Military spending as a share of GDP in Australia
Australia: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.9% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
1.9%
Change on year
up 9.0%
World rank
46th
of 172 countries
All-time high
14.4%
in 1943
All-time low
0.2%
in 1933
Years of data
100
1920–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Australia, 1920–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Australia recorded 1.9% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.0% on the previous year and up 24.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Australia peaked at 14.4% in 1943 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1933.
Australia ranks 46th of 172 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 0.2% | — |
| 1921 | 0.2% | +21.6% |
| 1922 | 0.3% | +36.7% |
| 1923 | 0.3% | -4.5% |
| 1924 | 0.3% | +0.2% |
| 1925 | 0.3% | +2.8% |
| 1926 | 0.3% | +3.0% |
| 1927 | 0.3% | +7.2% |
| 1928 | 0.3% | -9.4% |
| 1929 | 0.3% | -9.0% |
| 1930 | 0.2% | -13.3% |
| 1931 | 0.2% | -17.5% |
| 1932 | 0.2% | -4.7% |
| 1933 | 0.2% | -7.3% |
| 1934 | 0.2% | +31.4% |
| 1935 | 0.3% | +13.0% |
| 1936 | 0.4% | +49.7% |
| 1937 | 0.5% | +15.4% |
| 1938 | 0.5% | +19.1% |
| 1939 | 0.8% | +49.3% |
| 1940 | 2.2% | +172.7% |
| 1941 | 5.6% | +156.1% |
| 1942 | 9.2% | +64.1% |
| 1943 | 14.4% | +55.9% |
| 1944 | 14.3% | -0.6% |
| 1945 | 9.6% | -33.2% |
| 1946 | 7.0% | -26.8% |
| 1947 | 2.7% | -61.3% |
| 1948 | 1.6% | -39.2% |
| 1949 | 1.4% | -14.3% |
| 1950 | 0.9% | -35.7% |
| 1951 | 1.4% | +55.4% |
| 1952 | 2.1% | +48.2% |
| 1953 | 2.0% | -5.1% |
| 1954 | 1.8% | -8.8% |
| 1955 | 1.7% | -8.6% |
| 1956 | 1.7% | +2.5% |
| 1957 | 1.5% | -8.6% |
| 1958 | 1.4% | -8.3% |
| 1959 | 1.3% | -10.3% |
| 1960 | 1.1% | -13.2% |
| 1961 | 1.0% | -12.3% |
| 1962 | 0.8% | -13.3% |
| 1963 | 0.8% | -10.7% |
| 1964 | 0.8% | +2.4% |
| 1965 | 0.8% | +5.0% |
| 1966 | 1.1% | +38.8% |
| 1967 | 1.3% | +19.2% |
| 1968 | 1.5% | +10.0% |
| 1969 | 1.5% | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 1.3% | -15.2% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | +10.3% |
| 1972 | 1.5% | +7.9% |
| 1973 | 1.4% | -5.1% |
| 1974 | 1.7% | +21.4% |
| 1975 | 1.7% | -1.8% |
| 1976 | 1.8% | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 1.6% | -6.9% |
| 1978 | 1.6% | -5.1% |
| 1979 | 1.6% | +3.2% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 1.6% | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 1.7% | +2.8% |
| 1983 | 1.6% | -5.9% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 1.4% | -14.9% |
| 1986 | 1.5% | +12.1% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | -2.1% |
| 1988 | 1.5% | -2.0% |
| 1989 | 1.4% | -5.5% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 1.4% | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +6.3% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | -4.2% |
| 1994 | 1.4% | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 1.4% | -3.1% |
| 1996 | 1.3% | -6.0% |
| 1997 | 1.2% | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 1.2% | -5.4% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -6.2% |
| 2000 | 1.1% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +4.2% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | +30.5% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +6.9% |
| 2005 | 1.4% | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | +5.5% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +8.7% |
| 2008 | 1.7% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 1.6% | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | -5.6% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | +7.1% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +4.3% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +9.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1940s | 6.8% | 1.4% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.6% | 0.9% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More economy & growth data for Australia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.36 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) -0.5842 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.2042 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 13,298 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), annual -0.5843 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 0.3782 constant LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 24,633 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 4.46 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.6749 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Australia?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Australia was 1.9% in 2019, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 14.4% in 1943.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1933.
- How does Australia rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Australia ranks 46th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 100 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).