Military spending as a share of GDP in Ireland
Ireland: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.2% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
0.2%
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
167th
of 172 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 1923
All-time low
0.2%
in 2019
Years of data
98
1922–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ireland, 1922–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2019, military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland stood at 0.2%. That is the lowest value across all 98 years on record.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 50.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland peaked at 2.2% in 1923 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2019.
That places Ireland 167th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1922 | 2.1% | — |
| 1923 | 2.2% | +3.8% |
| 1924 | 1.4% | -37.8% |
| 1925 | 1.2% | -11.4% |
| 1926 | 1.0% | -13.8% |
| 1927 | 0.8% | -22.2% |
| 1928 | 0.6% | -26.4% |
| 1929 | 0.5% | -16.4% |
| 1930 | 0.4% | -9.9% |
| 1931 | 0.4% | -2.0% |
| 1932 | 0.4% | -6.0% |
| 1933 | 0.4% | +4.3% |
| 1934 | 0.5% | +25.7% |
| 1935 | 0.6% | +3.6% |
| 1936 | 0.6% | +7.2% |
| 1937 | 0.7% | +8.8% |
| 1938 | 0.8% | +21.0% |
| 1939 | 1.0% | +24.1% |
| 1940 | 1.3% | +36.7% |
| 1941 | 1.5% | +12.8% |
| 1942 | 1.6% | +7.5% |
| 1943 | 1.7% | +6.6% |
| 1944 | 1.9% | +6.9% |
| 1945 | 2.1% | +13.3% |
| 1946 | 1.6% | -22.5% |
| 1947 | 1.2% | -28.3% |
| 1948 | 0.9% | -23.5% |
| 1949 | 0.9% | +2.0% |
| 1950 | 0.7% | -22.1% |
| 1951 | 0.7% | -3.6% |
| 1952 | 0.8% | +23.2% |
| 1953 | 0.9% | +6.4% |
| 1954 | 0.9% | -1.5% |
| 1955 | 0.8% | -9.0% |
| 1956 | 0.9% | +8.1% |
| 1957 | 0.8% | -8.0% |
| 1958 | 0.8% | +1.4% |
| 1959 | 0.7% | -8.5% |
| 1960 | 0.7% | -2.9% |
| 1961 | 0.7% | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 0.8% | +2.9% |
| 1963 | 0.8% | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 0.8% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 0.8% | -2.1% |
| 1966 | 0.8% | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 0.7% | -4.8% |
| 1968 | 0.7% | -6.8% |
| 1969 | 0.7% | -3.7% |
| 1970 | 0.7% | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 0.7% | +8.0% |
| 1972 | 0.8% | +8.2% |
| 1973 | 0.8% | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 0.8% | +1.5% |
| 1975 | 0.9% | +13.6% |
| 1976 | 0.9% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 0.8% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 0.9% | +4.3% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | +11.6% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +7.2% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | -5.3% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | +3.9% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | -7.9% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | -5.9% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | +4.7% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | -4.3% |
| 1988 | 0.9% | -6.3% |
| 1989 | 0.8% | -7.4% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | -4.6% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | -6.3% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -12.6% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 0.6% | -10.7% |
| 1999 | 0.5% | -11.7% |
| 2000 | 0.5% | -11.9% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -8.3% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -6.9% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +10.5% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -7.8% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -8.6% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | -6.2% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | -7.2% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -9.2% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -19.7% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | -8.3% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | -1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 1.2% | 0.5% | 2.2% | 8 |
| 1930s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.5% | 0.9% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 164 Luxembourg 0.4% compare
- 165 Sierra Leone 0.4% compare
- 166 Papua New Guinea 0.4% compare
- 168 Iceland 0.2% compare
- 169 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.2% compare
- 170 Cuba 0.1% compare
More economy & growth data for Ireland
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.96 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.52 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 34,717 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.3776 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 49,684 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 27.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 0.3341 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 43,969 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 27.95 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland was 0.2% 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1923.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2019.
- How does Ireland rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Ireland ranks 167th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ireland 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 — 98 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).