Countries in Europe 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. 39 countries in Europe, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2025
Median country
2.0%
half above, half below| # | Country | % of GDP | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ukraine | 34.5% | 2024 | Eastern Europe |
| 2 |  Russia | 7.5% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 3 |  Poland | 4.5% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 4 |  Latvia | 3.6% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 5 |  Estonia | 3.4% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 6 |  Norway | 3.3% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 7 |  Denmark | 3.3% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 8 |  Lithuania | 3.1% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 9 |  Greece | 3.0% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 10 |  Serbia | 2.8% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 11 |  Finland | 2.6% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 12 |  Sweden | 2.5% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 13 |  Belarus | 2.4% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 14 |  United Kingdom | 2.4% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 15 |  Romania | 2.3% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 16 |  Germany | 2.3% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| 17 |  Netherlands | 2.2% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| 18 |  Spain | 2.1% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 19 |  Hungary | 2.0% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| =20 |  Albania | 2.0% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| =20 |  France | 2.0% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| =20 |  Slovakia | 2.0% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 23 |  Croatia | 2.0% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| =24 |  Belgium | 2.0% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| =24 |  Bulgaria | 2.0% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 26 |  North Macedonia | 2.0% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| =27 |  Italy | 1.9% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| =27 |  Montenegro | 1.9% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 29 |  Czechia | 1.8% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 30 |  Portugal | 1.7% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 31 |  Slovenia | 1.5% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 32 |  Austria | 1.1% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| 33 |  Luxembourg | 0.8% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| 34 |  Switzerland | 0.8% | 2025 | Western Europe |
| 35 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.7% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 36 |  Moldova | 0.6% | 2025 | Eastern Europe |
| 37 |  Malta | 0.5% | 2025 | Southern Europe |
| 38 |  Ireland | 0.2% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
| 39 |  Iceland | 0.0% | 2025 | Northern Europe |
No World Bank figure for 5 countries: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City.
Questions
- Which country in Europe has the highest military spending?
- Ukraine has the highest military spending in Europe: 34.5% of GDP (2024). Next come Russia (7.5% of GDP) and Poland (4.5% of GDP).
- Which country in Europe has the lowest military spending?
- Iceland, with 0.0% of GDP (2025).
- What is the typical military spending of a country in Europe?
- The median of the 39 countries in Europe is 2.0% 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.