Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Turkey
Turkey: Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 1.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in Turkey, 1960–2025
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, military expenditure in Turkey stood at 1.9%.
The figure is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Turkey peaked at 5.1% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2022.
That places Turkey 78th out of 167 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Turkey, 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% | +16.2% |
| 1981 | 3.8% | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 4.3% | +12.4% |
| 1983 | 3.9% | -8.4% |
| 1984 | 3.6% | -8.6% |
| 1985 | 3.5% | -1.8% |
| 1986 | 3.6% | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 3.3% | -8.5% |
| 1988 | 2.9% | -11.9% |
| 1989 | 3.1% | +7.4% |
| 1990 | 3.5% | +12.0% |
| 1991 | 3.8% | +6.4% |
| 1992 | 3.9% | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 3.9% | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 4.1% | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | -30.5% |
| 1996 | 3.0% | +6.6% |
| 1997 | 3.0% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 3.2% | +7.7% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | +21.9% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | -6.2% |
| 2001 | 3.6% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 3.8% | +5.3% |
| 2003 | 3.3% | -13.3% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | -18.3% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | -10.7% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 2.2% | -6.1% |
| 2008 | 2.2% | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 2.5% | +13.2% |
| 2010 | 2.3% | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | -10.7% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +13.1% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 2.5% | +22.3% |
| 2019 | 2.6% | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | -18.3% |
| 2021 | 1.8% | -15.8% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | -10.5% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | +9.2% |
| 2025 | 1.9% | +3.7% |
Turkey compared with similar countries
- Turkey's 1.9% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.4%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Turkey's 1.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 2.0%, 94% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Turkey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 3.6% | 2.9% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.5% | 2.8% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.8% | 2.2% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More public sector data for Turkey
- 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 381.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 4.46 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -43.89 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Turkey?
- Military expenditure in Turkey was 1.9% in 2025, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1975.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2022.
- How does Turkey rank for military expenditure?
- Turkey ranks 78th out of 167 countries with data for 2025.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Turkey 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