Military spending as a share of GDP in Ecuador
Ecuador: Military spending as a share of GDP was 2.0% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
2.0%
Change on year
up 4.6%
World rank
44th
of 172 countries
All-time high
3.5%
in 1855
All-time low
0.4%
in 1920
Years of data
166
1854–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ecuador, 1854–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Ecuador recorded 2.0% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.6% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Ecuador peaked at 3.5% in 1855 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1920.
That places Ecuador 44th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 166 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1854 | 3.4% | — |
| 1855 | 3.5% | +0.9% |
| 1856 | 3.3% | -5.6% |
| 1857 | 3.0% | -8.9% |
| 1858 | 3.1% | +4.7% |
| 1859 | 3.1% | +0.2% |
| 1860 | 3.2% | +2.2% |
| 1861 | 2.8% | -13.5% |
| 1862 | 2.5% | -10.0% |
| 1863 | 2.2% | -13.7% |
| 1864 | 2.1% | -0.9% |
| 1865 | 1.6% | -25.0% |
| 1866 | 1.6% | +0.9% |
| 1867 | 1.7% | +2.6% |
| 1868 | 1.7% | +5.5% |
| 1869 | 1.8% | +1.4% |
| 1870 | 1.6% | -7.8% |
| 1871 | 1.6% | -1.1% |
| 1872 | 1.7% | +3.8% |
| 1873 | 1.8% | +7.1% |
| 1874 | 1.7% | -4.1% |
| 1875 | 1.8% | +3.7% |
| 1876 | 1.9% | +7.2% |
| 1877 | 1.7% | -10.7% |
| 1878 | 1.9% | +12.1% |
| 1879 | 1.9% | -1.6% |
| 1880 | 1.6% | -14.1% |
| 1881 | 1.6% | -2.8% |
| 1882 | 1.6% | +2.7% |
| 1883 | 1.5% | -6.9% |
| 1884 | 1.5% | +1.3% |
| 1885 | 1.5% | -4.1% |
| 1886 | 1.4% | -1.3% |
| 1887 | 1.4% | -2.0% |
| 1888 | 1.3% | -8.4% |
| 1889 | 1.3% | -2.6% |
| 1890 | 1.3% | +4.9% |
| 1891 | 1.2% | -10.1% |
| 1892 | 1.2% | +2.3% |
| 1893 | 1.2% | -4.0% |
| 1894 | 1.2% | +5.9% |
| 1895 | 1.3% | +4.8% |
| 1896 | 1.3% | +1.9% |
| 1897 | 1.3% | -0.4% |
| 1898 | 1.4% | +3.7% |
| 1899 | 1.4% | +0.7% |
| 1900 | 1.4% | -0.0% |
| 1901 | 1.4% | +5.3% |
| 1902 | 1.6% | +11.6% |
| 1903 | 1.5% | -7.0% |
| 1904 | 1.4% | -10.0% |
| 1905 | 1.4% | +2.0% |
| 1906 | 1.4% | -1.5% |
| 1907 | 1.2% | -9.1% |
| 1908 | 1.2% | -3.6% |
| 1909 | 1.3% | +11.5% |
| 1910 | 1.4% | +2.5% |
| 1911 | 1.4% | -0.7% |
| 1912 | 1.3% | -7.3% |
| 1913 | 1.3% | +3.7% |
| 1914 | 2.0% | +52.8% |
| 1915 | 1.9% | -2.4% |
| 1916 | 1.6% | -16.1% |
| 1917 | 1.2% | -27.6% |
| 1918 | 0.9% | -21.9% |
| 1919 | 0.6% | -37.4% |
| 1920 | 0.4% | -37.1% |
| 1921 | 0.4% | +21.2% |
| 1922 | 0.5% | +5.1% |
| 1923 | 0.5% | +4.3% |
| 1924 | 0.5% | -5.4% |
| 1925 | 0.5% | +5.1% |
| 1926 | 0.5% | +7.4% |
| 1927 | 0.5% | +1.7% |
| 1928 | 0.5% | +0.3% |
| 1929 | 0.5% | +3.3% |
| 1930 | 0.6% | +2.4% |
| 1931 | 0.6% | +3.5% |
| 1932 | 0.5% | -6.0% |
| 1933 | 0.5% | -8.8% |
| 1934 | 0.6% | +18.4% |
| 1935 | 0.6% | -4.7% |
| 1936 | 0.6% | +3.5% |
| 1937 | 0.5% | -5.1% |
| 1938 | 0.5% | -0.1% |
| 1939 | 0.5% | +0.9% |
| 1940 | 0.6% | +1.5% |
| 1941 | 0.5% | -8.5% |
| 1942 | 0.5% | -4.4% |
| 1943 | 0.5% | +8.2% |
| 1944 | 0.6% | +22.4% |
| 1945 | 0.8% | +22.0% |
| 1946 | 0.7% | -14.5% |
| 1947 | 0.6% | -15.4% |
| 1948 | 0.5% | -14.2% |
| 1949 | 0.6% | +15.1% |
| 1950 | 0.5% | -6.9% |
| 1951 | 0.5% | -4.2% |
| 1952 | 0.6% | +20.4% |
| 1953 | 0.9% | +46.5% |
| 1954 | 1.1% | +20.9% |
| 1955 | 1.1% | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 1.2% | +10.7% |
| 1957 | 1.2% | +3.8% |
| 1958 | 1.1% | -10.7% |
| 1959 | 1.0% | -9.9% |
| 1960 | 1.0% | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 1.0% | -2.2% |
| 1962 | 0.9% | -8.1% |
| 1963 | 0.8% | -12.0% |
| 1964 | 0.8% | +2.5% |
| 1965 | 0.9% | +5.7% |
| 1966 | 0.9% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 0.8% | -8.2% |
| 1968 | 0.8% | -3.0% |
| 1969 | 0.9% | +15.4% |
| 1970 | 0.8% | -8.1% |
| 1971 | 0.8% | +1.4% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | +10.0% |
| 1973 | 0.9% | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 1.0% | +6.0% |
| 1975 | 1.1% | +13.3% |
| 1976 | 1.1% | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 1.4% | +22.3% |
| 1978 | 1.3% | -3.3% |
| 1979 | 1.3% | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 1.2% | -9.5% |
| 1981 | 1.2% | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | -9.3% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | -7.5% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | -3.7% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | +12.0% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | -12.8% |
| 1987 | 1.0% | +3.8% |
| 1988 | 1.0% | -4.6% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 0.9% | -5.5% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | -2.4% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | +8.5% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +11.3% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | +14.5% |
| 1995 | 1.7% | +38.0% |
| 1996 | 1.7% | -2.5% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | -2.9% |
| 1998 | 1.5% | -9.9% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -24.1% |
| 2000 | 1.0% | -8.5% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +4.9% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | +8.7% |
| 2004 | 1.1% | -7.6% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | +16.8% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | +18.8% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | +33.7% |
| 2010 | 1.9% | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 1.8% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +6.6% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -8.8% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | +7.5% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | +4.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 6 |
| 1860s | 2.1% | 1.6% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 1870s | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1880s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1890s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1900s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1910s | 1.3% | 0.6% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.9% | 0.5% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.7% | 2.0% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More economy & growth data for Ecuador
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.54 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.51 Percent per annum (2029)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 5.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.5697 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current US$), per capita 4,059 current US$ per person (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), annual growth rate 5.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.5697 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Services, value added (current LCU), per capita 4,059 current LCU per person (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 3.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.5262 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Ecuador?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Ecuador was 2.0% 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 Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 1855.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1920.
- How does Ecuador rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Ecuador ranks 44th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ecuador 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 — 166 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).