Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Venezuela
Venezuela: Military expenditure (% of GDP) was 0.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Military expenditure in Venezuela, 1960–2023
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, military expenditure in Venezuela stood at 0.5%.
The figure is up 391.9% on the previous year and up 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military expenditure in Venezuela peaked at 3.1% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2016.
Venezuela ranks 60th of 167 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Venezuela, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.1% | — |
| 1961 | 1.4% | -53.5% |
| 1962 | 2.3% | +62.6% |
| 1963 | 2.6% | +10.4% |
| 1964 | 2.4% | -4.2% |
| 1965 | 2.6% | +7.8% |
| 1966 | 2.7% | +0.8% |
| 1967 | 2.9% | +7.6% |
| 1968 | 2.7% | -6.3% |
| 1969 | 2.5% | -6.7% |
| 1970 | 2.3% | -8.2% |
| 1971 | 2.7% | +17.7% |
| 1972 | 2.8% | +4.8% |
| 1973 | 2.5% | -12.7% |
| 1974 | 2.3% | -6.6% |
| 1975 | 2.6% | +12.3% |
| 1976 | 1.9% | -27.2% |
| 1977 | 2.1% | +9.6% |
| 1978 | 2.1% | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 1.9% | -9.0% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | -11.5% |
| 1981 | 1.5% | -10.3% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | +47.8% |
| 1983 | 3.0% | +32.1% |
| 1984 | 2.3% | -22.8% |
| 1985 | 1.4% | -40.2% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | +20.5% |
| 1987 | 1.6% | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 1.8% | +11.2% |
| 1989 | 2.8% | +53.8% |
| 1990 | 1.5% | -45.7% |
| 1991 | 1.8% | +21.2% |
| 1992 | 1.6% | -10.7% |
| 1993 | 2.1% | +30.5% |
| 1994 | 1.6% | -25.8% |
| 1995 | 1.5% | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -32.9% |
| 1997 | 1.8% | +72.7% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | -11.5% |
| 1999 | 1.4% | -9.5% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +6.2% |
| 2001 | 1.6% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | -25.8% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | +8.9% |
| 2005 | 1.8% | +42.2% |
| 2006 | 2.0% | +8.0% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 1.2% | -31.4% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -17.7% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +11.5% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | +18.7% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +24.5% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | -30.4% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -19.0% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | -51.8% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +391.9% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -93.2% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | +1088.1% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | -12.1% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | -80.1% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | +107.2% |
| 2023 | 0.5% | -23.0% |
Venezuela compared with similar countries
- Venezuela's 0.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.5%, 1.5× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Venezuela's 0.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.0%, 2.2× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Military expenditure (% of GDP) in Venezuela 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +1088.1% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| 2017 | +391.9% | 0.5% | 2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.5% | 1.4% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.2% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 0.2% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Venezuela
More public sector data for Venezuela
- 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 98.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 3.46 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate -23.39 % change on previous year (2016)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military expenditure in Venezuela?
- Military expenditure in Venezuela was 0.5% in 2023, according to SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- What is the highest military expenditure recorded in Venezuela?
- The highest recorded value was 3.1% in 1960.
- What is the lowest military expenditure recorded in Venezuela?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2016.
- How does Venezuela rank for military expenditure?
- Venezuela ranks 60th out of 167 countries with data for 2023.
- Is military expenditure rising or falling in Venezuela?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Venezuela 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