Sweden vs United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Military spending per military personnel

Sweden
638,754
in 2022
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
535,686
in 2022
Sweden rank
4th
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank
6th

Military spending per military personnel over time

  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
0200.0k400.0k600.0k181619192022

How they compare

Sweden currently reports 638,754 against 535,686 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a difference of 103,068.

That makes Sweden's figure about 1.2 times United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's.

The two have swapped places 11 times across 165 shared years of data; in 1819 it was United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ahead.

Sweden ranks 4th and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 6th of 170 countries.

Across the 22 decades both report, Sweden averaged higher in 2 and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 20.

Head to head by decade

Decade Sweden United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Difference Ahead
1810s 782.65 7,120 6,338 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1820s 1,270 7,895 6,625 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1830s 1,514 7,601 6,087 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1840s 1,622 8,937 7,315 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1850s 1,417 9,486 8,070 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1860s 970.72 9,434 8,463 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1870s 1,454 9,548 8,094 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1880s 2,500 12,047 9,547 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1890s 4,195 15,201 11,006 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1900s 6,830 21,471 14,641 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1910s 7,829 21,665 13,836 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1920s 15,761 23,220 7,460 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1930s 18,484 35,423 16,939 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1940s 10,103 71,092 60,989 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1950s 156,430 63,059 93,371 Sweden
1960s 87,878 91,560 3,682 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1970s 118,365 127,187 8,821 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1980s 124,937 194,982 70,045 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1990s 136,077 250,430 114,353 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2000s 262,143 357,934 95,791 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2010s 344,999 427,346 82,348 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2020s 603,522 520,219 83,303 Sweden

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher military spending per military personnel, Sweden or United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Sweden, at 638,754 against 535,686 in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as of 2022.
What is the difference in military spending per military personnel between Sweden and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
103,068, with Sweden ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Sweden and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
165 years are reported by both, from 1819 to 2022.
How do Sweden and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank globally for military spending per military personnel?
Sweden ranks 4th and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 6th of 170 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Our World in Data, published as Military spending per military personnel. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Sweden vs United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Military spending per military personnel. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/military-spending-per-military-personnel/sweden/united-kingdom/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/military-spending-per-military-personnel/sweden/united-kingdom/">Sweden vs United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Military spending per military personnel</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Military spending per military personnel
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
170 places, 14,182 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed