Australia's military expenditure (current LCU) was 54.81 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 71.26% from 32.01 billion in 2015 (5.53% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 54.81 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 39.67 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 32.01 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 54.81 billion | 2025 |
| Lowest | 410.5 million | 1960 |
| Average since 2016 | 43.06 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 410.5 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Australia's military expenditure (current LCU) rose 5.7% on 2024 (from 51.87 billion to 54.81 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +5.6% and a typical year strayed about 3.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 25.3% in 1966 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.9% in 1970. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.3 billion a year. A straight line explains 95% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 59.92 billion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 2.47 billion, against 5.06 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2025, Australia had the 75th highest value of the 150 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Australia in the 2025 ranking
- Nepal — 71st of 150: 59.7 billion
- Morocco — 72nd of 150: 59.18 billion
- South Africa — 73rd of 150: 56.76 billion
- Albania — 75th of 150: 54.11 billion
- Kyrgyz Republic — 76th of 150: 52.51 billion
- Canada — 77th of 150: 52.4 billion
What this measures
Military expenditure in local currency at current prices (by calendar year)
Limitations: SIPRI strives to compile reliable, consistent military expenditure data by assessing multiple sources, but accuracy depends on the quality and transparency of those sources. Challenges arise from two key issues: whether reported figures reflect actual spending and how closely they match SIPRI’s definition. While data is generally accurate in developed and many developing countries, weak governance, corruption, and secret transfers in others can lead to major discrepancies. SIPRI sometimes makes estimates, when sources conflict or lack coverage, introducing uncertainty, especially for countries like China or the UAE.
All 66 values
| Year | Military expenditure (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 54,813,750,000 |
| 2024 | 51,872,900,000 |
| 2023 | 48,825,218,500 |
| 2022 | 46,774,583,500 |
| 2021 | 43,580,465,000 |
| 2020 | 39,668,200,000 |
| 2019 | 37,502,100,000 |
| 2018 | 35,933,450,000 |
| 2017 | 36,121,950,000 |
| 2016 | 35,495,000,000 |
Military expenditure (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Brunei Darussalam — 748.54 million (2024)
- Cambodia — 2.96 trillion (2025)
- China — 2.41 trillion (2025)
- Fiji — 184.81 million (2025)
- Indonesia — 247.53 trillion (2025)
- Japan — 9.3 trillion (2025)
- Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 216.6 billion (2018)
- Korea, Rep. — 67.92 trillion (2025)
- Malaysia — 21.13 billion (2025)
- Mongolia — 784.57 billion (2025)
- Myanmar
More public sector data for Australia
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 826 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 35.33 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.92% (2025)
- Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 108 million (2025)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 19.74 billion (2022)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 0.84% (2022)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -31.49 billion (2022)
- Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -1.35% (2022)
- Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 71.28 billion (2022)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Australia's military expenditure (current LCU)?
- 54.81 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 13,253% from 410.5 million in 1960 (7.82% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 54.81 billion in 2025 and the lowest 410.5 million in 1960.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.XPND.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://www.sipri.org/databases Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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