Which country in Asia has the highest military spending?

Israel has the highest military spending in Asia: 7.8% of GDP (2025). Next come Myanmar (6.6% of GDP) and Qatar (6.5% of GDP).

Which country in Asia has the lowest military spending?

Kazakhstan, with 0.4% of GDP (2025).

What is the typical military spending of a country in Asia?

The median of the 38 countries in Asia is 2.2% of GDP: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

Military expenditure as a share of GDP, from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: armed forces, defence ministries, military aid and the paramilitary forces trained for military operations. Source: World Bank, mostly 2025. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in Asia by military spending

Military expenditure as a share of GDP, from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: armed forces, defence ministries, military aid and the paramilitary forces trained for military operations. 38 countries in Asia, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2025

See it on the map

Map: Military spending — Asia — **0.74%**1%**1.5%**2%**2.4%3.3%**No data

Highest

7.8%

Israel

Median country

2.2%

half above, half below

Lowest

0.4%

Kazakhstan

Countries in Asia by military spending, World Bank, mostly 2025
#	Country	% of GDP	Year	Region
1	Israel	7.8%	2025	Western Asia
2	Myanmar	6.6%	2024	South-Eastern Asia
3	Qatar	6.5%	2022	Western Asia
4	Saudi Arabia	6.5%	2025	Western Asia
5	Azerbaijan	6.5%	2025	Western Asia
6	Armenia	6.1%	2025	Western Asia
7	Oman	5.7%	2025	Western Asia
8	Kuwait	4.7%	2025	Western Asia
9	Jordan	4.6%	2025	Western Asia
10	Brunei	3.6%	2024	South-Eastern Asia
11	Bahrain	3.1%	2025	Western Asia
12	Singapore	3.0%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
13	Kyrgyzstan	2.9%	2025	Central Asia
14	Pakistan	2.9%	2025	Southern Asia
15	South Korea	2.6%	2025	Eastern Asia
16	Lebanon	2.5%	2025	Western Asia
17	Iraq	2.5%	2025	Western Asia
18	India	2.3%	2025	Southern Asia
19	Timor-Leste	2.3%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
20	Vietnam	2.1%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
21	Iran	2.1%	2025	Southern Asia
22	Turkey	1.9%	2025	Western Asia
23	Afghanistan	1.8%	2021	Southern Asia
24	Georgia	1.8%	2025	Western Asia
25	China	1.7%	2025	Eastern Asia
26	Cyprus	1.6%	2025	Western Asia
27	Tajikistan	1.5%	2025	Central Asia
28	Cambodia	1.4%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
29	Japan	1.4%	2025	Eastern Asia
30	Sri Lanka	1.3%	2025	Southern Asia
31	Philippines	1.3%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
=32	Indonesia	1.0%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
=32	Malaysia	1.0%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
=32	Thailand	1.0%	2025	South-Eastern Asia
35	Nepal	1.0%	2025	Southern Asia
36	Mongolia	0.9%	2025	Eastern Asia
37	Bangladesh	0.8%	2025	Southern Asia
38	Kazakhstan	0.4%	2025	Central Asia

No World Bank figure for 10 countries: Bhutan, Laos, Maldives, North Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Questions

Which country in Asia has the highest military spending?: Israel has the highest military spending in Asia: 7.8% of GDP (2025). Next come Myanmar (6.6% of GDP) and Qatar (6.5% of GDP).
Which country in Asia has the lowest military spending?: Kazakhstan, with 0.4% of GDP (2025).
What is the typical military spending of a country in Asia?: The median of the 38 countries in Asia is 2.2% of GDP: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: Military expenditure as a share of GDP, from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: armed forces, defence ministries, military aid and the paramilitary forces trained for military operations. Source: World Bank, mostly 2025. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.