Military spending as a share of GDP in Ireland
Ireland: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
0.2%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
160th
of 166 countries
All-time high
1.7%
in 1980
All-time low
0.2%
in 2022
Years of data
68
1958–2025
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ireland, 1958–2025
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland stood at 0.2%.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 33.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland peaked at 1.7% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2022.
Ireland ranks 160th of 166 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 68 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | 1.4% | — |
| 1959 | 1.4% | -2.1% |
| 1960 | 1.3% | -6.2% |
| 1961 | 1.3% | -0.8% |
| 1962 | 1.3% | -2.3% |
| 1963 | 1.2% | -3.7% |
| 1964 | 1.3% | +4.9% |
| 1965 | 1.3% | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 1.2% | -7.0% |
| 1967 | 1.2% | -3.8% |
| 1968 | 1.1% | -4.6% |
| 1969 | 1.1% | -3.0% |
| 1970 | 1.2% | +5.4% |
| 1971 | 1.2% | +7.4% |
| 1972 | 1.3% | +6.8% |
| 1973 | 1.3% | -1.2% |
| 1974 | 1.4% | +7.2% |
| 1975 | 1.6% | +15.6% |
| 1976 | 1.6% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 1.5% | -5.6% |
| 1978 | 1.5% | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 1.6% | +6.7% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 1.6% | -5.1% |
| 1982 | 1.6% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 1.5% | -6.2% |
| 1984 | 1.4% | -5.4% |
| 1985 | 1.4% | +0.3% |
| 1986 | 1.4% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 1.3% | -9.9% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | -6.5% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | -7.8% |
| 1990 | 1.2% | +8.9% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | +4.2% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | -4.0% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | -5.4% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | -2.7% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -8.4% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -2.4% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | -6.8% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | -10.9% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -8.9% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -7.3% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -9.8% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -7.3% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -5.1% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | +13.4% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +4.2% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -4.3% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | -9.0% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -26.3% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | -9.7% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -5.5% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 0.3% | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -9.1% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | -11.1% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | +5.3% |
| 2024 | 0.2% | -2.2% |
| 2025 | 0.2% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.4% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 157 Kazakhstan 0.4% compare
- 158 Sierra Leone 0.4% compare
- 159 Papua New Guinea 0.4% compare
- 161 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.2% compare
- 162 Mauritius 0.1% compare
- 163 Haiti 0.1% compare
More economy & growth data for Ireland
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.96 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.52 Percent per annum (2029)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 9.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.8217 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 108,129 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current US$), annual growth 13.87 % change on previous year (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current LCU), annual growth 9.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), annual 17.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), per 0.0094 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current LCU), per 1,231 current LCU per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Ireland was 0.2% 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.7% in 1980.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2022.
- How does Ireland rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Ireland ranks 160th out of 166 countries with data for 2025.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland 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
CSV · JSON — 68 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total military expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.