home

Biggest Military Spenders (as a percentage of GDP)

Guess the top 20 military spenders as a percentage of GDP. All data from SIPRI/wikipedia.
For some reason the SIPRI database does not include data on North Korea. If it did, North Korea would easily be #1, as their military budget is somewhere between 25% and 58% of their entire GDP, depending on which set of figures you believe.
I think this is a better way of seeing how much a country prioritizes military spending than looking at total expenditures alone. Think of countries that hate their neighbors (or hate a particular chosen people) and you'll get many of these.
Quiz by kalbahamut
Rate:
Last updated: September 7, 2018
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedJanuary 21, 2013
Times taken4,260
Average score45.0%
Rating4.12
Report this quizReport
Quiz and answer stats >>
Friends stats >>
4:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 20 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Hint
Answer
20.9%
Eritrea
10.1%
Saudi Arabia
9.7%
Oman
6.9%
United Arab Emirates
6.5%
Israel
6.2%
Chad
6.1%
Jordan
5.4%
Iraq
5.1%
Georgia
4.7%
United States of America
4.4%
Kuwait
4.2%
Angola
4.2%
Armenia
4.1%
Lebanon
4.0%
Syria
3.9%
Russia
3.9%
Yemen
3.8%
Algeria
3.8%
Mauritania
3.8%
Burundi
Mattar14
+1
Level 12
May 14, 2013
Excellent Quiz! I never knew Eritrea was a huge spender on army resources.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 82
May 18, 2013
I think they are just trying to maintain some sort of parity with much larger, much more populous, and more powerful Ethiopia; whom they have had a long standing war/border dispute with that never had a clear resolution. Eritrea is such a small and poor country that they have to spend a large percentage of their GDP to even try to keep up. In absolute terms, Eritrea's military spending ranks 81st in the world and Ethiopia's ranks 88th; but as a % of GDP Ethiopia only spends 1% vs. Eritrea's 21%. Eritrea also has had hostile relations with Sudan and Yemen, so... they probably feel boxed in. Thanks for taking the quiz and taking the time to comment. :)
TenThousand
+1
Level 76
Jun 23, 2014
I doubt that many of the major spenders would publish honest data about their military spending.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Jun 24, 2014
I'm sure that the data the US publishes is pretty honest and accurate. Though there is a lot that isn't published and "off the books"- though more of that is spent by the NSA and CIA than the DoD and technically not considered defense spending. China's, maybe not so much, but hard to say.
beetboy12
+1
Level 37
Sep 9, 2014
I thought Burma might be on here, but no. Your hint about neighbors helped immensely. I was pretty lost until i read it.
WishfulThinker
+1
Level 31
Jan 18, 2015
North Korea should be here. Wiki is suggesting 15.8% of its GDP?

Surprised to see Saudi Arabia second. Such a rich country, 10% is a hell of a log of spend!

WishfulThinker
+1
Level 31
Jan 18, 2015
Of course, I have only just now read what it says at the top - after posting my comment. I don't have time to read that when the clocks running! Ha!
protector441
+1
Level 48
Apr 30, 2016
Nice quiz and very informative, thanks a lot. I would never guess Mauritania and Burundi, on the other hand i am surprised only 10 and 17 and 18 percent got Angola, Chad and Eritrea. Those I think are pretty obvious ones (though i missed Angola, cause i am stupid and cannot remember fast enough :D). I am quite a lot surprised, that Iran and Sudan didn´t make it here. I would bet on them before taking the test. Both of them are tending toward aggressive foreign policy and have many hostile and/or unstable neighbors (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia/Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, CAR, DRC, Post-Gaddafi Libya).
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
May 1, 2016
I was also surprised by Iran not showing up. Sudan doesn't really surprise me. There are not many African countries on the list. They fight a lot of wars but don't spend much on tanks or fighter jets. AK-47s and machetes are cheap.
tmaster52
+1
Level 64
Apr 26, 2018
See if the biggest military speners are also one of the 50 most powerful military nations here
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Apr 27, 2018
I've often wondered what the relationship between spening and power is.
otterlyuseless
+1
Level 34
May 13, 2020
just start guessing arab world countries
Save Your Progress
Similar Quizzes by Tag

Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2024

Contact Us | Go To Top | View Desktop Site