Italy vs Japan: Military spending as a share of government spending
Italy
3.7%
in 2025
Japan
3.8%
in 2025
Italy rank
123rd
Japan rank
120th
Military spending as a share of government spending over time
- Italy
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 3.8% against 3.7% in Italy, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 38 shared years of data; in 1988 it was Italy ahead.
Italy ranks 123rd and Japan ranks 120th of 162 countries.
Italy has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Italy | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.9% | 3.1% | 0.9% | Italy |
| 1990s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 0.4% | Italy |
| 2000s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 0.7% | Italy |
| 2010s | 2.7% | 2.5% | 0.2% | Italy |
| 2020s | 3.1% | 2.9% | 0.2% | Italy |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending as a share of government spending, Italy or Japan?
- Japan, at 3.8% against 3.7% in Italy as of 2025.
- What is the difference in military spending as a share of government spending between Italy and Japan?
- 0.1%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and Japan?
- 38 years are reported by both, from 1988 to 2025.
- How do Italy and Japan rank globally for military spending as a share of government spending?
- Italy ranks 123rd and Japan ranks 120th of 162 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending as a share of government spending. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total military expenditure divided by government spending.