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Countries by Military Spending

Can you name the countries with the highest annual military spending?
For the year 2021, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
North Korea may be missing due to incomplete data
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: May 7, 2022
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First submittedMarch 19, 2012
Times taken127,849
Average score85.0%
Rating4.92
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Spending
Country
801 bil
United States
293 bil
China
76.6 bil
India
68.4 bil
United Kingdom
65.9 bil
Russia
56.6 bil
France
56.0 bil
Germany
Spending
Country
55.6 bil
Saudi Arabia
54.1 bil
Japan
50.2 bil
South Korea
32.0 bil
Italy
31.8 bil
Australia
26.4 bil
Canada
24.6 bil
Iran
Spending
Country
24.3 bil
Israel
19.5 bil
Spain
19.2 bil
Brazil
15.5 bil
Turkey
13.8 bil
Netherlands
13.7 bil
Poland
+48
Level ∞
Jun 9, 2020
Much of the U.S. defense budget is salaries. When you realize that wages in the U.S. are much higher than in China, it quickly becomes apparent that the gap between the U.S. and China is much smaller than it appears.

Edit 2022: It's likely that China now has a larger effective military spending than the U.S.

+41
Level ∞
Jun 9, 2020
One more fun fact. U.S. military spending as a percent of the federal budget is now lower than at any time since WWII.
+3
Level 75
Sep 6, 2014
Missed Taiwan and Turkey. I must be one of the few people who use this site to test my general knowledge, learn new facts and FOR FUN. I've got a headache after reading all the previous comments!
+1
Level 60
Mar 3, 2023
After going through many of the larger European countries, I somehow forgot Poland and did like every other one lol

Also I use this for fun (yes I know I’m a nerd)

+1
Level 32
Sep 6, 2014
15/21
+6
Level 48
Sep 8, 2014
A defense budget of world conquest proportions. And if kalbah is taking about USA making sure other parts of the world are consistently in disarray and unstable than I guess that is there responsibility. It is reasonable to be imperialistic eh.
+4
Level 82
Sep 10, 2014
::snore:: Bigoted American-bashing nonsense and ludicrously flimsy conspiracy theories that maintain the USA does the opposite of what it actually does aside (as declassified documents, leaked cables, and testimony from numerous whistle blowers have proven)... there is good reason why the period of relative global stability and peace of the last 70 years are referred to by intelligent people as the Pax Americana. and yes, the USA does shoulder enormous responsibility, as clearly evinced by the fact that they catch enormous flak for every decision they make to intervene, in any capacity, in any event around the world; while at the same time catching enormous flak for every decision they make to NOT intervene, in any capacity, in any event around the world. Some scenarios involving the sudden absence of the US on the world stage are as horrifying as they are probably inevitable. These things *should* be so completely obvious I feel pedantic having to mention them.
+4
Level 55
Dec 4, 2014
Is it telling that the US spends more than the next 10 countries combined?
+1
Level 55
Jul 14, 2015
The biggest surprise is Colombia making the list that otherwise only has Brazil from that region - no Chile, no Argentina.
+6
Level 71
Apr 12, 2016
I think this quiz has more nonsensical comments than any other on the Jetpunk listing. All the individuals arguing the point above have their own agenda and support their beliefs with half truths, lies, myths, urban myths, propaganda and pure nonsense. No wonder the UN is impossible to organise.
+6
Level 75
Apr 12, 2016
We are all our own best heroes.
+4
Level 58
Oct 20, 2016
Yes, most of the above are either very defensive or very smug. Sure sign of lies.
+2
Level 50
Jun 16, 2020
Everyone has their own agenda. How they choose to argue for it is a different matter.
+6
Level 65
Apr 12, 2016
598 billion dollars is ridiculous.. the USA should really stop playing policeman of the world. Every time when they remove a dictator from a country, something worse comes. Not every country is ready for a democracy.

America can better take away 300 billion of dollar and put it in the economy and infrastructure

+4
Level 84
Jun 28, 2016
Sure, thanks for the advice!
+1
Level 47
Feb 19, 2018
Genius idea, isn't it? It seems all too easy...
+2
Level 49
Apr 12, 2016
As there are 196 recognised nations on our planet, with troops in approximately 150 of them, the U.S.A clearly has to spend a fortune. Spreading freedom through war for decades! It is all about protecting the petro dollar.
+5
Level 82
Apr 12, 2016
All of these silly comments complaining about the USA's influence in the world, and nobody else is alarmed by how far up in the ranks Saudi Arabia has moved? You think the Americans are bad when you've got that as an alternative? To say nothing of China, Russia, India or North Korea. If the US went away and the top three military powers in the world were the PRC, the KSA, and Russia... yeah that would be much better.
+4
Level 43
May 26, 2021
Are you categorising India with China, Russia and North Korea?
+2
Level 82
Jul 17, 2021
I suppose I was. I can't recall what exactly I was thinking 5 years ago when I wrote that, but if forced to guess, maybe just that India has not done a great job of maintaining harmonious relations with its many neighbors. With Modi in charge right now they don't even seem to be doing a great job of maintaining harmony with themselves. Also they're in the top 5 biggest spenders along with the other countries named.

But anyway the overall point was that there are few countries on this list that I think anyone would honestly feel any better about having as global military hegemon than the US. Maybe Canada wouldn't be so bad.

+5
Level 56
Dec 8, 2021
What about Australia? Is the world afraid that if Australia becomes the global military hegemony we'll spread Vegemite throughout the world and invade any who refuse it?
+1
Level 82
May 3, 2022
As long as they make a commitment to respect the rights of Aborigines and emus, probably wouldn't be so bad.
+1
Level 47
Apr 15, 2016
Brazil?? i just guessed the biggest countries on the world
+1
Level 47
Apr 15, 2016
i just wrote arabia!!
+15
Level 82
Apr 20, 2016
Did they write back?
+1
Level 35
Jun 13, 2016
I always forget South Korea in ever quiz :-( Surprised North Korea isn't on this list.
+3
Level 74
May 22, 2018
North Korea just has an utterly tiny economy, and they don't pay their troops or update their equipment.
+1
Level 48
Aug 31, 2016
Surprised not to see Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and Indonesia there. Especially shocking is Algeria is bigger spender than all of them.
+1
Level 48
Aug 31, 2016
Also intersting is, UK spends almost two times more than France and yet it is not clear, if their army is not actually the weaker one of these.
+1
Level 60
Sep 7, 2022
It may be, but their navy very definitely isn't.
+1
Level 25
Jun 30, 2017
Algeria?!?!?!?!?!
+1
Level 45
Jan 4, 2018
Thinking of australia...said no....then Taiwan midway through typing...time ends
+5
Level 61
Feb 19, 2018
Imagine all that money being spent on health research, environmental issues, space exploration, ...
+1
Level 58
Aug 29, 2019
Imagine all that money being spent on stabilizing world peace, Oh wait, it is.
+4
Level 50
Jun 16, 2020
Oh wait, it's not.
+1
Level 52
Nov 13, 2020
Oh wait, it is. The point you seem to be making is that the world would be 100% peaceful if militaries did not exist. Quite the opposite, my friend.
+1
Level 74
Jul 9, 2022
Most of the best funded military powers are stable at home, though. They're all about furthering the interests of their government abroad, by hook or by crook.
+2
Level 87
Feb 19, 2018
I still don't believe that Algeria has a bigger military budget than Indonesia.
+5
Level 62
Feb 23, 2018
I'm surprised Israel has to spend any money at all on the military. A significant minority of the US Congress are dual citizens who put Israel's interests before America's
+8
Level 82
May 19, 2018
It's a common misconception that the United States bankrolls the Israeli military; or, an even more egregious misconception- that Israel doesn't have its own military and it's actually the US that fights its wars for it. I've encountered some people who believe the latter.

This misconception is almost entirely disconnected from reality. Israelis have been defending themselves since the creation of their nation and Americans have never been as crucial to that as many believe. Prior to May 1948 it was the Czechs who were Israel's biggest arms supplier, though Israelis were manufacturing munitions and weapons themselves in secret under the noses of the British occupiers. After independence, France became the nation's most important ally. It wasn't really until the 1960s that the US began to intervene more in Israeli affairs- and it often wasn't on the side of the Israelis! When Israel conspired with France and the UK to capture the Sinai from Egypt, it was the USA that forced them

+8
Level 82
May 19, 2018
to return it. When Syria and Egypt launched a surprise unprovoked invasion of Israel on Yom Kippur, and in a matter of days were stymied, repulsed, beaten into retreat- when Israel's armies were within striking distance of seizing both Cairo and Damascus, it was the USA that negotiated peace and made them go back.

The US does give money to Israeli defense. And some non-military aid, as well. But the amount of money they give is a drop in the bucket next to Israel's total defense budget. It's also much smaller than the total amount of aid the US gives to all of nearby Arab and Muslim countries and Palestine.

US politicians talk a lot about Israeli security. But that's not because they care so much about it, usually. It's because Florida is a swing state and it's full of old Jews who have nothing better to do on election day than go out and vote. Only once in a long while does someone get into office so dumb as to confuse rhetoric with real policy, like the current president.

+1
Level 34
May 19, 2018
Yes! 100% first try!
+1
Level 66
May 19, 2018
Algeria? Who are they arming themselves against and how are they funding it?
+9
Level 82
May 19, 2018
Arming themselves against: France, Nigeria, Libya, Morocco, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, paranoid delusional fantasies about Zionists.

funding it with: oil.

+3
Level 74
May 20, 2018
+ those scheming Belgians.
+1
Level 82
Dec 19, 2018
And of course domestic terrorists/rebels
+2
Level 82
Dec 28, 2019
I mentioned Boko Haram and Al Qaeda. But there are some other groups active in Algeria, too.
+1
Level 63
May 21, 2018
Got them all (including Algeria which was a random guess) except for Canada, because I wouldn't have thought of them whatsoever. I'm shocked that many more obvious choices, such as the more militarised South American countries along the likes of Colombia would be on the list.
+2
Level 82
May 22, 2018
Lives and bullets are cheap. The countries who show up on this list spend more on technology and sophisticated military hardware than Colombia can afford to, even if Colombia is more militarized.
+1
Level 50
Jul 12, 2022
How can Canada spend so much on sophisticated military technology and still not have any?
+5
Level 74
May 22, 2018
With Donald Trump at the helm with his tiny, money grabbing hands, I am getting worried about the increases in American defence spending, especially now he's unilaterally decided to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Trump might be the catalyst that starts a major international war. The capability to win it doesn't help those who'll die.
+3
Level 46
May 26, 2021
3 years later, no lmao
+4
Level 82
Nov 13, 2021
He wanted to. Fortunately, very few in government, including those in his party and even many people he appointed, ever took him seriously.
+1
Level 63
Jul 30, 2018
Wow, that's embarrassing... Germany spends that much on military but all the stuff falls apart.
+1
Level 91
Aug 6, 2018
I'm glad that I live in Finland.
+1
Level 50
Jan 30, 2019
Is nobody going to talk about why algeria is on here?
+3
Level 82
May 8, 2019
We were, literally 5 comments up the page.
+6
Level 68
May 8, 2019
No wonder America has no money for health care and education. Maybe if they didn't invade countries for no reason at all (i.e. Iraq) they might have money to make life better for people in the country. The idea that other countries can spend less on the military because America spends more and has their backs is false. Other countries (wealthy western countries) spend less because they don't start unnecessary wars with others and they don't anger other countries who then threaten them (North Korea, Russia.) Having said all of that, the biggest threat today is not missiles, it's cyber attacks and as we have seen first hand, the current US admin. isn't doing much about it.
+4
Level 82
Aug 29, 2019
the biggest threat is the current administration
+1
Level 76
Jun 16, 2020
Perhaps you would prefer to have russia/USSR, iran, north korea, china as the world's police force.
+3
Level 82
Jun 16, 2020
.... what?
+6
Level 50
Jun 16, 2020
The biggest threat is climate change, and by extension government's lack of action on it.
+2
Level 82
Jun 17, 2020
Or even cooperation with those entities trying to accelerate it and stymie any efforts to address it.
+2
Level 74
Aug 29, 2019
The absence of Pakistan surprised me. They've been preparing to annihilate India for decades. Also they're one of the most populous countries in the world, so they should have some money to spend.
+5
Level 82
Dec 28, 2019
Populous but poor.
+2
Level 60
Jun 16, 2020
Yeah our military spending may not be much in numbers but in percentage, it is around 20% of the yearly budget. However, despite that, our military is still one of the most professional and well-equipped in the world. Also, to answer Lilylee, we haven't been preparing to annihilate India for decades. We prepare only for the situation in which we have to defend (and counter attack) but never offence.
+3
Level 62
May 21, 2021
Did you just forget 47', 65' and Kargil?
+1
Level 71
Jan 30, 2022
Among South Asians, there's a popular conception that Pakistan's obsession with its military is what's holding it back--that their funding of the military prevents money from going to welfare, development, etc and just fuels conflict that further destabilizes the country. While I can't definitely say this whether this is true or not, it's interesting to note that, 50 years ago, Pakistan was probably the richest and most industrialized South Asian country. Now, it's the poorest and least stable (unless you count Afghanistan as South Asian).
+2
Level 63
Jul 9, 2022
About that last sentence... Sri Lanka beat you to it.
+1
Level 71
Jul 9, 2022
Yeah lol, Sri Lanka is definitely the worst now. It's also a similar story to Pakistan though, it went from one of the richest country in South Asia to the poorest. I hope the situation there improves soon, although given what has happened today it seems like things are going to get worse before they get better.
+1
Level 67
Jan 14, 2020
Missed Israel and UAE
+1
Level 88
Jun 10, 2020
I'm from the Netherlands and I would've never guessed us to be on here. Our army isn't that great and a lot of people complain we don't spend enough on our army.
+1
Level ∞
Jun 10, 2020
See the stickied comment. Salaries are high in the Netherlands, so spending is high even if the size of the military is small.
+1
Level 60
Jun 16, 2020
For some reasons I expected North Korea because I didn't read the caveats
+2
Level 19
Jun 16, 2020
i was so shocked that there's no indonesia/pakistan/egypt/mexico/north korea.
+1
Level 35
Jun 16, 2020
Really no France? I would have expected them...
+2
Level 66
Jun 17, 2020
they are ranked 6th.. you must have missed them, definitely in the list.
+1
Level 78
Jun 19, 2020
‘North Korea may not be in the quiz’ Okay great now I’ve gotta try it
+1
Level 63
Jun 20, 2020
It's kinda funny that our (Australia's) spending is barely under the spending of Brazil, despite our country only having a 10th of the population of them. I'm willing to bet most of our spending is on long-range technologies, rather than infantry (personnel) costs.
+4
Level 82
Jun 21, 2020
training kangaroos to use boomerangs isn't cheap
+3
Level 67
Oct 29, 2020
Actually I think they are weaponizing emus
+2
Level 79
May 8, 2022
Much of our spending is on submarines contracts that will be obsolete by the time they might eventually be built.
+1
Level 62
Jul 11, 2020
I expected Poland to be on the list
+1
Level 79
May 8, 2022
It made it with the latest update.
+1
Level 52
Dec 21, 2020
on the last 3 seconds i did it
+1
Level 35
Jan 27, 2021
i missed 1 and it was china...):
+1
Level 35
Feb 3, 2021
usa over here buying everything. imagine this in a shop

usa: what weapons you got

shop: umm we have guns, grenades, ta-

usa: we'll take it all

+1
Level 87
May 7, 2022
Kind of surprised Taiwan fell off the list. They're probably more threatened than ever, and they've got the money. I mean, why is Canada spending at least twice as much as Taiwan? Is Ottawa worried we're coming up Lake Champlain?
+1
Level 85
Jul 9, 2022
Trying to reach the 2% of GDP spent on the military as per NATO agreement. Americans did go up Lake Champlain once or twice though.
+4
Level 82
May 11, 2022
"Edit 2022: It's likely that China now has a larger effective military spending than the U.S." - Quizmaster

I'd be interested to know where this is coming from. Taking the PPP conversion factor implied by the IMF's GDP figures (1.5158) gives an adjusted Chinese military budget of $444 billion, still barely over half of the US's figure (the US is the PPP benchmark, so its numbers don't change). I know it's generally believed that China's expenditure is higher than reported, but I think the SIPRI figures take that into account. Jane's reports the official budget as $US229.5 billion. Is there something I'm missing?

+1
Level 78
May 26, 2022
Imagine getting everything but Spain... what kind of idiot would do something like that.... (NOT me. It was NOT me.)
+1
Level 85
Jul 9, 2022
Amused myself by scrolling through the comments - some people need to crack open a few history books. However, using total spent may not be the most accurate. Western nations tend to have higher cost - labor, energy, etc so percentage of GDP or per capita might be better. Both are quizzes on Jetpunk. Per capita the US still scores 4th but by percentage of GDP, it slips down to 10th.
+3
Level 85
Jul 9, 2022
Above in the comments, there was a discussion on the War of 1812. Canada views the war as an invasion. It considers the successful defence of the colonies as a victory. However, it also changed the perception of English speaking colonists. Mostly Loyalists refugees from the US, they viewed themselves as British Americans living in British North American. At the end of the war which they fought alongside the French-speaking Canadiens, they viewed themselves like their French neighbours as Canadians not British nor American. Studying in the US, I learned the US viewed the war as continuation of the American revolution due to the British failure to adhere to the Treaty of Paris plus the British ignoring US sovergnty on the high seas. By 1814, the Brits agreed to follow the Treaty of Paris and the British Navy would behave themselves. Plus the Napoleonic wars were over and the British no longer needed sailors. For UK history, this was a mere sideshow.
+1
Level 60
Sep 7, 2022
We still get to chortle about burning the White House though.
+1
Level 34
Jul 12, 2022
I am surprised that South Korea spends more money on it's military than AUSTRALIA!
+10
Level 50
Jul 12, 2022
Australia doesn't have a neighbor whose stated aim is the annihilation of their country.
+7
Level 82
Aug 17, 2022
South Korea has a larger population and larger economy than Australia and is right next to a hostile and unpredictable, nuclear-armed neighbour with over a million troops under arms. I would say that is not so much surprising as it is... exactly what one would expect.
+1
Level 37
Jan 5, 2023
look at that. the UK is the fourth highest but we're still miniscule
+1
Level 22
Mar 2, 2023
surprised about the Netherlands being higher than Poland
+1
Level 67
May 8, 2023
1:53