Australia vs Sri Lanka: Military spending as a share of GDP
Australia
1.9%
in 2019
Sri Lanka
2.0%
in 2019
Australia rank
46th
Sri Lanka rank
43rd
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Australia
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 2.0% against 1.9% in Australia, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 72 shared years of data; in 1948 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 46th and Sri Lanka ranks 43rd of 172 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 5 and Sri Lanka in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 1.5% | 0.2% | 1.4% | Australia |
| 1950s | 1.6% | 0.5% | 1.1% | Australia |
| 1960s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.4% | Australia |
| 1970s | 1.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | Australia |
| 1980s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 0.2% | Australia |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 2.6% | 1.3% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 2.2% | 0.8% | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 2.2% | 0.6% | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Australia or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 2.0% against 1.9% in Australia as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Australia and Sri Lanka?
- 0.1%, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Sri Lanka?
- 72 years are reported by both, from 1948 to 2019.
- How do Australia and Sri Lanka rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Australia ranks 46th and Sri Lanka ranks 43rd 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).