Military spending as a share of GDP in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Military spending as a share of GDP was 4.8% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Military spending as a share of GDP in United Arab Emirates, 1971–2019
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 United Arab Emirates stood at 4.8%. That is the highest value across all 48 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.0% on the previous year and up 65.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in United Arab Emirates peaked at 4.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1974.
That places United Arab Emirates 9th out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.4% | — |
| 1972 | 0.4% | -12.3% |
| 1973 | 0.3% | -26.5% |
| 1974 | 0.2% | -19.6% |
| 1975 | 0.2% | +11.7% |
| 1976 | 0.7% | +176.4% |
| 1977 | 1.9% | +188.0% |
| 1978 | 2.1% | +13.1% |
| 1979 | 2.8% | +32.4% |
| 1980 | 3.1% | +8.4% |
| 1981 | 3.5% | +14.4% |
| 1982 | 3.7% | +5.9% |
| 1983 | 3.5% | -6.2% |
| 1984 | 3.3% | -5.7% |
| 1985 | 3.3% | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 3.1% | -4.4% |
| 1987 | 2.9% | -6.9% |
| 1988 | 2.7% | -8.1% |
| 1989 | 2.5% | -8.3% |
| 1990 | 2.7% | +10.7% |
| 1991 | 4.1% | +50.0% |
| 1992 | 2.4% | -40.5% |
| 1993 | 2.1% | -15.1% |
| 1994 | 2.0% | -5.1% |
| 1995 | 1.8% | -8.9% |
| 1996 | 1.7% | -3.2% |
| 1997 | 2.1% | +21.3% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | +8.1% |
| 1999 | 2.3% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 2.1% | -8.4% |
| 2001 | 1.8% | -13.8% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | -15.6% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | -9.5% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +9.9% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | +55.4% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | +11.8% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | +13.9% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | -7.2% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | +24.9% |
| 2011 | 3.1% | -13.4% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | +16.9% |
| 2013 | 4.1% | +11.8% |
| 2014 | 4.5% | +10.0% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | -3.1% |
| 2016 | 4.4% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 4.2% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 4.8% | +13.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.0% | 0.2% | 2.8% | 9 |
| 1980s | 3.2% | 2.5% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.3% | 1.7% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 1.4% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.1% | 3.1% | 4.8% | 9 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More economy & growth data for United Arab Emirates
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.85 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.54 Percent per annum (2029)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 6.99 % change on previous year (2023)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 3.92 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 195,609 current LCU per person (2023)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 6.88 % change on previous year (2023)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.9235 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 46,039 constant 2015 US$ per person (2023)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 3.86 % change on previous year (2009)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2891 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2009)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in United Arab Emirates?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in United Arab Emirates was 4.8% 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 United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1974.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 9th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 65.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates 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 — 48 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).