1. Saudi Arabia
Total annual spending on military (in $US billion): 66,996
Ranking according to total annual spending on military: 4
Spending on military as a percentage of GDP: 9.3%
Ranking according to spending on military as a percentage of GDP: 2
Spending an astounding 9% of their GDP on their military, Saudi Arabia takes the top spot in the 10 countries that spend the most on the military. This may come as a surprise because Saudi Arabia isn’t currently involved in any wars. However, it is important to note that the country is located in a tense region that has seen lots of wars, especially in the last few decades. Add to this the tense relationships the nation has with Iran, Iraq and Israel, and suddenly it doesn’t seem surprising that the country is also the largest importer of arms in the world, after buying weapons costing over $6 billion in the last year alone. Predictions state that in this year, for every seven dollars spent on weapons by a country, one dollar would have been spent by Saudi Arabia.
