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Visualized: Who Americans Spend Their Time With

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Chart showing who Americans spend their time with over their lifetime

Who Americans Spend Their Time With

Throughout history, humans have relied on cooperation and social relationships to thrive. Of course, who we spend time with evolves throughout our lifetime.

Using insights from the American Time Use Survey and Our World in Data, we look at who Americans spend the most time with at various ages of their life.

Adolescence to Adulthood

In the average Americanโ€™s teenage years, they spend most of their time alone and with their family. This makes sense, as the majority of people under 18 still live in a home with their nuclear family unit, meaning parents and siblings. Not surprisingly, adolescence is also when time spent with friends reaches its peak.

Jumping forward to a person’s early adulthood, 25-year-olds spend an average of 275 minutes per day alone, and 199 minutes with coworkers. This aligns with people in their twenties beginning to enter the workforce.

By age 35, people are still spending the most time with themselves, at 263 minutes per day. However, time spent combined with children and partners, the runner-ups, adds up to 450 minutes or around 7.5 hours a day.

AgeMost Time Spent SecondThird
15Family - 267 MinutesAlone - 193 MinutesFriends - 109 Minutes
25Alone - 275 MinutesCoworkers - 199 MinutesPartner - 121 Minutes
35Alone - 263 MinutesChildren - 249 MinutesPartner - 198 Minutes

Although people are spending more time with kids and partners as they grow older, this trend may shift, as women are having fewer children. More women today are obtaining an education and are entering the workforce, causing them to delay or entirely put off having children.

Middle to Old Age

Upon turning 45, the average person spends 309 minutes a day alone, and in second place, 199 minutes with children. Time with coworkers remains relatively steady throughout someoneโ€™s forties, which coincides with the middle of career for most people in the workforce.

By age 55, time spent alone still takes top spot, but time spent with a partner goes up to 184 minutes, and time with coworkers also moves up, pushing out time spent with children.

Age Most Time SpentSecondThird
45Alone - 309 MinutesChildren - 199 MinutesPartner - 184 Minutes
55Alone - 384 MinutesPartner - 184 MinutesCoworkers - 163 Minutes
65Alone - 444 MinutesPartner - 243 MinutesFamily - 65 Minutes
75Alone - 463 MinutesPartner - 253 MinutesFamily - 56 Minutes

Typically, time spent with children during the mid-fifties tends to see a sharp decline as children enter adulthood and begin to move out or spend more time out of the house.

Today, more children are staying at home longer or even moving back home. 52% of adult children in the U.S. today are living with their parents.

As people get closer to old age, around 65-years-old, they spend increasingly less time with coworkers as they begin to retire, and much more time alone or with a spouse. Then, from age 65-75, people consistently spend the most time alone, then with a partner and family.

Alone and Lonely?

One of the most significant trends on the chart is increased time spent alone.

time spent alone by age

By the time someone reaches 80, their daily minutes alone goes up to 477. This can be a problematic reality. As the population continues to age in many countries around the world, more elderly people are left without resources or social connection.

Additionally, while one quarter of elderly Americans live alone, the trend of solo living is going up across nearly every age group, and this trend applies to a number of mature economies around the world.

Chart showing what percentage of Americans live, by age

A natural conclusion would be that increasing alone time has negative impacts on people, however, being alone does not necessarily equate to loneliness. Our World in Data found that there was no direct correlation between living alone and reported feelings of loneliness.

One final consideration is the role technology plays in our social interactions. Thanks to smartphones and social platforms, time alone doesn’t necessarily equal isolation.

It is not just the amount of time spent with others, but the quality and expectations, that reduce loneliness.

Where does this data come from?

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey, accessed on Our World in Data.

Notes: While respondents to the Time Use Survey are tracking their activity, they indicate who was present during each activity recorded. This results in the data used in this article. It’s worth noting that individuals can be counted twice, since people from various categories can be present at the same time.

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Maps

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.

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A map showing countries' military spend as a percentage of their gross domestic product.

Comparing Military Spend Around the World

One of the easiest ways to identify a nationโ€™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.

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 (2018โ€’2022) average for more consistent data:

Military Spend% of GDPCountries
HighAbove 5%7
Medium2โ€’5%44
LowBelow 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.

RankCountryMilitary Spend% of GDP
1๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ UkraineHigh9.46%
2๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi ArabiaHigh8.19%
3๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ OmanHigh8.11%
4๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ QatarHigh5.88%
5๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ AlgeriaHigh5.70%
6๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ KuwaitHigh5.66%
7๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ IsraelHigh5.09%
8๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด JordanMedium4.81%
9๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ ArmeniaMedium4.53%
10๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ AzerbaijanMedium4.53%
11๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง LebanonMedium4.01%
12๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ RussiaMedium3.98%
13๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ BahrainMedium3.79%
14๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ PakistanMedium3.75%
15๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ MoroccoMedium3.72%
16๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ UzbekistanMedium3.56%
17๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.Medium3.48%
18๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด ColombiaMedium3.24%
19๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท GreeceMedium3.15%
20๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ NamibiaMedium3.09%
21๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ BruneiMedium3.09%
22๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South SudanMedium3.05%
23๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ TogoMedium3.03%
24๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ MaliMedium2.90%
25๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ CubaMedium2.88%
26๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ SingaporeMedium2.86%
27๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ BotswanaMedium2.86%
28๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ MyanmarMedium2.76%
29๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina FasoMedium2.70%
30๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ IraqMedium2.69%
31๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South KoreaMedium2.69%
32๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Republic of CongoMedium2.68%
33๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ ChadMedium2.66%
34๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ IndiaMedium2.58%
35๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ TunisiaMedium2.58%
36๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ EcuadorMedium2.34%
37๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท IranMedium2.32%
38๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Viet NamMedium2.28%
39๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ CambodiaMedium2.26%
40๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท MauritaniaMedium2.24%
41๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช NigerMedium2.21%
42๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ BurundiMedium2.21%
43๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท TurkeyMedium2.19%
44๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ PolandMedium2.17%
45๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป LatviaMedium2.14%
46๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น LithuaniaMedium2.13%
47๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช EstoniaMedium2.13%
48๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United KingdomMedium2.12%
49๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ UruguayMedium2.11%
50๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ SerbiaMedium2.06%
51๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ UgandaMedium2.02%
52๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท CroatiaLow1.97%
53๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ AustraliaLow1.93%
54๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ ChileLow1.92%
55๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท FranceLow1.91%
56๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ CyprusLow1.90%
57๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด RomaniaLow1.87%
58๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ BulgariaLow1.85%
59๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ EswatiniLow1.82%
60๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด NorwayLow1.81%
61๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African RepublicLow1.78%
62๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri LankaLow1.77%
63๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น PortugalLow1.77%
64๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ TaiwanLow1.76%
65๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ ChinaLow1.72%
66๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช GeorgiaLow1.71%
67๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ SlovakiaLow1.67%
68๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-BissauLow1.65%
69๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ KyrgyzstanLow1.62%
70๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ GuineaLow1.61%
71๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ FinlandLow1.60%
72๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ SenegalLow1.58%
73๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ HondurasLow1.56%
74๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ GabonLow1.56%
75๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ MozambiqueLow1.56%
76๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ LesothoLow1.56%
77๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช MontenegroLow1.54%
78๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ FijiLow1.54%
79๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ JamaicaLow1.49%
80๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด AngolaLow1.48%
81๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น ItalyLow1.48%
82๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ HungaryLow1.48%
83๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด BoliviaLow1.46%
84๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ SeychellesLow1.43%
85๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ NetherlandsLow1.41%
86๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ SudanLow1.39%
87๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ RwandaLow1.39%
88๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต NepalLow1.36%
89๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ DenmarkLow1.36%
90๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ AlbaniaLow1.34%
91๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ SpainLow1.34%
92๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ ThailandLow1.33%
93๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ AfghanistanLow1.33%
94๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New ZealandLow1.32%
95๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ CanadaLow1.32%
96๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช GermanyLow1.31%
97๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North MacedoniaLow1.30%
98๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท BrazilLow1.29%
99๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ BelizeLow1.28%
100๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El SalvadorLow1.28%
101๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ BangladeshLow1.26%
102๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ ZambiaLow1.25%
103๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial GuineaLow1.24%
104๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ GuyanaLow1.22%
105๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cote d'IvoireLow1.22%
106๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ EgyptLow1.20%
107๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช PeruLow1.20%
108๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ BelarusLow1.18%
109๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช SwedenLow1.17%
110๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช KenyaLow1.13%
111๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ SloveniaLow1.10%
112๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ Timor LesteLow1.08%
113๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ TanzaniaLow1.05%
114๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ CameroonLow1.04%
115๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ TajikistanLow1.03%
116๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต JapanLow1.03%
117๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช BelgiumLow1.02%
118๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท LiberiaLow1.00%
119๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ MalaysiaLow0.98%
120๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ PhilippinesLow0.96%
121๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ ParaguayLow0.95%
122๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ KosovoLow0.95%
123๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South AfricaLow0.94%
124๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ MalawiLow0.92%
125๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia and HerzegovinaLow0.84%
126๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ KazakhstanLow0.83%
127๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น AustriaLow0.78%
128๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ GambiaLow0.76%
129๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad & TobagoLow0.75%
130๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ IndonesiaLow0.74%
131๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ SwitzerlandLow0.73%
132๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech RepublicLow0.71%
133๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dominican RepublicLow0.70%
134๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ MongoliaLow0.69%
135๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ MadagascarLow0.68%
136๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Dem. Rep. of CongoLow0.64%
137๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ NigeriaLow0.64%
138๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น EthiopiaLow0.64%
139๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra LeoneLow0.64%
140๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท ArgentinaLow0.63%
141๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ LuxembourgLow0.61%
142๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ MexicoLow0.61%
143๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ NicaraguaLow0.60%
144๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape VerdeLow0.54%
145๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ BeninLow0.54%
146๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น MaltaLow0.48%
147๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น GuatemalaLow0.45%
148๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ GhanaLow0.43%
149๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ Papua New GuineaLow0.38%
150๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ MoldovaLow0.36%
151๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช IrelandLow0.27%
152๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ ZimbabweLow0.26%
153๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช VenezuelaLow0.20%
154๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น HaitiLow0.17%
155๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ MauritiusLow0.16%
156๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท Costa RicaLow0.00%
157๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ IcelandLow0.00%
158๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ PanamaLow0.00%

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 Germanyโ€”all in the top 10 countries by absolute military spendโ€”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.

RankCountryPer Capita Spend ($)
1๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Qatar$4,564
2๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel$2,535
3๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi Arabia$1,928
4๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore$1,837
5๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ Kuwait$1,815
6๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.$1,815
7๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway$1,438
8๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ Oman$1,254
9๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia$1,131
10๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Brunei$959
11๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK$913
12๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea$894
13๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ Bahrain$863
14๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark$861
15๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France$811
16๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland$801
17๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands$765
18๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg$694
19๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden$662
20๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland$647
21๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada$645
22๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece$629
23๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany$623
24๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand$610
25๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonia$535
26๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan$495
27๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy$494
28๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium$487
29๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia$467
30๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania$463
31๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal$417
32๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvia$405
33๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ Cyprus$399
34๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan$398
35๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain$395
36๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria$393
37๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland$359
38๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Uruguay$354
39๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia$334
40๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง Lebanon$334
41๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia$302
42๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine$302
43๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia$294
44๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chile$292
45๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania$258
46๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary$248
47๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland$235
48๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles$230
49๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Azerbaijan$226
50๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Algeria$219
51๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Armenia$217
52๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana$215
53๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Jordan$207
54๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey$199
55๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombia$197
56๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria$194
57๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China$183
58๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น Malta$175
59๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czech Republic$175
60๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran$169
61๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia$159
62๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Iraq$145
63๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Ecuador$138
64๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช Montenegro$137
65๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia$133
66๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad & Tobago$131
67๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabon$124
68๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco$122
69๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial Guinea$112
70๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia$109
71๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil$107
72๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand$97
73๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ Guyana$92
74๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia$91
75๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Fiji$83
76๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North Macedonia$83
77๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan$82
78๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peru$81
79๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgia$80
80๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ Belarus$80
81๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Jamaica$77
82๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albania$76
83๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Eswatini$72
84๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka$69
85๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentina$66
86๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ Belize$60
87๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico$59
88๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dominican Republic$58
89๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Viet Nam$58
90๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa$56
91๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El Salvador$54
92๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina$54
93๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India$53
94๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Republic of Congo$53
95๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ Paraguay$52
96๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivia$51
97๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan$49
98๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan$44
99๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola$43
100๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Kosovo$42
101๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท Mauritania$42
102๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ Honduras$42
103๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt$41
104๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia$36
105๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar$35
106๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines$33
107๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolia$33
108๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia$31
109๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh$27
110๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ Timor Leste$27
111๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali$26
112๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal$24
113๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cote d'Ivoire$23
114๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo$21
115๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya$21
116๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Kyrgyzstan$20
117๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso$20
118๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea$19
119๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho$19
120๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape Verde$19
121๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น Guatemala$19
122๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad$18
123๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan$18
124๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Sudan$18
125๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda$18
126๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe$17
127๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia$16
128๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius$16
129๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon$16
130๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal$15
131๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria$14
132๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Nicaragua$12
133๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-Bissau$12
134๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania$12
135๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ Cuba$11
136๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda$11
137๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova$11
138๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ Papua New Guinea$10
139๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger$10
140๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ Tajikistan$9
141๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic$8
142๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique$8
143๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana$8
144๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin$7
145๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi$7
146๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan$6
147๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia$6
148๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia$5
149๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช Venezuela$5
150๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi$4
151๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone$3
152๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar$3
153๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Dem. Rep. of Congo$3
154๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia$3
155๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น Haiti$2
156๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท Costa Rica$0
157๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland$0
158๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ 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 countryโ€™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 spendingโ€”including parts of Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asiaโ€”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.

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