That’s the ungodly amount America spends on the military every year

VaselineSeptember 23, 2024

0 5 minutes read

That’s the ungodly amount America spends on the military every year

The United States, China, and Russia are among the most powerful militaries in the world, and much of that is because they spend the most on their respective militaries. It’s no secret that how much countries spend on their militaries corresponds to their position on the world stage. Here at 24/7 Wall St. take a closer look at the countries that spend the most on their militaries. (See how the US military budget has skyrocketed over the years.)

To identify the countries with the largest defense budgets, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2024 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense statistics website with information on 145 countries. Countries were ordered by their defense budgets. We’ve included additional information on each country’s total personnel, total population, aircraft and vehicles, and overall military power score.

Here’s a look at the countries with the largest defense budgets:

Why are we covering this?

That’s the ungodly amount America spends on the military every year

Understanding defense budgets for different countries provides context for their military capabilities. Equipping your troops with the latest technology costs money, but it also acts as a force multiplier. So there is a balance that countries with limited budgets have to find what they can afford to get the best bang for their buck.

25. Mexico

Defense budget: 14.82 billion dollars
Total population: 129,875,529
Total military personnel: 630,655
Total military aircraft: 462
Total military vehicles: 17,601
Total naval vessels: 194
Military Power Score: 0.4274 – #31 of 145

24. United Arab Emirates

Defense budget: 15.50 billion dollars
Total population: 9,973,449
Total military personnel: 207,000
Total military aircraft: 560
Total military vehicles: 12,253
Total naval vessels: 79
Military Power Score: 0.8083 – #51 of 145

23. Taiwan

Defense budget: 19.10 billion dollars
Total population: 23,588,613
Total military personnel: 2,580,000
Total military aircraft: 750
Total military vehicles: 19,868
Total naval vessels: 93
Military Power Score: 0.3302 – #24 of 145

22. Algeria

Defense budget: 21.60 billion dollars
Total population: 44,758,398
Total military personnel: 610,000
Total military aircraft: 605
Total military vehicles: 35,990
Total naval vessels: 213
Military Power Score: 0.3589 – #26 of 145

21. Spain

Defense budget: $22.00 billion
Total population: 47,222,613
Total military personnel: 226,902
Total military aircraft: 513
Total military vehicles: 15,046
Total naval vessels: 168
Military Power Score: 0.2882 – #20 of 145

20. Venezuela

Defense budget: 24.12 billion dollars
Total population: 30,518,260
Total military personnel: 337,000
Total military aircraft: 242
Total military vehicles: 14,966
Total naval vessels: 32
Military Power Score: 0.9447 – #57 of 145

19. Israel

Defense budget: 24.40 billion dollars
Total population: 9,043,387
Total military personnel: 670,000
Total military aircraft: 612
Total military vehicles: 43,407
Total naval vessels: 67
Military Power Score: 0.2596 – #17 of 145

18. Brazil

Defense budget: 24.75 billion dollars
Total population: 218,689,757
Total military personnel: 900,000
Total military aircraft: 628
Total military vehicles: 44,044
Total naval vessels: 134
Military Power Score: 0.1944 – #12 of 145

17. Indonesia

Defense budget: 25.00 billion dollars
Total population: 279,476,346
Total military personnel: 1,050,000
Total military aircraft: 474
Total military vehicles: 11,604
Total naval vessels: 333
Military Power Score: 0.2251 – #13 of 145

16. Canada

Defense budget: 26.50 billion dollars
Total population: 38,516,736
Total military personnel: 100,500
Total military aircraft: 375
Total military vehicles: 18,054
Total naval vessels: 67
Military Power Score: 0.3813 – #27 of 145

15. Italy

Defense budget: 31.60 billion dollars
Total population: 61,021,855
Total military personnel: 289,000
Total military aircraft: 800
Total military vehicles: 61,892
Total naval vessels: 309
Military Power Score: 0.1863 – #10 of 145

14. Poland

Defense budget: 38.36 billion dollars
Total population: 37,991,766
Total military personnel: 602.100
Total military aircraft: 468
Total military vehicles: 13,956
Total naval vessels: 45
Military Power Score: 0.2917 – #21 of 145

13. Turkey

Defense budget: 40.00 billion dollars
Total population: 83,593,483
Total military personnel: 883,900
Total military aircraft: 1,069
Total military vehicles: 55,104
Total naval vessels: 186
Military Power Score: 0.1697 – #8 of 145

12. Ukraine

Ukraine+military | On the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, the President presents the Gold Star orders, the Cross of Combat Merit awards, the awards of military units with honorary titles.

Defense budget: $42.00 billion
Total population: 43,306,477
Total military personnel: 2,200,000
Total military aircraft: 321
Total military vehicles: 22,110
Total naval vessels: 104
Military Power Score: 0.2598 – #18 of 145

11. South Korea

Defense budget: 44.70 billion dollars
Total population: 51,966,948
Total military personnel: 3,820,000
Total military aircraft: 1,576
Total military vehicles: 66,492
Total naval vessels: 200
Military Power Score: 0.1416 – #5 of 145

10. France

Defense budget: 49.73 billion dollars
Total population: 68,521,974
Total military personnel: 376,000
Total military aircraft: 972
Total military vehicles: 85,023
Total naval vessels: 128
Military Power Score: 0.1878 – #11 of 145

9. Australia

Defense budget: 52.56 billion dollars
Total population: 26,461,166
Total military personnel: 89,400
Total military aircraft: 325
Total military vehicles: 16,162
Total naval vessels: 43
Military Power Score: 0.2515 – #16 of 145

8. Japan

Defense budget: 53.00 billion dollars
Total population: 123,719,238
Total military personnel: 328,150
Total military aircraft: 1,459
Total military vehicles: 37,662
Total naval vessels: 155
Military Power Score: 0.1601 – #7 of 145

7. Germany

Defense budget: 55.94 billion dollars
Total population: 84,220,184
Total military personnel: 215,600
Total military aircraft: 618
Total military vehicles: 79,317
Total naval vessels: 64
Military Power Score: 0.2847 – #19 of 145

6. United Kingdom

Defense budget: 62.82 billion dollars
Total population: 68,138,484
Total military personnel: 1,108,860
Total military aircraft: 664
Total military vehicles: 27,203
Total naval vessels: 117
Military Power Score: 0.1443 – #6 of 145

5. Saudi Arabia

Defense budget: 71.72 billion dollars
Total population: 35,959,806
Total military personnel: 407,000
Total military aircraft: 914
Total military vehicles: 20,694
Total naval vessels: 57
Military Power Score: 0.3235 – #23 of 145

4. India

Defense budget: 74.00 billion dollars
Total population: 1,399,179,585
Total military personnel: 5,137,550
Total military aircraft: 2,296
Total military vehicles: 151,248
Total naval vessels: 294
Military Power Score: 0.1023 – #4 of 145

3. Russia

Defense budget: $109.00 billion
Total population: 141,698,923
Total military personnel: 3,570,000
Total military aircraft: 4,255
Total military vehicles: 161,382
Total naval vessels: 781
Military Power Score: 0.0702 – #2 of 145

2. China

Defense budget: $227.00 billion
Total population: 1,413,142,846
Total military personnel: 3,170,000
Total military aircraft: 3,304
Total military vehicles: 174,300
Total naval vessels: 730
Military Power Score: 0.0706 – #3 of 145

1. United States of America

Defense budget: 831.78 billion USD
Total population: 339,665,118
Total military personnel: 2,127,500
Total military aircraft: 13,209
Total military vehicles: 360,069
Total naval vessels: 472
Military Power Score: 0.0699 – #1 of 145

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