Japan vs Korea: Military expenditure

Japan
55.27 billion current USD
in 2024
Korea
47.57 billion current USD
in 2024
Japan rank
10th
Korea rank
11th

Military expenditure over time

  • Japan
  • Korea
020.0B40.0B60.0B196019922024

How they compare

Japan currently reports 55.27 billion current USD against 47.57 billion current USD in Korea, a difference of 7.70 billion current USD.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.2 times Korea's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 10th and Korea ranks 11th of 167 countries.

Japan has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Korea Difference Ahead
1960s 815.55 million current USD 209.46 million current USD 606.09 million current USD Japan
1970s 4.69 billion current USD 1.45 billion current USD 3.24 billion current USD Japan
1980s 16.68 billion current USD 5.60 billion current USD 11.08 billion current USD Japan
1990s 39.98 billion current USD 12.85 billion current USD 27.14 billion current USD Japan
2000s 43.76 billion current USD 20.02 billion current USD 23.74 billion current USD Japan
2010s 50.43 billion current USD 36.28 billion current USD 14.15 billion current USD Japan
2020s 50.33 billion current USD 47.75 billion current USD 2.59 billion current USD Japan

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military expenditure, Japan or Korea?
Japan, at 55.27 billion current USD against 47.57 billion current USD in Korea as of 2024.
What is the difference in military expenditure between Japan and Korea?
7.70 billion current USD, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Korea?
65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
How do Japan and Korea rank globally for military expenditure?
Japan ranks 10th and Korea ranks 11th of 167 countries.
Where does this data come from?
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as Military expenditure (current USD). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Japan vs Korea: Military expenditure. Statizoid, drawing on SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Retrieved 17 August 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/military-expenditure-current-usd/japan/korea-rep/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/compare/military-expenditure-current-usd/japan/korea-rep/">Japan vs Korea: Military expenditure</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Military expenditure (current USD)
Unit
current USD
Source
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
211 places, 10,601 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Military spending USD, in current prices (converted at the exchange rate for the given year)