Qatar: Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure)

Key figures

Since 1990 it is up 1.62 percentage points from 25.25% in 1990. The World Bank has no value for 20 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2022, Qatar's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) rose 4.91 percentage points on 2021 (from 21.96% to 26.87%).

Across the 9 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2021), the average change was −0.55 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.91 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.18 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full 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 13 values

Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 4.97% (2020)
• Algeria — 24.57% (2025)
• Bahrain — 10.8% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 2.45% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 11.16% (2025)
• Iraq — 5.53% (2025)
• Israel — 17.83% (2025)
• Jordan — 13.53% (2025)
• Kuwait — 10.09% (2025)

More public sector data for Qatar

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 1.05 billion (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 22,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.07% (2020)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 0.07 (2022)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 15.41 billion (2022)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 56.1 billion (2022)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 6.5% (2022)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 1 data use score (scale 0-100) — 80 (2024)
• Statistical performance indicators (SPI): Pillar 3 data products score (scale 0-100) — 67.53 (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Qatar's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure)?

26.87% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 1.62 percentage points from 25.25% in 1990. The highest value was 27.9% in 1991 and the lowest 4.9% in 2010.

Is the latest change in military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) unusual for Qatar?

In 2022, Qatar's military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) rose 4.91 percentage points on 2021 (from 21.96% to 26.87%). Across the 9 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2021), the average change was −0.55 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

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.

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