Military spending as a share of GDP in Taiwan
Taiwan: Military spending as a share of GDP was 2.0% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
2.0%
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
41st
of 172 countries
All-time high
10.1%
in 1958
All-time low
1.8%
in 2010
Years of data
71
1949–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Taiwan, 1949–2019
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 Taiwan stood at 2.0%.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Taiwan peaked at 10.1% in 1958 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 2010.
That places Taiwan 41st out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 71 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Taiwan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 6.8% | — |
| 1950 | 7.1% | +5.4% |
| 1951 | 7.2% | +0.6% |
| 1952 | 7.0% | -2.3% |
| 1953 | 7.1% | +1.5% |
| 1954 | 3.9% | -44.5% |
| 1955 | 6.7% | +71.2% |
| 1956 | 6.9% | +1.8% |
| 1957 | 6.7% | -2.7% |
| 1958 | 10.1% | +50.6% |
| 1959 | 8.3% | -17.9% |
| 1960 | 7.2% | -12.5% |
| 1961 | 5.9% | -18.7% |
| 1962 | 5.2% | -12.1% |
| 1963 | 4.3% | -17.2% |
| 1964 | 3.9% | -9.2% |
| 1965 | 4.0% | +2.2% |
| 1966 | 4.2% | +5.0% |
| 1967 | 4.6% | +11.0% |
| 1968 | 5.2% | +13.0% |
| 1969 | 5.4% | +4.3% |
| 1970 | 5.9% | +7.6% |
| 1971 | 6.1% | +4.4% |
| 1972 | 5.6% | -8.1% |
| 1973 | 5.2% | -6.7% |
| 1974 | 5.1% | -3.3% |
| 1975 | 5.1% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 5.3% | +4.2% |
| 1977 | 5.5% | +4.6% |
| 1978 | 5.7% | +3.7% |
| 1979 | 6.8% | +17.9% |
| 1980 | 6.6% | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 6.0% | -8.8% |
| 1982 | 5.9% | -1.8% |
| 1983 | 6.0% | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 6.0% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 6.0% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 5.9% | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 5.4% | -9.8% |
| 1988 | 5.6% | +5.3% |
| 1989 | 5.7% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 5.5% | -3.7% |
| 1991 | 5.3% | -3.9% |
| 1992 | 5.4% | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 5.5% | +2.2% |
| 1994 | 5.4% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 5.0% | -7.4% |
| 1996 | 4.9% | -2.9% |
| 1997 | 4.6% | -6.2% |
| 1998 | 4.3% | -5.4% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | -8.9% |
| 2000 | 3.5% | -9.7% |
| 2001 | 2.9% | -17.7% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | -17.3% |
| 2003 | 2.0% | -18.9% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 1.9% | -4.5% |
| 2006 | 1.9% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | +3.9% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -6.3% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 1.8% | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | +10.1% |
| 2015 | 3.2% | +50.2% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | -32.9% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | +3.4% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 6.8% | 6.8% | 6.8% | 1 |
| 1950s | 7.1% | 3.9% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.0% | 3.9% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.6% | 5.1% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.9% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.0% | 3.9% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.2% | 1.8% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 3.2% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Taiwan
More economy & growth data for Taiwan
- US dollar per domestic currency (End-of-period (EoP)) 0.0318 (2025)
- Domestic currency per Special drawing rights (End-of-period (EoP)) 43.05 (2025)
- Domestic currency per US dollar (End-of-period (EoP)) 31.44 (2025)
- Special drawing rights per domestic currency (End-of-period (EoP)) 0.0232 (2025)
- Tax revenue vs. Electoral Democracy Index 0.801 (2025)
- Human Rights Index vs. GDP per capita 0.93 (2025)
- Foreign aid received per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.39 constant 2024 US$ (1996)
- Milk supply per person 57.79 kilograms per year per capita (2023)
- Fruit consumption by type 0.01 kilograms per year per capita (2023)
- Cocoa bean consumption per person 0.67 kilograms per year per capita (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Taiwan?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Taiwan 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 Taiwan?
- The highest recorded value was 10.1% in 1958.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Taiwan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 2010.
- How does Taiwan rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Taiwan ranks 41st out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Taiwan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Taiwan 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 — 71 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).