Which country in North America has the highest military spending?

The United States has the highest military spending in North America: 3.1% of GDP (2025). Next come Canada (1.6% of GDP) and Honduras (1.5% of GDP).

Which country in North America has the lowest military spending?

Panama, with 0.0% of GDP (2025).

What is the typical military spending of a country in North America?

The median of the 14 countries in North America is 0.9% 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, 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 North America 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. 14 countries in North America, highest first. World Bank, 2025

See it on the map

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

Highest

3.1%

United States

Median country

0.9%

half above, half below

Lowest

0.0%

Panama

Countries in North America by military spending, World Bank, 2025
#	Country	% of GDP	Region
1	United States	3.1%	Northern America
2	Canada	1.6%	Northern America
3	Honduras	1.5%	Central America
4	Jamaica	1.4%	Caribbean
5	El Salvador	1.3%	Central America
6	Belize	1.0%	Central America
7	Trinidad and Tobago	0.9%	Caribbean
8	Dominican Republic	0.8%	Caribbean
9	Mexico	0.7%	Central America
10	Nicaragua	0.6%	Central America
11	Guatemala	0.5%	Central America
12	Haiti	0.1%	Caribbean
=13	Costa Rica	0.0%	Central America
=13	Panama	0.0%	Central America

No World Bank figure for 9 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Questions

Which country in North America has the highest military spending?: The United States has the highest military spending in North America: 3.1% of GDP (2025). Next come Canada (1.6% of GDP) and Honduras (1.5% of GDP).
Which country in North America has the lowest military spending?: Panama, with 0.0% of GDP (2025).
What is the typical military spending of a country in North America?: The median of the 14 countries in North America is 0.9% 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, 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.