Afghanistan vs United States of America: Military spending as a share of GDP
Afghanistan
3.3%
in 2019
United States of America
3.2%
in 2019
Afghanistan rank
19th
United States of America rank
20th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Afghanistan
- United States of America
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 3.3% against 3.2% in United States of America, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 101 shared years of data; in 1919 it was United States of America ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 19th and United States of America ranks 20th of 172 countries.
Across the 11 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 5 and United States of America in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 0.9% | 8.3% | 7.4% | United States of America |
| 1920s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.2% | Afghanistan |
| 1930s | 1.6% | 0.8% | 0.7% | Afghanistan |
| 1940s | 1.2% | 14.0% | 12.8% | United States of America |
| 1950s | 0.8% | 9.2% | 8.4% | United States of America |
| 1960s | 1.1% | 7.1% | 6.0% | United States of America |
| 1970s | 1.2% | 4.6% | 3.3% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 5.3% | 4.5% | 0.8% | Afghanistan |
| 1990s | 7.7% | 3.2% | 4.4% | Afghanistan |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 3.1% | 0.7% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 4.9% | 3.1% | 1.7% | Afghanistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Afghanistan or United States of America?
- Afghanistan, at 3.3% against 3.2% in United States of America as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Afghanistan and United States of America?
- 0.1%, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and United States of America?
- 101 years are reported by both, from 1919 to 2019.
- How do Afghanistan and United States of America rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Afghanistan ranks 19th and United States of America ranks 20th of 172 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).