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.

Global military budgets in 2025 totaled $2.6 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 2.01% 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 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. Chile

Defense budget: $4.24 billion

Defense budget per capita: $222

Percentage of GDP: 1.22%

49. Malaysia

Defense budget: $4.87 billion

Defense budget per capita: $140

Percentage of GDP: 1.04%

48. Hungary

Defense budget: $5.54 billion

Defense budget per capita: $564

Percentage of GDP: 2.24%

47. Thailand

Defense budget: $5.84 billion

Defense budget per capita: $83

Percentage of GDP: 1.05%

46. Iran

Defense budget: $6.09 billion

Defense budget per capita: $68

Percentage of GDP: 1.71%

45. Austria

Defense budget: $6.36 billion

Defense budget per capita: $693

Percentage of GDP: 1.12%

44. Oman

Defense budget: $6.66 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,677

Percentage of GDP: 6.33%

43. Czech Republic

Defense budget: $7.03 billion

Defense budget per capita: $649

Percentage of GDP: 1.83%

42. Philippines

Defense budget: $7.22 billion

Defense budget per capita: $60

Percentage of GDP: 1.46%

41. Morocco

Defense budget: $7.547 billion

Defense budget per capita: $200

Percentage of GDP: 4.2%

40. Switzerland

Defense budget: $7.554 billion

Defense budget per capita: $846

Percentage of GDP: 0.75%

39. Finland

Defense budget: $7.99 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,440

Percentage of GDP: 2.54%

38. Greece

Defense budget: $8.06 billion

Defense budget per capita: $773

Percentage of GDP: 2.86%

37. Kuwait

Defense budget: $8.19 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,580

Percentage of GDP: 5.2%

36. Colombia

Defense budget: $8.27 billion

Defense budget per capita: $166

Percentage of GDP: 1.89%

35. Vietnam

Defense budget: $8.41 billion

Defense budget per capita: $79

Percentage of GDP: 1.74%

34. Romania

Defense budget: $9.48 billion

Defense budget per capita: $527

Percentage of GDP: 2.24%

33. Pakistan

Defense budget: $10.02 billion

Defense budget per capita: $39

Percentage of GDP: 2.44%

32. Qatar

Defense budget: $10.11 billion

Defense budget per capita: $3,935

Percentage of GDP: 4.55%

31. Mexico

Defense budget: $11.36 billion

Defense budget per capita: $86

Percentage of GDP: 0.61%

30. Denmark

Defense budget: $12.18 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,013

Percentage of GDP: 2.65%

29. Iraq

Defense budget: $12.68 billion

Defense budget per capita: $295

Percentage of GDP: 4.78%

28. Belgium

Defense budget: $13.9 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,161

Percentage of GDP: 1.94%

27. Indonesia

Defense budget: $15.08 billion

Defense budget per capita: $53

Percentage of GDP: 1.04%

26. Norway

Defense budget: $16.44 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,966

Percentage of GDP: 3.18%

25. Sweden

Defense budget: $17.06 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,602

Percentage of GDP: 2.58%

24. Singapore

Defense budget: $17.99 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,958

Percentage of GDP: 3.13%

23. Taiwan

Defense budget: $21.2 billion

Defense budget per capita: $898

Percentage of GDP: 2.4%

22. Turkey

Defense budget: $21.48 billion

Defense budget per capita: $254

Percentage of GDP: 1.37%

21. United Arab Emirates

Defense budget: $21.68 billion

Defense budget per capita: $2,148

Percentage of GDP: 3.81%

20. Brazil

Defense budget: $24.27 billion

Defense budget per capita: $110

Percentage of GDP: 1.08%

19. Algeria

Defense budget: $25.21 billion

Defense budget per capita: $528

Percentage of GDP: 8.75%

18. Spain

Defense budget: $28.91 billion

Defense budget per capita: $611

Percentage of GDP: 1.53%

17. The Netherlands

Defense budget: $29.12 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,633

Percentage of GDP: 2.2%

16. Canada

Defense budget: $31.21 billion

Defense budget per capita: $797

Percentage of GDP: 1.37%

15. Poland

Defense budget: $33.18 billion

Defense budget per capita: $865

Percentage of GDP: 3.19%

14. Australia

Defense budget: $37.28 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,378

Percentage of GDP: 2.04%

13. Israel

Defense budget: $39.68 billion

Defense budget per capita: $4,153

Percentage of GDP: 6.5%

12. Italy

Defense budget: $40.09 billion

Defense budget per capita: $658

Percentage of GDP: 1.58%

11. South Korea

Defense budget: $43.84 billion

Defense budget per capita: $851

Percentage of GDP: 2.36%

10. Ukraine

Defense budget: $44.45 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,217

Percentage of GDP: 21.19%

9. Japan

Defense budget: $58.91 billion

Defense budget per capita: $480

Percentage of GDP: 1.38%

8. France

Defense budget: $70 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,022

Percentage of GDP: 2.08%

7. Saudi Arabia

Defense budget: $72.53 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,951

Percentage of GDP: 5.72%

6. India

Defense budget: $78.31 billion

Defense budget per capita: $55

Percentage of GDP: 1.9%

5. United Kingdom

Defense budget: $94.26 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,371

Percentage of GDP: 2.38%

4. Germany

Defense budget: $107.31 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,277

Percentage of GDP: 2.14%

3. Russia

Defense budget: $161.18 billion

Defense budget per capita: $1,150

Percentage of GDP: 6.34%

2. 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.

Read the original article on Business Insider