Military spending as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Military spending as a share of GDP was 6.7% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2019)
6.7%
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
5th
of 172 countries
All-time high
16.8%
in 1983
All-time low
1.9%
in 1932
Years of data
88
1932–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia, 1932–2019
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 Saudi Arabia stood at 6.7%.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia peaked at 16.8% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 1932.
Saudi Arabia ranks 5th of 172 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 1.9% | — |
| 1933 | 2.0% | +3.1% |
| 1934 | 2.5% | +23.2% |
| 1935 | 2.5% | +0.9% |
| 1936 | 2.5% | -0.4% |
| 1937 | 2.7% | +8.5% |
| 1938 | 2.9% | +8.7% |
| 1939 | 2.8% | -3.2% |
| 1940 | 3.2% | +12.1% |
| 1941 | 3.0% | -4.4% |
| 1942 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 1943 | 2.7% | -7.9% |
| 1944 | 2.8% | +4.3% |
| 1945 | 3.2% | +12.4% |
| 1946 | 2.6% | -16.5% |
| 1947 | 2.3% | -11.4% |
| 1948 | 2.2% | -5.5% |
| 1949 | 2.6% | +17.9% |
| 1950 | 2.3% | -13.7% |
| 1951 | 2.1% | -8.8% |
| 1952 | 2.1% | +1.4% |
| 1953 | 2.5% | +19.7% |
| 1954 | 7.8% | +214.3% |
| 1955 | 7.4% | -5.2% |
| 1956 | 7.0% | -5.5% |
| 1957 | 5.5% | -21.8% |
| 1958 | 4.8% | -13.0% |
| 1959 | 3.3% | -29.9% |
| 1960 | 2.8% | -16.0% |
| 1961 | 2.6% | -8.2% |
| 1962 | 2.6% | -0.6% |
| 1963 | 2.6% | +2.8% |
| 1964 | 2.7% | +3.4% |
| 1965 | 2.7% | -1.7% |
| 1966 | 2.9% | +8.2% |
| 1967 | 4.7% | +61.1% |
| 1968 | 3.6% | -22.6% |
| 1969 | 3.6% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 3.0% | -16.4% |
| 1971 | 2.8% | -6.6% |
| 1972 | 3.0% | +4.5% |
| 1973 | 3.8% | +28.5% |
| 1974 | 3.4% | -10.1% |
| 1975 | 7.7% | +124.8% |
| 1976 | 10.7% | +38.7% |
| 1977 | 9.9% | -7.2% |
| 1978 | 11.5% | +16.0% |
| 1979 | 12.7% | +10.3% |
| 1980 | 13.2% | +4.0% |
| 1981 | 14.2% | +7.2% |
| 1982 | 16.5% | +16.8% |
| 1983 | 16.8% | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 16.3% | -3.4% |
| 1985 | 14.6% | -10.3% |
| 1986 | 14.4% | -1.6% |
| 1987 | 12.4% | -13.4% |
| 1988 | 10.6% | -14.5% |
| 1989 | 10.4% | -2.6% |
| 1990 | 11.3% | +9.0% |
| 1991 | 12.9% | +14.6% |
| 1992 | 9.2% | -28.7% |
| 1993 | 8.0% | -13.0% |
| 1994 | 6.9% | -13.6% |
| 1995 | 6.5% | -6.4% |
| 1996 | 6.3% | -3.6% |
| 1997 | 6.8% | +8.4% |
| 1998 | 7.3% | +8.3% |
| 1999 | 7.2% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 7.0% | -3.0% |
| 2001 | 6.8% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 5.8% | -13.8% |
| 2003 | 5.3% | -9.7% |
| 2004 | 5.2% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 4.9% | -5.3% |
| 2006 | 5.2% | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 5.5% | +6.7% |
| 2008 | 5.3% | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 5.6% | +5.7% |
| 2010 | 5.2% | -7.2% |
| 2011 | 5.0% | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 5.4% | +7.4% |
| 2013 | 5.8% | +7.2% |
| 2014 | 6.7% | +15.6% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 6.1% | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 6.9% | +13.1% |
| 2018 | 6.7% | -4.0% |
| 2019 | 6.7% | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 2.5% | 1.9% | 2.9% | 8 |
| 1940s | 2.8% | 2.2% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 1950s | 4.5% | 2.1% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.1% | 2.6% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.9% | 2.8% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.9% | 10.4% | 16.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.2% | 6.3% | 12.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.6% | 4.9% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.1% | 5.0% | 6.9% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More economy & growth data for Saudi Arabia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.52 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1582 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per capita 5,463 current US$ per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.5931 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per capita 20,484 current LCU per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.1029 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita 3,553 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 21,675 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual -3.14 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Saudi Arabia was 6.7% 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 Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 16.8% in 1983.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 1932.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 5th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia 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 — 88 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).