Military spending as a share of GDP in Guatemala
Guatemala: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.5%
Change on year
up 30.6%
World rank
153rd
of 166 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 1984
All-time low
0.4%
in 2018
Years of data
71
1955–2025
Military spending as a share of GDP in Guatemala, 1955–2025
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Guatemala recorded 0.5% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2025.
That represents a change of up 30.6% on the previous year and up 28.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Guatemala peaked at 2.2% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2018.
That places Guatemala 153rd out of 166 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 71 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 1.3% | — |
| 1956 | 1.3% | -3.2% |
| 1957 | 1.3% | +2.4% |
| 1958 | 1.2% | -4.7% |
| 1959 | 1.3% | +2.3% |
| 1960 | 1.2% | -8.5% |
| 1961 | 1.1% | -3.1% |
| 1962 | 1.0% | -6.9% |
| 1963 | 1.2% | +12.2% |
| 1964 | 1.0% | -14.4% |
| 1965 | 1.4% | +39.0% |
| 1966 | 1.4% | -1.6% |
| 1967 | 1.5% | +6.1% |
| 1968 | 1.3% | -13.1% |
| 1969 | 1.0% | -19.0% |
| 1970 | 1.7% | +65.3% |
| 1971 | 1.1% | -34.1% |
| 1972 | 1.1% | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 0.9% | -20.2% |
| 1974 | 0.9% | -1.4% |
| 1975 | 1.2% | +37.1% |
| 1976 | 1.3% | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 1.4% | +7.9% |
| 1978 | 1.2% | -13.9% |
| 1979 | 1.3% | +10.6% |
| 1980 | 1.3% | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 1.9% | +43.5% |
| 1982 | 2.0% | +7.2% |
| 1983 | 2.0% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 2.2% | +7.6% |
| 1985 | 2.0% | -8.4% |
| 1986 | 1.7% | -16.9% |
| 1987 | 1.8% | +5.0% |
| 1988 | 1.9% | +6.8% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | -3.5% |
| 1990 | 1.7% | -4.2% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | -26.6% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | +16.1% |
| 1993 | 1.3% | -14.0% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | -7.0% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | -8.3% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -17.1% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | -17.1% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 0.7% | -6.3% |
| 2000 | 0.9% | +35.9% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +14.6% |
| 2002 | 0.8% | -27.5% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | +7.0% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -41.2% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -19.9% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | +12.5% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -7.7% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +17.5% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -15.6% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | +11.7% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | +4.1% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | -9.9% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | -4.4% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +8.5% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -12.9% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | +15.5% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | -11.4% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +18.1% |
| 2023 | 0.4% | -9.2% |
| 2024 | 0.4% | -4.5% |
| 2025 | 0.5% | +30.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 5 |
| 1960s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More economy & growth data for Guatemala
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.43 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.86 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1319 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per capita 870.59 current US$ per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 1.01 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per capita 6,686 current LCU per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.0972 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita 641.11 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 4,631 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 9.51 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Guatemala?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Guatemala was 0.5% in 2025, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1984.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2018.
- How does Guatemala rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Guatemala ranks 153rd out of 166 countries with data for 2025.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guatemala data come from?
- The figures come from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – 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
Total military expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.