Russia vs United States: Military spending

Russia
120.26 billion constant 2022 US$
in 2023
United States
1.06 trillion constant 2022 US$
in 2023
Russia rank
3rd
United States rank
1st

Military spending over time

  • Russia
  • United States
0250.0B500.0B750.0B1.0T1.2T181619192023

How they compare

United States currently reports 1.06 trillion constant 2022 US$ against 120.26 billion constant 2022 US$ in Russia, a difference of 944.68 billion constant 2022 US$.

That makes United States's figure about 8.9 times Russia's.

The two have swapped places 11 times across 208 shared years of data; in 1816 it was Russia ahead.

Russia ranks 3rd and United States ranks 1st of 172 countries.

Across the 22 decades both report, Russia averaged higher in 13 and United States in 9.

Head to head by decade

Decade Russia United States Difference Ahead
1810s 698.98 million constant 2022 US$ 192.89 million constant 2022 US$ 506.09 million constant 2022 US$ Russia
1820s 841.24 million constant 2022 US$ 160.36 million constant 2022 US$ 680.87 million constant 2022 US$ Russia
1830s 1.10 billion constant 2022 US$ 277.29 million constant 2022 US$ 819.61 million constant 2022 US$ Russia
1840s 1.96 billion constant 2022 US$ 585.22 million constant 2022 US$ 1.37 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1850s 3.02 billion constant 2022 US$ 751.64 million constant 2022 US$ 2.26 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1860s 2.54 billion constant 2022 US$ 8.20 billion constant 2022 US$ 5.67 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
1870s 3.67 billion constant 2022 US$ 1.35 billion constant 2022 US$ 2.32 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1880s 2.98 billion constant 2022 US$ 1.33 billion constant 2022 US$ 1.64 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1890s 4.58 billion constant 2022 US$ 3.02 billion constant 2022 US$ 1.56 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1900s 8.44 billion constant 2022 US$ 5.91 billion constant 2022 US$ 2.52 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1910s 34.65 billion constant 2022 US$ 29.28 billion constant 2022 US$ 5.37 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1920s 21.65 billion constant 2022 US$ 10.79 billion constant 2022 US$ 10.86 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1930s 60.73 billion constant 2022 US$ 13.99 billion constant 2022 US$ 46.74 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1940s 114.32 billion constant 2022 US$ 444.98 billion constant 2022 US$ 330.66 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
1950s 202.38 billion constant 2022 US$ 376.83 billion constant 2022 US$ 174.45 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
1960s 300.59 billion constant 2022 US$ 429.77 billion constant 2022 US$ 129.18 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
1970s 430.34 billion constant 2022 US$ 392.68 billion constant 2022 US$ 37.67 billion constant 2022 US$ Russia
1980s 444.40 billion constant 2022 US$ 531.55 billion constant 2022 US$ 87.15 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
1990s 115.79 billion constant 2022 US$ 508.22 billion constant 2022 US$ 392.44 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
2000s 52.70 billion constant 2022 US$ 661.16 billion constant 2022 US$ 608.46 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
2010s 67.36 billion constant 2022 US$ 789.72 billion constant 2022 US$ 722.36 billion constant 2022 US$ United States
2020s 98.21 billion constant 2022 US$ 1.02 trillion constant 2022 US$ 924.87 billion constant 2022 US$ United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military spending, Russia or United States?
United States, at 1.06 trillion constant 2022 US$ against 120.26 billion constant 2022 US$ in Russia as of 2023.
What is the difference in military spending between Russia and United States?
944.68 billion constant 2022 US$, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and United States?
208 years are reported by both, from 1816 to 2023.
How do Russia and United States rank globally for military spending?
Russia ranks 3rd and United States ranks 1st 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.