Saudi Arabia vs Yemen: Military spending as a share of GDP
Saudi Arabia
6.7%
in 2019
Yemen
8.6%
in 2016
Saudi Arabia rank
5th
Yemen rank
2nd
Military spending as a share of GDP over time
- Saudi Arabia
- Yemen
How they compare
Yemen currently reports 8.6% against 6.7% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 1.9%.
That makes Yemen's figure about 1.3 times Saudi Arabia's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 85 shared years of data; in 1932 it was Yemen ahead.
Saudi Arabia ranks 5th and Yemen ranks 2nd of 172 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, Saudi Arabia averaged higher in 8 and Yemen in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Saudi Arabia | Yemen | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 2.5% | 2.3% | 0.2% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1940s | 2.8% | 2.2% | 0.6% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1950s | 4.5% | 1.5% | 3.0% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1960s | 3.1% | 1.6% | 1.5% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1970s | 6.9% | 2.9% | 3.9% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1980s | 13.9% | 7.4% | 6.5% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1990s | 8.2% | 8.8% | 0.5% | Yemen |
| 2000s | 5.6% | 3.9% | 1.8% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2010s | 5.8% | 5.7% | 0.1% | Saudi Arabia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of gdp, Saudi Arabia or Yemen?
- Yemen, at 8.6% against 6.7% in Saudi Arabia as of 2016.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of gdp between Saudi Arabia and Yemen?
- 1.9%, with Yemen ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Saudi Arabia and Yemen?
- 85 years are reported by both, from 1932 to 2016.
- How do Saudi Arabia and Yemen rank globally for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 5th and Yemen ranks 2nd 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).