Military spending as a share of GDP in Serbia
Serbia: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Military spending as a share of GDP in Serbia, 1878–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for military spending as a share of gdp in Serbia is 1.6%, measured in 2019.
The figure is up 28.4% on the previous year and down 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Serbia peaked at 5.9% in 1915 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2016.
That places Serbia 67th 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 51 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Serbia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1878 | 2.3% | — |
| 1879 | 2.1% | -6.0% |
| 1880 | 2.0% | -6.3% |
| 1881 | 2.1% | +4.4% |
| 1882 | 2.5% | +19.6% |
| 1883 | 2.7% | +8.3% |
| 1884 | 3.2% | +16.3% |
| 1885 | 3.1% | -1.3% |
| 1886 | 3.2% | +2.4% |
| 1887 | 3.0% | -6.8% |
| 1888 | 3.0% | +1.8% |
| 1889 | 2.8% | -8.6% |
| 1890 | 2.8% | +1.1% |
| 1891 | 2.4% | -13.3% |
| 1892 | 2.6% | +7.9% |
| 1893 | 2.5% | -2.9% |
| 1894 | 2.8% | +9.6% |
| 1895 | 2.9% | +3.5% |
| 1896 | 3.1% | +7.1% |
| 1897 | 3.3% | +7.3% |
| 1898 | 3.4% | +3.6% |
| 1899 | 3.7% | +8.2% |
| 1900 | 3.7% | +1.0% |
| 1901 | 3.4% | -9.4% |
| 1902 | 3.5% | +2.8% |
| 1903 | 3.5% | +1.5% |
| 1904 | 3.5% | -1.8% |
| 1905 | 3.6% | +2.3% |
| 1906 | 3.4% | -4.2% |
| 1907 | 3.5% | +1.8% |
| 1908 | 3.4% | -0.9% |
| 1909 | 3.8% | +9.9% |
| 1910 | 3.7% | -2.7% |
| 1911 | 3.7% | +1.2% |
| 1912 | 3.7% | +0.2% |
| 1913 | 3.9% | +3.4% |
| 1914 | 2.2% | -42.7% |
| 1915 | 5.9% | +167.7% |
| 2007 | 2.0% | -65.6% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | -5.4% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -8.6% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 1.5% | -7.3% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | -10.1% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | -6.7% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -16.9% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | +13.1% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | +12.2% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | +28.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 2.8% | 2.0% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 1890s | 3.0% | 2.4% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 1900s | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 1910s | 3.9% | 2.2% | 5.9% | 6 |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Serbia
More economy & growth data for Serbia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 4.7 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1269 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per capita 1,735 current US$ per person (2024)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 13.73 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per capita 187,769 current LCU per person (2024)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.0936 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita 1,281 constant 2015 US$ per person (2024)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 154,142 constant LCU per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 7.31 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Serbia?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Serbia was 1.6% 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 Serbia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.9% in 1915.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Serbia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2016.
- How does Serbia rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Serbia ranks 67th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Serbia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Serbia 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).