Misc
Ranked: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Around the World
Ranked: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Worldwide
Even though youโre reading this article in English, thereโs a good chance it might not be your mother tongue. Of the billion-strong English speakers in the world, only 33% consider it their native language.
The popularity of a language depends greatly on utility and geographic location. Additionally, how we measure the spread of world languages can vary greatly depending on whether you look at total speakers or native speakers.
Todayโs detailed visualization from WordTips illustrates the 100 most spoken languages in the world, the number of native speakers for each language, and the origin tree that each language has branched out from.
How Do You Define A Language?
The data comes from the 22nd edition of Ethnologue, a database covering a majority of the worldโs population, detailing approximately 7,111 living languages in existence today.
The definitions of languages are often dynamic, blurring the lines around a singular understanding of what makes a language:
- Linguistic: focused on lexical and grammatical differences, or on variations within speech communities
- Social: focused on cultural or political factors, as well as heritage and identity
For the purposes of measurement, the researchers use the ISO 693-3 set of criteria, which accounts for related varieties and dialectsโensuring that linguistics are not the only factor considered in this count of languages.
Here are the language origins of the 100 most spoken languages:
Indo-European languages have the widest spread worldwide. According to Ethnologue, the language family contains over 3 billion speakers in total. Interestingly, there are actually 1,526 Niger-Congo languages altogether, though only 12 are represented here.
Letโs now dive into the top 10 most spoken languages overall.
Which Languages Have the Most Speakers?
It comes as no surprise that English reigns supreme, with over 1.1 billion total speakersโor roughly 15% of the global population. Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, and French round out the top five.
Rank | Language | Total Speakers | Language Origin |
---|---|---|---|
1 | English | 1,132 million | Indo-European |
2 | Mandarin Chinese | 1,117 million | Sino-Tibetan |
3 | Hindi | 615 million | Indo-European |
4 | Spanish | 534 million | Indo-European |
5 | French | 280 million | Indo-European |
6 | Standard Arabic | 274 million | Afro-Asiatic |
7 | Bengali | 265 million | Indo-European |
8 | Russian | 258 million | Indo-European |
9 | Portuguese | 234 million | Indo-European |
10 | Indonesian | 199 million | Austronesian |
However, this is only one piece in the full fabric of languages.
The metrics for native speakers tell a slightly different tale, as Mandarin Chinese shoots up to 918 millionโalmost 2.5x that of English native speakers.
Rank | Language | Native Speakers | Language Origin |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mandarin Chinese | 918 million | Sino-Tibetan |
2 | Spanish | 460 million | Indo-European |
3 | English | 379 million | Indo-European |
4 | Hindi | 341 million | Indo-European |
5 | Bengali | 228 million | Indo-European |
6 | Portuguese | 221 million | Indo-European |
7 | Russian | 154 million | Indo-European |
8 | Japanese | 128 million | Japanic |
9 | Western Punjabi | 93 million | Indo-European |
10 | Marathi | 83 million | Indo-European |
Note: No native speaker data was available for Filipino, Standard Arabic, Nigerian Pidgin, or Cameroonian Pidgin.
Here, Spanish comes in strong second for native speakers with 460 million, considering it’s well-used across Latin America. The Indian languages of Hindi and Bengali cap off the top five by native speakers as well.
These are the biggest languages people learn growing up, but what about the ones they pick up later in life?
What About Second (L2) Languages?
Nearly 43% of the worldโs population is bilingual, with the ability to switch between two languages with ease.
From the data, second language (L2) speakers can be calculated by looking at the difference between native and total speakers, as a proportion of the total. For example, 66% of English speakers learned it as a second language.
Swahili surprisingly has the highest ratio of L2 speakers to total speakersโalthough it only has 16 million native speakers, this shoots up to 98 million total speakers. Overall, 82% of Swahili speakers know it as a second language.
Swahili is listed as a national or official language in several African countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Itโs likely that the movement of people from rural areas into big cities in search of better economic opportunities, is whatโs boosting the adoption of Swahili as a second language.
Indonesian is another similar example. With a 78% proportion of L2 speakers compared to total speakers, this variation on the Malay language has been used as the lingua franca across the islands for a long time. In contrast, only 17% of Mandarin speakers know it as a second language, perhaps because it is one of the most challenging languages to learn.
Keeping Language Traditions Alive
Languages are fluid, and constantly evolvingโaltogether, the 100 most spoken languages paint a unique picture across centuries of a changing world. Hereโs the full list of these languages, by types of speakers and language origin.
Rank | Language | Total Speakers | Native Speakers | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | English | 1,132M | 379M | Indo-European |
2 | Mandarin Chinese | 1,117M | 918M | Sino-Tibetan |
3 | Hindi | 615M | 341M | Indo-European |
4 | Spanish | 534M | 460M | Indo-European |
5 | French | 280M | 77M | Indo-European |
6 | Standard Arabic | 274M | NA | Afro-Asiatic |
7 | Bengali | 265M | 228M | Indo-European |
8 | Russian | 258M | 154M | Indo-European |
9 | Portuguese | 234M | 221M | Indo-European |
10 | Indonesian | 199M | 43M | Austronesian |
11 | Urdu | 170M | 69M | Indo-European |
12 | Standard German | 132M | 76M | Indo-European |
13 | Japanese | 128M | 128M | Japanic |
14 | Swahili | 98M | 16M | Niger-Congo |
15 | Marathi | 95M | 83M | Indo-European |
16 | Telugu | 93M | 82M | Dravidian |
17 | Western Punjabi | 93M | 93M | Indo-European |
18 | Wu Chinese | 82M | 81M | Sino-Tibetan |
19 | Tamil | 81M | 75M | Dravidian |
20 | Turkish | 80M | 69M | Turkic |
21 | Korean | 77M | 77M | Koreanic |
22 | Vietnamese | 77M | 76M | Austronesian |
23 | Yue Chinese | 74M | 73M | Sino-Tibetan |
24 | Javanese | 68M | 68M | Austronesian |
25 | Italian | 68M | 65M | Indo-European |
26 | Egyptian Spoken Arabic | 65M | 65M | Afro-Asiatic |
27 | Hausa | 63M | 44M | Afro-Asiatic |
28 | Thai | 61M | 21M | Kra-Dai |
29 | Gujarati | 61M | 56M | Indo-European |
30 | Kannada | 56M | 44M | Dravidian |
31 | Iranian Persian | 53M | 53M | Indo-European |
32 | Bhojpuri | 52M | 52M | Indo-European |
33 | Southern Min Chinese | 50M | 50M | Sino-Tibetan |
34 | Hakka Chinese | 48M | 48M | Sino-Tibetan |
35 | Jinyu Chinese | 47M | 47M | Sino-Tibetan |
36 | Filipino | 45M | NA | Austronesian |
37 | Burmese | 43M | 33M | Sino-Tibetan |
38 | Polish | 40M | 40M | Indo-European |
39 | Yoruba | 40M | 38M | Niger-Congo |
40 | Odia | 38M | 34M | Indo-European |
41 | Malayalam | 38M | 37M | Dravidian |
42 | Xiang Chinese | 37M | 37M | Sino-Tibetan |
43 | Maithili | 34M | 34M | Indo-European |
44 | Ukrainian | 33M | 27M | Indo-European |
45 | Moroccan Spoken Arabic | 33M | 27M | Afro-Asiatic |
46 | Eastern Punjabi | 33M | 33M | Indo-European |
47 | Sunda | 32M | 32M | Austronesian |
48 | Algerian Spoken Arabic | 32M | 29M | Afro-Asiatic |
49 | Sudanese Spoken Arabic | 32M | 32M | Afro-Asiatic |
50 | Nigerian Pidgin | 30M | NA | Indo-European |
51 | Zulu | 28M | 12M | Niger-Congo |
52 | Igbo | 27M | 27M | Niger-Congo |
53 | Amharic | 26M | 22M | Afro-Asiatic |
54 | Northern Uzbek | 25M | 25M | Turkic |
55 | Sindhi | 25M | 25M | Indo-European |
56 | North Levantine Spoken Arabic | 25M | 25M | Afro-Asiatic |
57 | Nepali | 25M | 16M | Indo-European |
58 | Romanian | 24M | 24M | Indo-European |
59 | Tagalog | 24M | 24M | Austronesian |
60 | Dutch | 23M | 23M | Indo-European |
61 | Sa'idi Spoken Arabic | 22M | 22M | Afro-Asiatic |
62 | Gan Chinese | 22M | 22M | Sino-Tibetan |
63 | Northern Pashto | 21M | 21M | Indo-European |
64 | Magahi | 21M | 21M | Indo-European |
65 | Saraiki | 20M | 20M | Indo-European |
66 | Xhosa | 19M | 8M | Niger-Congo |
67 | Malay | 19M | 16M | Austronesian |
68 | Khmer | 18M | 17M | Austronesian |
69 | Afrikaans | 18M | 7M | Indo-European |
70 | Sinhala | 17M | 15M | Indo-European |
71 | Somali | 16M | 16M | Afro-Asiatic |
72 | Chhattisgarhi | 16M | 16M | Indo-European |
73 | Cebuano | 16M | 16M | Austronesian |
74 | Mesopotamian Spoken Arabic | 16M | 16M | Afro-Asiatic |
75 | Assamese | 15M | 15M | Indo-European |
76 | Northeastern Thai | 15M | 15M | Kra-Dai |
77 | Northern Kurdish | 15M | 15M | Indo-European |
78 | Hijazi Spoken Arabic | 15M | 15M | Afro-Asiatic |
79 | Nigerian Fulfulde | 14M | 14M | Niger-Congo |
80 | Bavarian | 14M | 14M | Indo-European |
81 | Bamanankan | 14M | 4M | Niger-Congo |
82 | South Azerbaijani | 14M | 14M | Turkic |
83 | Northern Sotho | 14M | 5M | Niger-Congo |
84 | Setswana | 14M | 6M | Niger-Congo |
85 | Souther Sotho | 14M | 6M | Niger-Congo |
86 | Czech | 13M | 11M | Indo-European |
87 | Greek | 13M | 13M | Indo-European |
88 | Chittagonian | 13M | 13M | Indo-European |
89 | Kazakh | 13M | 13M | Turkic |
90 | Swedish | 13M | 10M | Indo-European |
91 | Deccan | 13M | 13M | Indo-European |
92 | Hungarian | 13M | 13M | Uralic |
93 | Jula | 12M | 2M | Niger-Congo |
94 | Sadri | 12M | 5M | Indo-European |
95 | Kinyarwanda | 12M | 12M | Niger-Congo |
96 | Cameroonian Pidgin | 12M | NA | Indo-European |
97 | Sylheti | 12M | 10M | Indo-European |
98 | South Levantine Spoken Arabic | 12M | 12M | Afro-Asiatic |
99 | Tunisian Spoken Arabic | 12M | 12M | Afro-Asiatic |
100 | Sanaani Spoken Arabic | 11M | 11M | Afro-Asiatic |
One reason these languages are popular is that they are actively and consistently used. Unfortunately, nearly 3,000 (about 40%) of all languages are at risk of being lost, or are already in the process of dying out today.
Languages play a crucial role in our daily lives. โฆ [Their] losses have huge negative impacts indigenous peoplesโ most basic human rights.
โUN, IYoIL statement
As a result, the United Nations declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYoIL), with a resolution to continue fostering these languages and pass on their knowledge for future generations.
War
Interactive: Comparing Military Spend Around the World
Which countries have the highest military spend relative to their economy? This visual breaks down the amount spent in each country by GDP.

Comparing Military Spend Around the World
One of the easiest ways to identify a nationโs priorities is by tracking its expenditures, and military spend is no different.
Usually spending is measured, and ranked, in absolute amounts. For example, countries around the world collectively spent $2.1 trillion on their militaries in 2021, with the most coming from the U.S. ($800 billion), China ($293 billion), and India ($77 billion).
But these eye-popping figures are best understood in the context of each country’s economy. Using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Varun Jain has visualized 158 countries’ military expenditures, both as a percentage of their total GDP as well as in average per-capita spend.
Countriesโ Military Spend as a Percentage of their Economy
To begin, Jain identified three categories of military expenditure as a percent of GDP, using the five-year (2018โ2022) average for more consistent data:
Military Spend | % of GDP | Countries |
---|---|---|
High | Above 5% | 7 |
Medium | 2โ5% | 44 |
Low | Below 2% | 107 |
Under this categorization, the stand outs are the countries spending an outsized amount of their economic output on military, rather than the highest total spenders in absolute terms.
At the top of the table is Ukraine, which has earmarked a staggering average of 9.46% of its total economic output on defense over the past five years. That’s well ahead of second-place Saudi Arabia, which is slightly above 8%.
In Ukraine’s case, its high ranking shows how quickly priorities can change. From 2018 to 2021, the country spent 3.2-3.8% of its GDP on its military, but the outbreak of war with Russia saw its expenditures jump to one-third of economic output.
Other countries from the Middle East and North Africa follow in this tier, with Oman third at 8.11% and Qatar fourth with 5.88%. Rounding out the top seven high spenders are Algeria, Kuwait, and Israel.
Rank | Country | Military Spend | % of GDP |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | High | 9.46% |
2 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | High | 8.19% |
3 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | High | 8.11% |
4 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | High | 5.88% |
5 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | High | 5.70% |
6 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | High | 5.66% |
7 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | High | 5.09% |
8 | ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | Medium | 4.81% |
9 | ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | Medium | 4.53% |
10 | ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | Medium | 4.53% |
11 | ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | Medium | 4.01% |
12 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | Medium | 3.98% |
13 | ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | Medium | 3.79% |
14 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | Medium | 3.75% |
15 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | Medium | 3.72% |
16 | ๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan | Medium | 3.56% |
17 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | Medium | 3.48% |
18 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | Medium | 3.24% |
19 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | Medium | 3.15% |
20 | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | Medium | 3.09% |
21 | ๐ง๐ณ Brunei | Medium | 3.09% |
22 | ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | Medium | 3.05% |
23 | ๐น๐ฌ Togo | Medium | 3.03% |
24 | ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | Medium | 2.90% |
25 | ๐จ๐บ Cuba | Medium | 2.88% |
26 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | Medium | 2.86% |
27 | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | Medium | 2.86% |
28 | ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | Medium | 2.76% |
29 | ๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso | Medium | 2.70% |
30 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | Medium | 2.69% |
31 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | Medium | 2.69% |
32 | ๐จ๐ฌ Republic of Congo | Medium | 2.68% |
33 | ๐น๐ฉ Chad | Medium | 2.66% |
34 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | Medium | 2.58% |
35 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | Medium | 2.58% |
36 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | Medium | 2.34% |
37 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | Medium | 2.32% |
38 | ๐ป๐ณ Viet Nam | Medium | 2.28% |
39 | ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | Medium | 2.26% |
40 | ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania | Medium | 2.24% |
41 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | Medium | 2.21% |
42 | ๐ง๐ฎ Burundi | Medium | 2.21% |
43 | ๐น๐ท Turkey | Medium | 2.19% |
44 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | Medium | 2.17% |
45 | ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | Medium | 2.14% |
46 | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | Medium | 2.13% |
47 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | Medium | 2.13% |
48 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | Medium | 2.12% |
49 | ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | Medium | 2.11% |
50 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | Medium | 2.06% |
51 | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | Medium | 2.02% |
52 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | Low | 1.97% |
53 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | Low | 1.93% |
54 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | Low | 1.92% |
55 | ๐ซ๐ท France | Low | 1.91% |
56 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | Low | 1.90% |
57 | ๐ท๐ด Romania | Low | 1.87% |
58 | ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | Low | 1.85% |
59 | ๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini | Low | 1.82% |
60 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | Low | 1.81% |
61 | ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic | Low | 1.78% |
62 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | Low | 1.77% |
63 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | Low | 1.77% |
64 | ๐น๐ผ Taiwan | Low | 1.76% |
65 | ๐จ๐ณ China | Low | 1.72% |
66 | ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | Low | 1.71% |
67 | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | Low | 1.67% |
68 | ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea-Bissau | Low | 1.65% |
69 | ๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan | Low | 1.62% |
70 | ๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea | Low | 1.61% |
71 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | Low | 1.60% |
72 | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | Low | 1.58% |
73 | ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras | Low | 1.56% |
74 | ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | Low | 1.56% |
75 | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | Low | 1.56% |
76 | ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho | Low | 1.56% |
77 | ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | Low | 1.54% |
78 | ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji | Low | 1.54% |
79 | ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica | Low | 1.49% |
80 | ๐ฆ๐ด Angola | Low | 1.48% |
81 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | Low | 1.48% |
82 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | Low | 1.48% |
83 | ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | Low | 1.46% |
84 | ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles | Low | 1.43% |
85 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | Low | 1.41% |
86 | ๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan | Low | 1.39% |
87 | ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda | Low | 1.39% |
88 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | Low | 1.36% |
89 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | Low | 1.36% |
90 | ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | Low | 1.34% |
91 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | Low | 1.34% |
92 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | Low | 1.33% |
93 | ๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan | Low | 1.33% |
94 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | Low | 1.32% |
95 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | Low | 1.32% |
96 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | Low | 1.31% |
97 | ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia | Low | 1.30% |
98 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | Low | 1.29% |
99 | ๐ง๐ฟ Belize | Low | 1.28% |
100 | ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | Low | 1.28% |
101 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | Low | 1.26% |
102 | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | Low | 1.25% |
103 | ๐ฌ๐ถ Equatorial Guinea | Low | 1.24% |
104 | ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana | Low | 1.22% |
105 | ๐จ๐ฎ Cote d'Ivoire | Low | 1.22% |
106 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | Low | 1.20% |
107 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | Low | 1.20% |
108 | ๐ง๐พ Belarus | Low | 1.18% |
109 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | Low | 1.17% |
110 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | Low | 1.13% |
111 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | Low | 1.10% |
112 | ๐น๐ฑ Timor Leste | Low | 1.08% |
113 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | Low | 1.05% |
114 | ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | Low | 1.04% |
115 | ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | Low | 1.03% |
116 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | Low | 1.03% |
117 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | Low | 1.02% |
118 | ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia | Low | 1.00% |
119 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | Low | 0.98% |
120 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | Low | 0.96% |
121 | ๐ต๐พ Paraguay | Low | 0.95% |
122 | ๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo | Low | 0.95% |
123 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | Low | 0.94% |
124 | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | Low | 0.92% |
125 | ๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina | Low | 0.84% |
126 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | Low | 0.83% |
127 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | Low | 0.78% |
128 | ๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia | Low | 0.76% |
129 | ๐น๐น Trinidad & Tobago | Low | 0.75% |
130 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | Low | 0.74% |
131 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | Low | 0.73% |
132 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | Low | 0.71% |
133 | ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | Low | 0.70% |
134 | ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | Low | 0.69% |
135 | ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar | Low | 0.68% |
136 | ๐จ๐ฉ Dem. Rep. of Congo | Low | 0.64% |
137 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | Low | 0.64% |
138 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | Low | 0.64% |
139 | ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | Low | 0.64% |
140 | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | Low | 0.63% |
141 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | Low | 0.61% |
142 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | Low | 0.61% |
143 | ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua | Low | 0.60% |
144 | ๐จ๐ป Cape Verde | Low | 0.54% |
145 | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | Low | 0.54% |
146 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | Low | 0.48% |
147 | ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | Low | 0.45% |
148 | ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | Low | 0.43% |
149 | ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea | Low | 0.38% |
150 | ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | Low | 0.36% |
151 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | Low | 0.27% |
152 | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | Low | 0.26% |
153 | ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | Low | 0.20% |
154 | ๐ญ๐น Haiti | Low | 0.17% |
155 | ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius | Low | 0.16% |
156 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | Low | 0.00% |
157 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | Low | 0.00% |
158 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | Low | 0.00% |
The medium group consists of 44 countries and is led by four nations (Jordan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon) that all spend more than 4% of their GDP on their militaries. Other familiar countries known to have large military budgets, like Russia, Pakistan, the U.S., India and the UK, are also in this category.
The low spend group has a total of 107 countries, but also contains some surprises. For example, China, France, and Germanyโall in the top 10 countries by absolute military spendโactually have similar amounts of military spend as a percent of GDP as Georgia, Cyprus, and North Macedonia respectively.
At the bottom of the table are countries with either low military importance, or strange technicalities. For example, Mauritius is one of the countries with the lowest military budgets because it doesn’t officially have a standing military, instead relying on two paramilitary forces (a special mobile force and a Coast Guard).
Similarly, Iceland allocates 0% of its GDP towards military spending. In place of a standing army, the country maintains a specialized peacekeeping force, a substantial Coast Guard, and relies on security alliances within NATO, of which it is a member and provides financial support to.
Ranking Defense Spending Per Capita
While the measure above equalizes military spend on economic strength, per-capita military spending shows how much countries allocate while accounting for population size.
On a per-capita basis (again using a five-year average), Qatar leads the ranks with a per-capita spend of $4,564, well-ahead of Israel at $2,535, and Saudi Arabia at $1,928.
Rank | Country | Per Capita Spend ($) |
---|---|---|
1 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | $4,564 |
2 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | $2,535 |
3 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | $1,928 |
4 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | $1,837 |
5 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | $1,815 |
6 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | $1,815 |
7 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | $1,438 |
8 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | $1,254 |
9 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $1,131 |
10 | ๐ง๐ณ Brunei | $959 |
11 | ๐ฌ๐ง UK | $913 |
12 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | $894 |
13 | ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | $863 |
14 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | $861 |
15 | ๐ซ๐ท France | $811 |
16 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | $801 |
17 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $765 |
18 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | $694 |
19 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $662 |
20 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | $647 |
21 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $645 |
22 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | $629 |
23 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | $623 |
24 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | $610 |
25 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | $535 |
26 | ๐น๐ผ Taiwan | $495 |
27 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | $494 |
28 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | $487 |
29 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | $467 |
30 | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | $463 |
31 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | $417 |
32 | ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | $405 |
33 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | $399 |
34 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $398 |
35 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | $395 |
36 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | $393 |
37 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | $359 |
38 | ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | $354 |
39 | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | $334 |
40 | ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | $334 |
41 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | $302 |
42 | ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | $302 |
43 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | $294 |
44 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | $292 |
45 | ๐ท๐ด Romania | $258 |
46 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | $248 |
47 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | $235 |
48 | ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles | $230 |
49 | ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | $226 |
50 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | $219 |
51 | ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | $217 |
52 | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | $215 |
53 | ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | $207 |
54 | ๐น๐ท Turkey | $199 |
55 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | $197 |
56 | ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | $194 |
57 | ๐จ๐ณ China | $183 |
58 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | $175 |
59 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | $175 |
60 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | $169 |
61 | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | $159 |
62 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | $145 |
63 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | $138 |
64 | ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | $137 |
65 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | $133 |
66 | ๐น๐น Trinidad & Tobago | $131 |
67 | ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | $124 |
68 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | $122 |
69 | ๐ฌ๐ถ Equatorial Guinea | $112 |
70 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | $109 |
71 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | $107 |
72 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | $97 |
73 | ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana | $92 |
74 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | $91 |
75 | ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji | $83 |
76 | ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia | $83 |
77 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | $82 |
78 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | $81 |
79 | ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | $80 |
80 | ๐ง๐พ Belarus | $80 |
81 | ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica | $77 |
82 | ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | $76 |
83 | ๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini | $72 |
84 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | $69 |
85 | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | $66 |
86 | ๐ง๐ฟ Belize | $60 |
87 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | $59 |
88 | ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | $58 |
89 | ๐ป๐ณ Viet Nam | $58 |
90 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | $56 |
91 | ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | $54 |
92 | ๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina | $54 |
93 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | $53 |
94 | ๐จ๐ฌ Republic of Congo | $53 |
95 | ๐ต๐พ Paraguay | $52 |
96 | ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | $51 |
97 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | $49 |
98 | ๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan | $44 |
99 | ๐ฆ๐ด Angola | $43 |
100 | ๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo | $42 |
101 | ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania | $42 |
102 | ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras | $42 |
103 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | $41 |
104 | ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | $36 |
105 | ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | $35 |
106 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | $33 |
107 | ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | $33 |
108 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | $31 |
109 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | $27 |
110 | ๐น๐ฑ Timor Leste | $27 |
111 | ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | $26 |
112 | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | $24 |
113 | ๐จ๐ฎ Cote d'Ivoire | $23 |
114 | ๐น๐ฌ Togo | $21 |
115 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | $21 |
116 | ๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan | $20 |
117 | ๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso | $20 |
118 | ๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea | $19 |
119 | ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho | $19 |
120 | ๐จ๐ป Cape Verde | $19 |
121 | ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | $19 |
122 | ๐น๐ฉ Chad | $18 |
123 | ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | $18 |
124 | ๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan | $18 |
125 | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | $18 |
126 | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | $17 |
127 | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | $16 |
128 | ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius | $16 |
129 | ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | $16 |
130 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | $15 |
131 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | $14 |
132 | ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua | $12 |
133 | ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea-Bissau | $12 |
134 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | $12 |
135 | ๐จ๐บ Cuba | $11 |
136 | ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda | $11 |
137 | ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | $11 |
138 | ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea | $10 |
139 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | $10 |
140 | ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | $9 |
141 | ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic | $8 |
142 | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | $8 |
143 | ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | $8 |
144 | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | $7 |
145 | ๐ง๐ฎ Burundi | $7 |
146 | ๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan | $6 |
147 | ๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia | $6 |
148 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | $5 |
149 | ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | $5 |
150 | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | $4 |
151 | ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | $3 |
152 | ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar | $3 |
153 | ๐จ๐ฉ Dem. Rep. of Congo | $3 |
154 | ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia | $3 |
155 | ๐ญ๐น Haiti | $2 |
156 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | $0 |
157 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | $0 |
158 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | $0 |
Measured this way, we get a perspective of how small defense budgets can be per person, even if the total expenditure is large.
For example, India has the fourth-highest total defense expenditure in 2022, but because of its massive population only sets aside $53 per resident for its military, putting it solidly at the bottom third of the per-capita rankings.
Patterns Revealed By Measuring Military Spend
Changing how we look at a countryโs military budget can reveal a lot more than just looking at absolute numbers.
For example, the Middle East is the region with the highest spenders on defense as a percentage of their GDP, giving us insight into regional security concerns.
Countries from the medium group of military spendingโincluding parts of Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asiaโhighlight past or recent conflict zones between neighbors, countries with internal strife, or countries wary of a regional aggressor. Ukraine’s average per capita military spend, for example, was just $122.4 from 2018 to 2021. The next year, it jumped nearly 10 times to $1,018.66 per person after Russia’s invasion.
In fact, European military spending saw its sharpest one-year jump in 30 years as a direct result of the war.
Alongside European anxieties, ongoing tension between China and Taiwan has also contributed to increased military spending in Asia and Oceania. Will these budgets continue their dramatic ascent or will they rise evenly alongside their relative economies in 2023?
Data note: For these comparisons, the creator is calculating five-year averages (using data from 2018-2022) for military spending as a percentage of GDP and per-capita military spending for each country. The military expenditure data is pulled from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Data for some countries is missing or may vary significantly from official figures. Countries with up to
two years of missing data had averages calculated on the years available, while countries with three or more years of missing data have been removed from this dataset, including: Djibouti, Eritrea, North Korea, Laos, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Turkmenistan, UAE, and Yemen.
Please see SIPRI’s methodologies page for more details on how they collect their data and create estimates.
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