El Salvador vs Guatemala: Military spending

El Salvador
509.92 million constant 2022 US$
in 2023
Guatemala
494.92 million constant 2022 US$
in 2023
El Salvador rank
111th
Guatemala rank
114th

Military spending over time

  • El Salvador
  • Guatemala
0200.0M400.0M600.0M186819452023

How they compare

El Salvador currently reports 509.92 million constant 2022 US$ against 494.92 million constant 2022 US$ in Guatemala, a difference of 15.01 million constant 2022 US$.

The two have swapped places 12 times across 149 shared years of data; in 1875 it was El Salvador ahead.

El Salvador ranks 111th and Guatemala ranks 114th of 172 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, El Salvador averaged higher in 2 and Guatemala in 14.

Head to head by decade

Decade El Salvador Guatemala Difference Ahead
1870s 23.54 million constant 2022 US$ 25.54 million constant 2022 US$ 2.00 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1880s 16.24 million constant 2022 US$ 26.80 million constant 2022 US$ 10.56 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1890s 33.18 million constant 2022 US$ 45.74 million constant 2022 US$ 12.57 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1900s 23.78 million constant 2022 US$ 61.41 million constant 2022 US$ 37.63 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1910s 29.07 million constant 2022 US$ 15.31 million constant 2022 US$ 13.76 million constant 2022 US$ El Salvador
1920s 3.64 million constant 2022 US$ 14.07 million constant 2022 US$ 10.43 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1930s 14.67 million constant 2022 US$ 29.24 million constant 2022 US$ 14.56 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1940s 23.63 million constant 2022 US$ 37.29 million constant 2022 US$ 13.66 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1950s 52.22 million constant 2022 US$ 69.92 million constant 2022 US$ 17.70 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1960s 61.89 million constant 2022 US$ 95.21 million constant 2022 US$ 33.32 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1970s 109.40 million constant 2022 US$ 170.10 million constant 2022 US$ 60.70 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
1980s 377.48 million constant 2022 US$ 306.72 million constant 2022 US$ 70.76 million constant 2022 US$ El Salvador
1990s 243.42 million constant 2022 US$ 256.97 million constant 2022 US$ 13.55 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
2000s 175.37 million constant 2022 US$ 214.87 million constant 2022 US$ 39.51 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
2010s 204.74 million constant 2022 US$ 299.32 million constant 2022 US$ 94.58 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala
2020s 427.96 million constant 2022 US$ 460.54 million constant 2022 US$ 32.58 million constant 2022 US$ Guatemala

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military spending, El Salvador or Guatemala?
El Salvador, at 509.92 million constant 2022 US$ against 494.92 million constant 2022 US$ in Guatemala as of 2023.
What is the difference in military spending between El Salvador and Guatemala?
15.01 million constant 2022 US$, with El Salvador ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for El Salvador and Guatemala?
149 years are reported by both, from 1875 to 2023.
How do El Salvador and Guatemala rank globally for military spending?
El Salvador ranks 111th and Guatemala ranks 114th of 172 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Military spending
Unit
constant 2022 US$
Source
Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
172 places, 15,402 data points, 1816–2023
Last refreshed

This data is expressed in US dollars. It is adjusted for inflation but does not account for differences in the cost of living between countries.