Economy
Interactive: Comparing Military Spend Around the World
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Comparing Military Spend Around the World
One of the easiest ways to identify a nation’s 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.
Countries’ 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 (2018‒2022) average for more consistent data:
Military Spend | % of GDP | Countries |
---|---|---|
High | Above 5% | 7 |
Medium | 2‒5% | 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 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | High | 9.46% |
2 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | High | 8.19% |
3 | 🇴🇲 Oman | High | 8.11% |
4 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | High | 5.88% |
5 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | High | 5.70% |
6 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | High | 5.66% |
7 | 🇮🇱 Israel | High | 5.09% |
8 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | Medium | 4.81% |
9 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | Medium | 4.53% |
10 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | Medium | 4.53% |
11 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | Medium | 4.01% |
12 | 🇷🇺 Russia | Medium | 3.98% |
13 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | Medium | 3.79% |
14 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Medium | 3.75% |
15 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | Medium | 3.72% |
16 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | Medium | 3.56% |
17 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | Medium | 3.48% |
18 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | Medium | 3.24% |
19 | 🇬🇷 Greece | Medium | 3.15% |
20 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | Medium | 3.09% |
21 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | Medium | 3.09% |
22 | 🇸🇸 South Sudan | Medium | 3.05% |
23 | 🇹🇬 Togo | Medium | 3.03% |
24 | 🇲🇱 Mali | Medium | 2.90% |
25 | 🇨🇺 Cuba | Medium | 2.88% |
26 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | Medium | 2.86% |
27 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | Medium | 2.86% |
28 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | Medium | 2.76% |
29 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | Medium | 2.70% |
30 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | Medium | 2.69% |
31 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | Medium | 2.69% |
32 | 🇨🇬 Republic of Congo | Medium | 2.68% |
33 | 🇹🇩 Chad | Medium | 2.66% |
34 | 🇮🇳 India | Medium | 2.58% |
35 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | Medium | 2.58% |
36 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | Medium | 2.34% |
37 | 🇮🇷 Iran | Medium | 2.32% |
38 | 🇻🇳 Viet Nam | Medium | 2.28% |
39 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | Medium | 2.26% |
40 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | Medium | 2.24% |
41 | 🇳🇪 Niger | Medium | 2.21% |
42 | 🇧🇮 Burundi | Medium | 2.21% |
43 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | Medium | 2.19% |
44 | 🇵🇱 Poland | Medium | 2.17% |
45 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | Medium | 2.14% |
46 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | Medium | 2.13% |
47 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | Medium | 2.13% |
48 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Medium | 2.12% |
49 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | Medium | 2.11% |
50 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | Medium | 2.06% |
51 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | Medium | 2.02% |
52 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | Low | 1.97% |
53 | 🇦🇺 Australia | Low | 1.93% |
54 | 🇨🇱 Chile | Low | 1.92% |
55 | 🇫🇷 France | Low | 1.91% |
56 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | Low | 1.90% |
57 | 🇷🇴 Romania | Low | 1.87% |
58 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | Low | 1.85% |
59 | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | Low | 1.82% |
60 | 🇳🇴 Norway | Low | 1.81% |
61 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | Low | 1.78% |
62 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | Low | 1.77% |
63 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | Low | 1.77% |
64 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | Low | 1.76% |
65 | 🇨🇳 China | Low | 1.72% |
66 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | Low | 1.71% |
67 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | Low | 1.67% |
68 | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | Low | 1.65% |
69 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | Low | 1.62% |
70 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | Low | 1.61% |
71 | 🇫🇮 Finland | Low | 1.60% |
72 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | Low | 1.58% |
73 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | Low | 1.56% |
74 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | Low | 1.56% |
75 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | Low | 1.56% |
76 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | Low | 1.56% |
77 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | Low | 1.54% |
78 | 🇫🇯 Fiji | Low | 1.54% |
79 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | Low | 1.49% |
80 | 🇦🇴 Angola | Low | 1.48% |
81 | 🇮🇹 Italy | Low | 1.48% |
82 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | Low | 1.48% |
83 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | Low | 1.46% |
84 | 🇸🇨 Seychelles | Low | 1.43% |
85 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Low | 1.41% |
86 | 🇸🇩 Sudan | Low | 1.39% |
87 | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | Low | 1.39% |
88 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | Low | 1.36% |
89 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | Low | 1.36% |
90 | 🇦🇱 Albania | Low | 1.34% |
91 | 🇪🇸 Spain | Low | 1.34% |
92 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | Low | 1.33% |
93 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | Low | 1.33% |
94 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Low | 1.32% |
95 | 🇨🇦 Canada | Low | 1.32% |
96 | 🇩🇪 Germany | Low | 1.31% |
97 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | Low | 1.30% |
98 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | Low | 1.29% |
99 | 🇧🇿 Belize | Low | 1.28% |
100 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | Low | 1.28% |
101 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Low | 1.26% |
102 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | Low | 1.25% |
103 | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | Low | 1.24% |
104 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | Low | 1.22% |
105 | 🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire | Low | 1.22% |
106 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | Low | 1.20% |
107 | 🇵🇪 Peru | Low | 1.20% |
108 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | Low | 1.18% |
109 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | Low | 1.17% |
110 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | Low | 1.13% |
111 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | Low | 1.10% |
112 | 🇹🇱 Timor Leste | Low | 1.08% |
113 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | Low | 1.05% |
114 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | Low | 1.04% |
115 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | Low | 1.03% |
116 | 🇯🇵 Japan | Low | 1.03% |
117 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | Low | 1.02% |
118 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | Low | 1.00% |
119 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Low | 0.98% |
120 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | Low | 0.96% |
121 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | Low | 0.95% |
122 | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | Low | 0.95% |
123 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | Low | 0.94% |
124 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | Low | 0.92% |
125 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | Low | 0.84% |
126 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Low | 0.83% |
127 | 🇦🇹 Austria | Low | 0.78% |
128 | 🇬🇲 Gambia | Low | 0.76% |
129 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | Low | 0.75% |
130 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Low | 0.74% |
131 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Low | 0.73% |
132 | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | Low | 0.71% |
133 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | Low | 0.70% |
134 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | Low | 0.69% |
135 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | Low | 0.68% |
136 | 🇨🇩 Dem. Rep. of Congo | Low | 0.64% |
137 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Low | 0.64% |
138 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | Low | 0.64% |
139 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | Low | 0.64% |
140 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | Low | 0.63% |
141 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | Low | 0.61% |
142 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | Low | 0.61% |
143 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | Low | 0.60% |
144 | 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | Low | 0.54% |
145 | 🇧🇯 Benin | Low | 0.54% |
146 | 🇲🇹 Malta | Low | 0.48% |
147 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | Low | 0.45% |
148 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | Low | 0.43% |
149 | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | Low | 0.38% |
150 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | Low | 0.36% |
151 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | Low | 0.27% |
152 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | Low | 0.26% |
153 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | Low | 0.20% |
154 | 🇭🇹 Haiti | Low | 0.17% |
155 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | Low | 0.16% |
156 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | Low | 0.00% |
157 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | Low | 0.00% |
158 | 🇵🇦 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 Germany—all in the top 10 countries by absolute military spend—actually 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 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | $4,564 |
2 | 🇮🇱 Israel | $2,535 |
3 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | $1,928 |
4 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | $1,837 |
5 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | $1,815 |
6 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $1,815 |
7 | 🇳🇴 Norway | $1,438 |
8 | 🇴🇲 Oman | $1,254 |
9 | 🇦🇺 Australia | $1,131 |
10 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | $959 |
11 | 🇬🇧 UK | $913 |
12 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | $894 |
13 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | $863 |
14 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | $861 |
15 | 🇫🇷 France | $811 |
16 | 🇫🇮 Finland | $801 |
17 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $765 |
18 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | $694 |
19 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | $662 |
20 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | $647 |
21 | 🇨🇦 Canada | $645 |
22 | 🇬🇷 Greece | $629 |
23 | 🇩🇪 Germany | $623 |
24 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | $610 |
25 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | $535 |
26 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | $495 |
27 | 🇮🇹 Italy | $494 |
28 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | $487 |
29 | 🇷🇺 Russia | $467 |
30 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | $463 |
31 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | $417 |
32 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | $405 |
33 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | $399 |
34 | 🇯🇵 Japan | $398 |
35 | 🇪🇸 Spain | $395 |
36 | 🇦🇹 Austria | $393 |
37 | 🇵🇱 Poland | $359 |
38 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | $354 |
39 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | $334 |
40 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | $334 |
41 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | $302 |
42 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | $302 |
43 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | $294 |
44 | 🇨🇱 Chile | $292 |
45 | 🇷🇴 Romania | $258 |
46 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | $248 |
47 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | $235 |
48 | 🇸🇨 Seychelles | $230 |
49 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | $226 |
50 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | $219 |
51 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | $217 |
52 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | $215 |
53 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | $207 |
54 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | $199 |
55 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | $197 |
56 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | $194 |
57 | 🇨🇳 China | $183 |
58 | 🇲🇹 Malta | $175 |
59 | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | $175 |
60 | 🇮🇷 Iran | $169 |
61 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | $159 |
62 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | $145 |
63 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | $138 |
64 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | $137 |
65 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | $133 |
66 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | $131 |
67 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | $124 |
68 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | $122 |
69 | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | $112 |
70 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | $109 |
71 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | $107 |
72 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | $97 |
73 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | $92 |
74 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | $91 |
75 | 🇫🇯 Fiji | $83 |
76 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | $83 |
77 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | $82 |
78 | 🇵🇪 Peru | $81 |
79 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | $80 |
80 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | $80 |
81 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | $77 |
82 | 🇦🇱 Albania | $76 |
83 | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | $72 |
84 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | $69 |
85 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | $66 |
86 | 🇧🇿 Belize | $60 |
87 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | $59 |
88 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | $58 |
89 | 🇻🇳 Viet Nam | $58 |
90 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | $56 |
91 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | $54 |
92 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | $54 |
93 | 🇮🇳 India | $53 |
94 | 🇨🇬 Republic of Congo | $53 |
95 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | $52 |
96 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | $51 |
97 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | $49 |
98 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | $44 |
99 | 🇦🇴 Angola | $43 |
100 | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | $42 |
101 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | $42 |
102 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | $42 |
103 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | $41 |
104 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | $36 |
105 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | $35 |
106 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | $33 |
107 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | $33 |
108 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | $31 |
109 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | $27 |
110 | 🇹🇱 Timor Leste | $27 |
111 | 🇲🇱 Mali | $26 |
112 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | $24 |
113 | 🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire | $23 |
114 | 🇹🇬 Togo | $21 |
115 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | $21 |
116 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | $20 |
117 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | $20 |
118 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | $19 |
119 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | $19 |
120 | 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | $19 |
121 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | $19 |
122 | 🇹🇩 Chad | $18 |
123 | 🇸🇸 South Sudan | $18 |
124 | 🇸🇩 Sudan | $18 |
125 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | $18 |
126 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | $17 |
127 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | $16 |
128 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | $16 |
129 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | $16 |
130 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | $15 |
131 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | $14 |
132 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | $12 |
133 | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | $12 |
134 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | $12 |
135 | 🇨🇺 Cuba | $11 |
136 | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | $11 |
137 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | $11 |
138 | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | $10 |
139 | 🇳🇪 Niger | $10 |
140 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | $9 |
141 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | $8 |
142 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | $8 |
143 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | $8 |
144 | 🇧🇯 Benin | $7 |
145 | 🇧🇮 Burundi | $7 |
146 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | $6 |
147 | 🇬🇲 Gambia | $6 |
148 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | $5 |
149 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | $5 |
150 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | $4 |
151 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | $3 |
152 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | $3 |
153 | 🇨🇩 Dem. Rep. of Congo | $3 |
154 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | $3 |
155 | 🇭🇹 Haiti | $2 |
156 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | $0 |
157 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | $0 |
158 | 🇵🇦 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 country’s 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 spending—including parts of Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia—highlight 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.
This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Economy
Economic Growth Forecasts for G7 and BRICS Countries in 2024
The IMF has released its economic growth forecasts for 2024. How do the G7 and BRICS countries compare?
G7 & BRICS Real GDP Growth Forecasts for 2024
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) has released its real gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for 2024, and while global growth is projected to stay steady at 3.2%, various major nations are seeing declining forecasts.
This chart visualizes the 2024 real GDP growth forecasts using data from the IMF’s 2024 World Economic Outlook for G7 and BRICS member nations along with Saudi Arabia, which is still considering an invitation to join the bloc.
Get the Key Insights of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook
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Mixed Economic Growth Prospects for Major Nations in 2024
Economic growth projections by the IMF for major nations are mixed, with the majority of G7 and BRICS countries forecasted to have slower growth in 2024 compared to 2023.
Only three BRICS-invited or member countries, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and South Africa, have higher projected real GDP growth rates in 2024 than last year.
Group | Country | Real GDP Growth (2023) | Real GDP Growth (2024P) |
---|---|---|---|
G7 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 2.5% | 2.7% |
G7 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 1.1% | 1.2% |
G7 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 1.9% | 0.9% |
G7 | 🇫🇷 France | 0.9% | 0.7% |
G7 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 0.9% | 0.7% |
G7 | 🇬🇧 UK | 0.1% | 0.5% |
G7 | 🇩🇪 Germany | -0.3% | 0.2% |
BRICS | 🇮🇳 India | 7.8% | 6.8% |
BRICS | 🇨🇳 China | 5.2% | 4.6% |
BRICS | 🇦🇪 UAE | 3.4% | 3.5% |
BRICS | 🇮🇷 Iran | 4.7% | 3.3% |
BRICS | 🇷🇺 Russia | 3.6% | 3.2% |
BRICS | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 3.8% | 3.0% |
BRICS-invited | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | -0.8% | 2.6% |
BRICS | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 2.9% | 2.2% |
BRICS | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 0.6% | 0.9% |
BRICS | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 7.2% | 6.2% |
🌍 World | 3.2% | 3.2% |
China and India are forecasted to maintain relatively high growth rates in 2024 at 4.6% and 6.8% respectively, but compared to the previous year, China is growing 0.6 percentage points slower while India is an entire percentage point slower.
On the other hand, four G7 nations are set to grow faster than last year, which includes Germany making its comeback from its negative real GDP growth of -0.3% in 2023.
Faster Growth for BRICS than G7 Nations
Despite mostly lower growth forecasts in 2024 compared to 2023, BRICS nations still have a significantly higher average growth forecast at 3.6% compared to the G7 average of 1%.
While the G7 countries’ combined GDP is around $15 trillion greater than the BRICS nations, with continued higher growth rates and the potential to add more members, BRICS looks likely to overtake the G7 in economic size within two decades.
BRICS Expansion Stutters Before October 2024 Summit
BRICS’ recent expansion has stuttered slightly, as Argentina’s newly-elected president Javier Milei declined its invitation and Saudi Arabia clarified that the country is still considering its invitation and has not joined BRICS yet.
Even with these initial growing pains, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told reporters in February that 34 different countries have submitted applications to join the growing BRICS bloc.
Any changes to the group are likely to be announced leading up to or at the 2024 BRICS summit which takes place October 22-24 in Kazan, Russia.
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