Military spending as a share of GDP in Japan
Japan: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.6% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
0.6%
Change on year
up 8.5%
World rank
147th
of 172 countries
All-time high
80.5%
in 1944
All-time low
0.1%
in 1865
Years of data
154
1860–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Japan, 1860–2019
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 Japan stood at 0.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.5% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Japan peaked at 80.5% in 1944 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1865.
That places Japan 147th 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 Japan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 0.2% | — |
| 1861 | 0.2% | -7.5% |
| 1862 | 0.2% | -15.3% |
| 1863 | 0.2% | -8.6% |
| 1864 | 0.2% | +3.3% |
| 1865 | 0.1% | -19.5% |
| 1866 | 0.2% | +7.1% |
| 1867 | 0.2% | +4.6% |
| 1868 | 0.4% | +120.1% |
| 1869 | 0.3% | -7.6% |
| 1870 | 0.3% | -16.0% |
| 1871 | 0.4% | +34.4% |
| 1872 | 0.8% | +102.6% |
| 1873 | 1.0% | +28.4% |
| 1874 | 1.0% | +0.1% |
| 1875 | 1.0% | -0.6% |
| 1876 | 1.0% | +7.9% |
| 1877 | 0.7% | -32.7% |
| 1878 | 0.8% | +15.7% |
| 1879 | 0.8% | +1.1% |
| 1880 | 0.8% | -2.3% |
| 1881 | 0.8% | +4.8% |
| 1882 | 0.9% | +9.2% |
| 1883 | 0.9% | +2.0% |
| 1884 | 1.0% | +10.3% |
| 1885 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 1886 | 1.2% | +20.9% |
| 1887 | 1.2% | -0.5% |
| 1888 | 1.3% | +7.7% |
| 1889 | 1.3% | +1.0% |
| 1890 | 1.4% | +5.2% |
| 1891 | 1.1% | -17.5% |
| 1892 | 1.0% | -9.3% |
| 1893 | 0.9% | -7.3% |
| 1894 | 4.3% | +355.4% |
| 1895 | 3.5% | -19.5% |
| 1896 | 3.4% | -1.3% |
| 1897 | 3.4% | -1.1% |
| 1898 | 3.2% | -5.6% |
| 1899 | 3.2% | +0.5% |
| 1900 | 3.3% | +2.5% |
| 1901 | 3.0% | -10.4% |
| 1902 | 2.8% | -4.1% |
| 1903 | 3.0% | +6.4% |
| 1904 | 14.5% | +380.4% |
| 1905 | 10.0% | -31.1% |
| 1906 | 7.3% | -26.7% |
| 1907 | 5.1% | -29.9% |
| 1908 | 4.3% | -15.3% |
| 1909 | 4.1% | -6.0% |
| 1910 | 3.6% | -12.6% |
| 1911 | 3.3% | -7.2% |
| 1912 | 3.2% | -3.8% |
| 1913 | 3.2% | -0.7% |
| 1914 | 2.8% | -12.6% |
| 1915 | 2.8% | +0.8% |
| 1916 | 2.7% | -2.4% |
| 1917 | 2.9% | +7.0% |
| 1918 | 5.0% | +72.8% |
| 1919 | 4.2% | -15.7% |
| 1920 | 3.7% | -13.2% |
| 1921 | 3.9% | +4.7% |
| 1922 | 3.3% | -14.2% |
| 1923 | 2.7% | -17.7% |
| 1924 | 2.2% | -17.8% |
| 1925 | 2.1% | -7.4% |
| 1926 | 2.1% | +3.8% |
| 1927 | 2.1% | -0.6% |
| 1928 | 2.1% | -1.3% |
| 1929 | 2.1% | +0.7% |
| 1930 | 2.2% | +2.9% |
| 1931 | 2.1% | -4.3% |
| 1932 | 2.0% | -4.5% |
| 1933 | 2.3% | +14.1% |
| 1934 | 2.8% | +23.6% |
| 1935 | 2.6% | -6.0% |
| 1936 | 2.5% | -6.2% |
| 1937 | 6.9% | +175.7% |
| 1938 | 12.5% | +82.9% |
| 1939 | 10.4% | -16.9% |
| 1940 | 11.1% | +7.0% |
| 1941 | 16.4% | +47.3% |
| 1942 | 22.9% | +39.5% |
| 1943 | 33.9% | +48.0% |
| 1944 | 80.5% | +137.6% |
| 1945 | 26.6% | -67.0% |
| 1952 | 1.5% | -94.3% |
| 1953 | 1.5% | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 1.3% | -12.0% |
| 1955 | 1.1% | -14.6% |
| 1956 | 1.0% | -8.3% |
| 1957 | 1.0% | -7.4% |
| 1958 | 0.9% | -9.6% |
| 1959 | 0.7% | -17.1% |
| 1960 | 0.6% | -21.4% |
| 1961 | 0.6% | -2.3% |
| 1962 | 0.5% | -1.3% |
| 1963 | 0.5% | -8.0% |
| 1964 | 0.5% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 0.5% | +7.3% |
| 1966 | 0.5% | -4.1% |
| 1967 | 0.5% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 0.5% | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 0.5% | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 0.5% | -4.8% |
| 1971 | 0.5% | +10.0% |
| 1972 | 0.6% | +7.5% |
| 1973 | 0.5% | -7.9% |
| 1974 | 0.6% | +7.6% |
| 1975 | 0.6% | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 0.6% | -1.0% |
| 1977 | 0.6% | +5.1% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | +3.1% |
| 1979 | 0.6% | +3.3% |
| 1980 | 0.6% | -7.6% |
| 1981 | 0.6% | -2.2% |
| 1982 | 0.6% | +11.6% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 0.7% | +9.0% |
| 1985 | 0.8% | +5.9% |
| 1986 | 0.8% | +12.3% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | +6.3% |
| 1988 | 0.8% | -9.1% |
| 1989 | 0.8% | -2.5% |
| 1990 | 0.7% | -7.5% |
| 1991 | 0.7% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 0.8% | +12.4% |
| 1993 | 0.9% | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 0.8% | -8.2% |
| 1997 | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -6.3% |
| 1999 | 0.7% | +2.3% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | -2.9% |
| 2002 | 0.7% | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 0.7% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 0.7% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 0.6% | -5.1% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | +10.7% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +7.0% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -4.9% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | -12.5% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | -8.3% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | +9.1% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | +8.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 1870s | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1880s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1890s | 2.5% | 0.9% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 1900s | 5.7% | 2.8% | 14.5% | 10 |
| 1910s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 1920s | 2.6% | 2.1% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 1930s | 4.6% | 2.0% | 12.5% | 10 |
| 1940s | 31.9% | 11.1% | 80.5% | 6 |
| 1950s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 8 |
| 1960s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More economy & growth data for Japan
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.03 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 0.4463 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 895,261 constant LCU per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual -7.46 % change on previous year (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.2678 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 9,050 current US$ per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual -0.2994 % change on previous year (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 40.53 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 1.37 million current LCU per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) -4.58 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Japan?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Japan was 0.6% 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 80.5% in 1944.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1865.
- How does Japan rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Japan ranks 147th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Japan 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
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).