Countries in South 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. 11 countries in South America, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2024
Median country
1.0%
half above, half below| # | Country | % of GDP | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Colombia | 3.4% | 2024 | South America |
| 2 |  Uruguay | 2.3% | 2024 | South America |
| 3 |  Ecuador | 2.2% | 2024 | South America |
| 4 |  Chile | 1.6% | 2024 | South America |
| 5 |  Bolivia | 1.4% | 2024 | South America |
| 6 |  Brazil | 1.0% | 2024 | South America |
| 7 |  Paraguay | 0.9% | 2024 | South America |
| 8 |  Peru | 0.9% | 2024 | South America |
| 9 |  Guyana | 0.9% | 2024 | South America |
| 10 |  Argentina | 0.6% | 2024 | South America |
| 11 |  Venezuela | 0.5% | 2023 | South America |
No World Bank figure for Suriname.
Questions
- Which country in South America has the highest military spending?
- Colombia has the highest military spending in South America: 3.4% of GDP (2024). Next come Uruguay (2.3% of GDP) and Ecuador (2.2% of GDP).
- Which country in South America has the lowest military spending?
- Venezuela, with 0.5% of GDP (2023).
- What is the typical military spending of a country in South America?
- The median of the 11 countries in South America is 1.0% 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 2024. 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.