Iraq vs Kuwait: Military spending as a share of GDP
Iraq
4.2%
in 2019
Kuwait
4.6%
in 2019
Iraq rank
11th
Kuwait rank
10th
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Iraq
- Kuwait
How they compare
Kuwait currently reports 4.6% against 4.2% in Iraq, a difference of 0.4%.
That makes Kuwait's figure about 1.1 times Iraq's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 59 shared years of data; in 1961 it was Iraq ahead.
Iraq ranks 11th and Kuwait ranks 10th of 172 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Iraq averaged higher in 4 and Kuwait in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iraq | Kuwait | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.2% | 1.3% | 1.9% | Iraq |
| 1970s | 7.3% | 2.8% | 4.5% | Iraq |
| 1980s | 24.5% | 5.0% | 19.5% | Iraq |
| 1990s | 12.8% | 19.3% | 6.5% | Kuwait |
| 2000s | 2.0% | 4.1% | 2.0% | Kuwait |
| 2010s | 4.9% | 3.2% | 1.7% | Iraq |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Iraq or Kuwait?
- Kuwait, at 4.6% against 4.2% in Iraq as of 2019.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Iraq and Kuwait?
- 0.4%, with Kuwait ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iraq and Kuwait?
- 59 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2019.
- How do Iraq and Kuwait rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Iraq ranks 11th and Kuwait ranks 10th 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).