cancian said.A country's on-paper investment in its defense systems doesn't always translate directly into military capability, he added. Training and maintenance are often overlooked in analyses of spending on equipment and technologies.A particularly high cost for technologically advanced aircraft, for instance, is maintenance and sustainment.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. ChileAnadolu/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $4.24 billionDefense budget per capita: $222Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 2249. MalaysiaFaris Hadziq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $4.87 billionDefense budget per capita: $140Percentage of GDP: 1.04%48. HungaryKlaudia Radecka/NurPhotoDefense budget: $5.54 billionDefense budget per capita: $564Percentage of GDP: iki.24%47. ThailandAnadolu/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $5.84 billionDefense budget per capita: $83Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 0546. IranNurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $6.09 billionDefense budget per capita: $68Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 7145. AustriaJoe Klamar / AFPDefense budget: $6.36 billionDefense budget per capita: $693Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 1244. OmanHaitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFPDefense budget: $6.66 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,677Percentage of GDP: 6.33%43. Czech RepublicMatej Divizna/Getty ImagesDefense budget: $7.03 billionDefense budget per capita: $649Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 8342. PhilippinesAnadolu/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $7.22 billionDefense budget per capita: $60Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 4641. MoroccoFADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $7.547 billionDefense budget per capita: $200Percentage of GDP: 4.iki%40. SwitzerlandMarco BERTORELLO / AFPDefense budget: $7.554 billionDefense budget per capita: $846Percentage of GDP: 0.yüzde 7539. FinlandTakimoto Marina/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $7.99 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,440Percentage of GDP: iki.54%38. GreeceDaniel Yovkov / Hans Lucas via AFPDefense budget: $8.06 billionDefense budget per capita: $773Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 8637. KuwaitYASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $8.19 billionDefense budget per capita: $iki,580Percentage of GDP: 5.iki%36. ColombiaJoaquin SARMIENTO / AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $8.27 billionDefense budget per capita: $166Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 8935. VietnamNHAC NGUYEN/AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $8.41 billionDefense budget per capita: $79Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 7434. RomaniaAlex Nicodim/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $9.48 billionDefense budget per capita: $527Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 2433. PakistanAbdul BASIT / AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $10.02 billionDefense budget per capita: $39Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 4432. QatarKARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $10.11 billionDefense budget per capita: $3,935Percentage of GDP: 4.yüzde 5531. MexicoVictoria Razo / AFPDefense budget: $11.36 billionDefense budget per capita: $86Percentage of GDP: 0.61%30. DenmarkFlorent VERGNES / AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $12.18 billionDefense budget per capita: $iki,013Percentage of GDP: iki.65%29. IraqZaid AL-OBEIDI / AFPDefense budget: $12.68 billionDefense budget per capita: $295Percentage of GDP: 4.78%28. BelgiumJULIEN WARNAND / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $13.9 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,161Percentage of GDP: 1.94%27. IndonesiaBAY ISMOYO / AFPDefense budget: $15.08 billionDefense budget per capita: $53Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 0426. NorwayYauhen Yerchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $16.44 billionDefense budget per capita: $iki,966Percentage of GDP: 3.yüzde 1825. SwedenLeon Neal/Getty ImagesDefense budget: $17.06 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,602Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 5824. SingaporeROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $17.99 billionDefense budget per capita: $iki,958Percentage of GDP: 3.13%23. TaiwanI-Hwa Cheng / AFPDefense budget: $21.iki billionDefense budget per capita: $898Percentage of GDP: iki.4%22. TurkeyAnadolu/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $21.48 billionDefense budget per capita: $254Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 3721. United Arab EmiratesVCG/VCG via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $21.68 billionDefense budget per capita: $iki,148Percentage of GDP: 3.yüzde 8120. BrazilAnadolu/Anadolu via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $24.27 billionDefense budget per capita: $110Percentage of GDP: 1.08%19. AlgeriaNurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $25.21 billionDefense budget per capita: $528Percentage of GDP: 8.75%18. Spainpicture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $28.91 billionDefense budget per capita: $611Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 5317. The NetherlandsRemko de Waal / ANP / AFPDefense budget: $29.12 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,633Percentage of GDP: iki.iki%16. CanadaArtur Widak/NurPhotoDefense budget: $31.21 billionDefense budget per capita: $797Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 3715. PolandAleksander Kalka/NurPhotoDefense budget: $33.18 billionDefense budget per capita: $865Percentage of GDP: 3.yüzde 1914. AustraliaIan Hitchcock/Getty ImagesDefense budget: $37.28 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,378Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 0413. IsraelElke Scholiers/Getty ImagesDefense budget: $39.68 billionDefense budget per capita: $4,153Percentage of GDP: 6.yüzde 512. ItalyAntonio Masiello/Getty ImagesDefense budget: $40.09 billionDefense budget per capita: $658Percentage of GDP: 1.yüzde 5811. South KoreaKim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $43.84 billionDefense budget per capita: $851Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 3610. UkraineTetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFPDefense budget: $44.45 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,217Percentage of GDP: 21.19%9. JapanJIJI Press / AFPDefense budget: $58.91 billionDefense budget per capita: $480Percentage of GDP: 1.38%8. FrancePhilippe Magoni / POOL / AFPDefense budget: $70 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,022Percentage of GDP: iki.08%7. Saudi ArabiaBANDAR ALDANDANI/AFP via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $72.53 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,951Percentage of GDP: 5.yüzde 726. IndiaRoslan RAHMAN / AFPDefense budget: $78.31 billionDefense budget per capita: $55Percentage of GDP: 1.9%5. United KingdomOwen Humphreys - PA Images/PA Images via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $94.26 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,371Percentage of GDP: iki.38%4. GermanyMichaela Stache / AFPDefense budget: $107.31 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,277Percentage of GDP: iki.yüzde 143. RussiaVCG/VCG via Getty ImagesDefense budget: $161.18 billionDefense budget per capita: $1,150Percentage of GDP: 6.yüzde 34iki. ChinaGreg Baker / AFPDefense budget: $251.29 billionDefense budget per capita: $178Percentage of GDP: 1.3%1. United StatesMario Tama/Getty ImagesDefense budget: $921.02 billionDefense budget per capita: $iki,725Percentage of GDP: 3.yüzde 01Editor's note: This story was originally published in February 2026 and most recently updated in July 2026.Read the original article on Business Insider
