Military spending as a share of GDP in Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste: Military spending as a share of GDP was 2.4% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
2.4%
Change on year
up 30.0%
World rank
31st
of 172 countries
All-time high
4.2%
in 2013
All-time low
0.7%
in 2010
Years of data
18
2002–2019

Military spending as a share of GDP in Timor-Leste, 2002–2019

12342002201020192002: 1.8 % of GDP2003: 1.9 % of GDP2004: 1.9 % of GDP2005: 1.8 % of GDP2006: 2.6 % of GDP2007: 3 % of GDP2008: 2.8 % of GDP2009: 2.7 % of GDP2010: 0.659 % of GDP2011: 3.5 % of GDP2012: 4 % of GDP2013: 4.2 % of GDP2014: 4.1 % of GDP2015: 4 % of GDP2016: 2 % of GDP2017: 2 % of GDP2018: 1.8 % of GDP2019: 2.4 % of GDP

Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Timor-Leste recorded 2.4% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.

That represents a change of up 30.0% on the previous year and down 11.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Timor-Leste peaked at 4.2% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2010.

That places Timor-Leste 31st out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.

Military spending as a share of GDP in Timor-Leste, year by year

Annual values for Military spending as a share of GDP in Timor-Leste, 2002 to 2019.
Year % of GDP Change
2002 1.8%
2003 1.9% +6.7%
2004 1.9% +2.2%
2005 1.8% -5.8%
2006 2.6% +43.8%
2007 3.0% +12.2%
2008 2.8% -6.1%
2009 2.7% -3.1%
2010 0.7% -75.5%
2011 3.5% +437.7%
2012 4.0% +11.9%
2013 4.2% +6.8%
2014 4.1% -3.5%
2015 4.0% -2.6%
2016 2.0% -50.5%
2017 2.0% -0.6%
2018 1.8% -6.6%
2019 2.4% +30.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.3% 1.8% 3.0% 8
2010s 2.9% 0.7% 4.2% 10

Countries ranked near Timor-Leste

  1. 28 Namibia 2.5% compare
  2. 29 Botswana 2.5% compare
  3. 30 Republic of Korea 2.4% compare
  4. 32 China 2.3% compare
  5. 33 Viet Nam 2.3% compare
  6. 34 Congo 2.3% compare

See the full ranking of 172 places →

More economy & growth data for Timor-Leste

All data for Timor-Leste →

Frequently asked questions

What is military spending as a share of gdp in Timor-Leste?
Military spending as a share of gdp in Timor-Leste was 2.4% 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 Timor-Leste?
The highest recorded value was 4.2% in 2013.
What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Timor-Leste?
The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2010.
How does Timor-Leste rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
Timor-Leste ranks 31st out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Timor-Leste?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Timor-Leste 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.

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Military spending as a share of GDP in Timor-Leste. Statizoid, drawing on Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/military-spending-as-a-share-of-gdp-gmsd/timor-leste/

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About this data

Indicator
Military spending as a share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
172 places, 14,793 data points, 1816–2019
Last refreshed

Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).