Israel vs Saudi Arabia: Military expenditure
Israel
8.8%
in 2024
Saudi Arabia
7.3%
in 2024
Israel rank
3rd
Saudi Arabia rank
5th
Military expenditure over time
- Israel
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Israel currently reports 8.8% against 7.3% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 1.5%.
That makes Israel's figure about 1.2 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 8 times across 58 shared years of data; in 1963 it was Israel ahead.
Israel ranks 3rd and Saudi Arabia ranks 5th of 165 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Israel averaged higher in 3 and Saudi Arabia in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Israel | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.7% | 8.6% | 4.1% | Israel |
| 1970s | 22.8% | 12.4% | 10.4% | Israel |
| 1980s | 16.8% | 15.8% | 1.0% | Israel |
| 1990s | 9.6% | 11.5% | 2.0% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2000s | 6.1% | 9.0% | 2.8% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 9.2% | 3.7% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2020s | 5.8% | 7.4% | 1.6% | Saudi Arabia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military expenditure, Israel or Saudi Arabia?
- Israel, at 8.8% against 7.3% in Saudi Arabia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in military expenditure between Israel and Saudi Arabia?
- 1.5%, with Israel ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Israel and Saudi Arabia?
- 58 years are reported by both, from 1963 to 2024.
- How do Israel and Saudi Arabia rank globally for military expenditure?
- Israel ranks 3rd and Saudi Arabia ranks 5th of 165 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as Military expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product