Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (current USD) was 83.18 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 4.59% from 87.19 billion in 2015 (0.47% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 83.18 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 64.56 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 87.19 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 87.19 billion | 2015 |
| Lowest | 71.56 million | 1961 |
| Average since 2016 | 71.4 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 140.89 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (current USD) rose 3.5% on 2024 (from 80.33 billion to 83.18 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +6.7% and a typical year strayed about 12.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 69% in 1966 and the biggest yearly fall was 49.2% in 1961. 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 1.67 billion a year. A straight line explains 48% 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, Saudi Arabia had the 8th 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 83.18 billion | 2025 |
| World | 2.86 trillion | 2025 |
| High income | 2.09 trillion | 2025 |
Closest to Saudi Arabia in the 2025 ranking
What this measures
Military spending USD, in current prices (converted at the exchange rate for the given 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.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 62 values
| Year | Military expenditure (current USD) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 83,181,333,333 |
| 2024 | 80,330,666,667 |
| 2023 | 77,765,333,333 |
| 2022 | 70,920,000,000 |
| 2021 | 63,194,666,667 |
| 2020 | 64,558,400,000 |
| 2019 | 65,362,666,667 |
| 2018 | 74,612,266,667 |
| 2017 | 70,400,000,000 |
| 2016 | 63,672,800,000 |
Military expenditure (current USD) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 278.25 million (2021)
- Algeria — 25.44 billion (2025)
- Bahrain — 1.47 billion (2025)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 2.5 billion (2025)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 7.4 billion (2025)
- Iraq — 6.45 billion (2025)
- Israel — 48.28 billion (2025)
- Jordan — 2.56 billion (2025)
- Kuwait — 8.09 billion (2025)
- Lebanon — 828.3 million (2025)
- Libya
More public sector data for Saudi Arabia
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 3.04 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 311.93 billion (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 6.48% (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 23.53% (2025)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 282,000 (2020)
- Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.92% (2020)
- 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) — 68.86 (2024)
- Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (current USD)?
- 83.18 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 58,940% from 140.89 million in 1960 (10.31% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 87.19 billion in 2015 and the lowest 71.56 million in 1961.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank?
- 8th highest of 150 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in military expenditure (current USD) unusual for Saudi Arabia?
- In 2025, Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (current USD) rose 3.5% on 2024 (from 80.33 billion to 83.18 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +6.7% and a typical year strayed about 12.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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.CD, 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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