Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Belize
Belize: Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 1.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in Belize, 1978–2025
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for military expenditure in Belize is 1.0%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.0% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Belize peaked at 1.6% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2002.
Belize ranks 125th of 167 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Belize, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 0.6% | — |
| 1979 | 0.8% | +38.9% |
| 1980 | 0.9% | +8.1% |
| 1981 | 1.2% | +34.1% |
| 1982 | 1.4% | +24.0% |
| 1983 | 1.5% | +6.7% |
| 1984 | 1.5% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 1.6% | +1.0% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | -23.1% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | +6.2% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | -37.6% |
| 1993 | 0.9% | +7.5% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +28.8% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -6.8% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -6.0% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | +9.0% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -36.2% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -5.4% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | +5.9% |
| 2004 | 0.7% | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +8.3% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | +3.8% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +29.4% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -18.3% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | -7.7% |
| 2013 | 0.9% | +11.1% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +6.9% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | +3.7% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | -3.7% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | +33.3% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | -18.1% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -11.4% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | +4.6% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | +3.6% |
| 2025 | 1.0% | -8.0% |
Belize compared with similar countries
- Belize's 1.0% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.4%, 70% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Belize's 1.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.0%, 1.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Belize changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | -37.6% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 7 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 8 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Belize
More public sector data for Belize
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 1.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 2.43 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 1.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Belize?
- Military expenditure in Belize was 1.0% in 2025, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Belize?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 1985.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Belize?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2002.
- How does Belize rank for military expenditure?
- Belize ranks 125th out of 167 countries with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Belize?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belize data come from?
- The figures come from SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published as part of Military expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product