Costa Rica vs Spain: Military spending as a share of GDP

Costa Rica
0.8%
in 2019
Spain
0.8%
in 2019
Costa Rica rank
130th
Spain rank
128th

Military spending as a share of GDP over time

  • Costa Rica
  • Spain
00.511.522.5181619172019

How they compare

Spain currently reports 0.8% against 0.8% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.0%.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 100 shared years of data; in 1920 it was Spain ahead.

Costa Rica ranks 130th and Spain ranks 128th of 172 countries.

Spain has averaged higher in every one of the 10 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Costa Rica Spain Difference Ahead
1920s 0.6% 1.8% 1.2% Spain
1930s 0.6% 1.2% 0.6% Spain
1940s 0.7% 1.2% 0.5% Spain
1950s 0.4% 0.8% 0.4% Spain
1960s 0.3% 0.7% 0.4% Spain
1970s 0.3% 1.1% 0.8% Spain
1980s 0.3% 1.4% 1.1% Spain
1990s 0.3% 1.1% 0.8% Spain
2000s 0.4% 0.9% 0.6% Spain
2010s 0.7% 0.8% 0.1% Spain

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Costa Rica or Spain?
Spain, at 0.8% against 0.8% in Costa Rica as of 2019.
What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Costa Rica and Spain?
0.0%, with Spain ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Spain?
100 years are reported by both, from 1920 to 2019.
How do Costa Rica and Spain rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
Costa Rica ranks 130th and Spain ranks 128th of 172 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – 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.

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Costa Rica vs Spain: Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/military-spending-as-a-share-of-gdp-gmsd/costa-rica/spain/

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About this data

Indicator
Military spending as a share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
172 places, 14,793 data points, 1816–2019
Last refreshed

Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).