Germany vs Japan: Military spending
Germany
62.28 billion constant 2022 US$
in 2020
Japan
62.31 billion constant 2022 US$
in 2023
Germany rank
10th
Japan rank
9th
Military spending over time
- Germany
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 62.31 billion constant 2022 US$ against 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ in Germany, a difference of 31.80 million constant 2022 US$.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 152 shared years of data; in 1860 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 10th and Japan ranks 9th of 172 countries.
Across the 17 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 13 and Japan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 781.43 million constant 2022 US$ | 47.33 million constant 2022 US$ | 734.10 million constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1870s | 2.20 billion constant 2022 US$ | 164.74 million constant 2022 US$ | 2.04 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1880s | 2.68 billion constant 2022 US$ | 279.46 million constant 2022 US$ | 2.40 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1890s | 4.40 billion constant 2022 US$ | 1.02 billion constant 2022 US$ | 3.38 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1900s | 6.07 billion constant 2022 US$ | 3.28 billion constant 2022 US$ | 2.79 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1910s | 55.80 billion constant 2022 US$ | 3.08 billion constant 2022 US$ | 52.72 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1920s | 2.29 billion constant 2022 US$ | 3.57 billion constant 2022 US$ | 1.28 billion constant 2022 US$ | Japan |
| 1930s | 42.73 billion constant 2022 US$ | 9.82 billion constant 2022 US$ | 32.92 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1940s | 461.51 billion constant 2022 US$ | 84.63 billion constant 2022 US$ | 376.88 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1950s | 16.11 billion constant 2022 US$ | 3.87 billion constant 2022 US$ | 12.24 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1960s | 33.84 billion constant 2022 US$ | 6.32 billion constant 2022 US$ | 27.53 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1970s | 57.63 billion constant 2022 US$ | 18.26 billion constant 2022 US$ | 39.36 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1980s | 61.84 billion constant 2022 US$ | 38.49 billion constant 2022 US$ | 23.34 billion constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
| 1990s | 58.21 billion constant 2022 US$ | 64.05 billion constant 2022 US$ | 5.83 billion constant 2022 US$ | Japan |
| 2000s | 50.24 billion constant 2022 US$ | 58.92 billion constant 2022 US$ | 8.69 billion constant 2022 US$ | Japan |
| 2010s | 51.82 billion constant 2022 US$ | 58.06 billion constant 2022 US$ | 6.24 billion constant 2022 US$ | Japan |
| 2020s | 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ | 62.25 billion constant 2022 US$ | 31.80 million constant 2022 US$ | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending, Germany or Japan?
- Japan, at 62.31 billion constant 2022 US$ against 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ in Germany as of 2023.
- What is the difference in military spending between Germany and Japan?
- 31.80 million constant 2022 US$, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Japan?
- 152 years are reported by both, from 1860 to 2020.
- How do Germany and Japan rank globally for military spending?
- Germany ranks 10th and Japan ranks 9th 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
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.