Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 5.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), 1960–2025
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) recorded 5.0% for military expenditure in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.7% on the previous year and up 154.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) peaked at 5.1% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 2014.
That places Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 3rd out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.5% | — |
| 1961 | 3.8% | +6.6% |
| 1962 | 3.7% | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 3.4% | -8.7% |
| 1964 | 3.4% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 3.6% | +3.9% |
| 1966 | 3.1% | -11.5% |
| 1967 | 3.3% | +3.7% |
| 1968 | 3.3% | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 3.1% | -6.0% |
| 1970 | 3.3% | +5.8% |
| 1971 | 3.5% | +7.5% |
| 1972 | 3.4% | -1.6% |
| 1973 | 3.3% | -2.8% |
| 1974 | 3.2% | -4.7% |
| 1975 | 5.1% | +60.3% |
| 1976 | 4.9% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 4.7% | -4.6% |
| 1978 | 4.2% | -11.2% |
| 1979 | 3.4% | -19.8% |
| 1980 | 3.9% | +17.6% |
| 1981 | 3.9% | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 4.3% | +11.9% |
| 1983 | 4.0% | -8.2% |
| 1984 | 3.7% | -7.8% |
| 1985 | 3.6% | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 3.7% | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 2.7% | -26.7% |
| 1994 | 3.0% | +10.9% |
| 1995 | 2.5% | -15.8% |
| 1996 | 2.7% | +8.0% |
| 1997 | 2.8% | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 2.9% | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 3.3% | +13.8% |
| 2000 | 3.2% | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 3.3% | +6.6% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | -6.0% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | -13.4% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | -10.0% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 2.3% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 2.2% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 2.4% | +5.4% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -8.3% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | -7.5% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 2.0% | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 2.0% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | +16.0% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | +8.1% |
| 2020 | 2.3% | -7.2% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | -12.1% |
| 2022 | 3.9% | +93.8% |
| 2023 | 4.8% | +23.4% |
| 2024 | 4.5% | -6.9% |
| 2025 | 5.0% | +11.7% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +93.8% | 2.0% | 3.9% |
| 1975 | +60.3% | 3.2% | 5.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.9% | 3.2% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.9% | 3.6% | 4.3% | 7 |
| 1990s | 2.9% | 2.5% | 3.3% | 7 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 2.2% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.8% | 2.0% | 5.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
More public sector data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)
- Arms imports 3.91 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 26.15 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0027 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 13.15 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 6.55 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 410.43 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0419 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 6.61 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 102.77 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 979.77 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
All data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Military expenditure in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) was 5.0% in 2025, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1975.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 2014.
- How does Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) rank for military expenditure?
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) ranks 3rd out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 154.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 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