Canada vs Sweden: Military spending per armed forces personnel
Canada
374,715 constant 2024 US$
in 2020
Sweden
450,217 constant 2024 US$
in 2020
Canada rank
8th
Sweden rank
5th
Military spending per armed forces personnel over time
- Canada
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 450,217 constant 2024 US$ against 374,715 constant 2024 US$ in Canada, a difference of 75,502 constant 2024 US$.
That makes Sweden's figure about 1.2 times Canada's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1985 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 8th and Sweden ranks 5th of 160 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 4 and Sweden in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 228,034 constant 2024 US$ | 101,364 constant 2024 US$ | 126,671 constant 2024 US$ | Canada |
| 1990s | 219,132 constant 2024 US$ | 81,861 constant 2024 US$ | 137,271 constant 2024 US$ | Canada |
| 2000s | 270,782 constant 2024 US$ | 184,812 constant 2024 US$ | 85,970 constant 2024 US$ | Canada |
| 2010s | 314,960 constant 2024 US$ | 274,096 constant 2024 US$ | 40,863 constant 2024 US$ | Canada |
| 2020s | 374,715 constant 2024 US$ | 450,217 constant 2024 US$ | 75,502 constant 2024 US$ | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher military spending per armed forces personnel, Canada or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 450,217 constant 2024 US$ against 374,715 constant 2024 US$ in Canada as of 2020.
- What is the difference in military spending per armed forces personnel between Canada and Sweden?
- 75,502 constant 2024 US$, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Sweden?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1985 to 2020.
- How do Canada and Sweden rank globally for military spending per armed forces personnel?
- Canada ranks 8th and Sweden ranks 5th of 160 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2026); The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Military spending per armed forces personnel. 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 armed forces personnel. 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.