Saudi Arabia: Military expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 6.41% to 6.48%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.58 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 4.46 percentage points in 1982 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.42 percentage points in 1968. 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 downward, about 0.38 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 74% 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 6th 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 Saudi Arabia in the 2025 ranking

• Algeria — 2nd of 150: 8.83%
• Israel — 3rd of 150: 7.81%
• Russian Federation — 4th of 150: 7.5%
• Azerbaijan — 6th of 150: 6.47%
• Armenia — 7th of 150: 6.09%
• Oman — 8th of 150: 5.68%

What this measures

Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product

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 59 values

Military expenditure (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 1.83% (2021)
• Algeria — 8.83% (2025)
• Bahrain — 3.11% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 0.61% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 2.09% (2025)
• Iraq — 2.45% (2025)
• Israel — 7.81% (2025)
• Jordan — 4.56% (2025)
• Kuwait — 4.69% (2025)
• Lebanon — 2.51% (2025)
• Libya — 3.57% (2023)

More public sector data for Saudi Arabia

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 3.04 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 83.18 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 311.93 billion (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)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (% of GDP)?

6.48% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1963?

It is up 0.58 percentage points from 5.9% in 1963. The highest value was 19% in 1984 and the lowest 5.72% in 2022.

How does Saudi Arabia rank?

6th highest of 150 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in military expenditure (% of GDP) unusual for Saudi Arabia?

In 2025, Saudi Arabia's military expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 6.41% to 6.48%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.58 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.GD.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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