North Macedonia's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) was 5.13% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 2.05 percentage points from 3.08% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5.13% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 3.26% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 3.08% | 2015 |
| Highest | 16.33% | 2001 |
| Lowest | 2.84% | 2017 |
| Average since 2016 | 3.93% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 6.46% | 1997 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, North Macedonia's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) rose 0.24 percentage points on 2024 (from 4.89% to 5.13%).
Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.82 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 10.55 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.4 percentage points in 2002. 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 0.27 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 89% 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.
How it compares
In 2025, North Macedonia had the 73rd highest value of the 149 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| North Macedonia | 5.13% | 2025 |
| World | 6.63% | 2024 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 6.55% | 2025 |
| Upper middle income | 5.61% | 2024 |
Closest to North Macedonia in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
Military expenditure expressed as a percentage of general government expenditure
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.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 29 values
| Year | Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.13 |
| 2024 | 4.89 |
| 2023 | 5.01 |
| 2022 | 4.25 |
| 2021 | 3.97 |
| 2020 | 3.26 |
| 2019 | 3.82 |
| 2018 | 3.06 |
| 2017 | 2.84 |
| 2016 | 3.05 |
| 2015 |
Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) in nearby economies
- Albania — 6.71% (2025)
- Armenia — 19.89% (2025)
- Austria — 2% (2025)
- Azerbaijan — 17.68% (2025)
- Belarus — 5.71% (2025)
- Belgium — 3.67% (2025)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 1.56% (2025)
- Bulgaria — 5.2% (2025)
- Croatia — 4.14% (2025)
More public sector data for North Macedonia
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 374.75 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 20.45 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.97% (2025)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 16,000 (2020)
- Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 2% (2020)
- Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 0.96 (2023)
- Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 2.13 (2023)
- Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 1.53 (2023)
- Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 1 data use score (scale 0-100)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is North Macedonia's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure)?
- 5.13% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1997?
- It is down 1.33 percentage points from 6.46% in 1997. The highest value was 16.33% in 2001 and the lowest 2.84% in 2017.
- How does North Macedonia rank?
- 73rd highest of 149 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) unusual for North Macedonia?
- In 2025, North Macedonia's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) rose 0.24 percentage points on 2024 (from 4.89% to 5.13%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2024), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.82 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.XPND.ZS, 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.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in