Military spending in Germany

Germany: Military spending was 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
62.28 billion constant 2022 US$
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
10th
of 172 countries
All-time high
681.50 billion constant 2022 US$
in 1944
All-time low
252.73 million constant 2022 US$
in 1818
Years of data
196
1816–2020

Military spending in Germany, 1816–2020

0200.0B400.0B600.0B181619182020

Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in constant 2022 US$.

Analysis

Germany recorded 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ for military spending in 2020.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 17.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military spending in Germany peaked at 681.50 billion constant 2022 US$ in 1944 and was at its lowest, 252.73 million constant 2022 US$, in 1818.

Germany ranks 10th of 172 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1810s 270.40 million constant 2022 US$ 252.73 million constant 2022 US$ 289.77 million constant 2022 US$ 4
1820s 345.15 million constant 2022 US$ 298.75 million constant 2022 US$ 378.73 million constant 2022 US$ 10
1830s 401.08 million constant 2022 US$ 348.80 million constant 2022 US$ 435.37 million constant 2022 US$ 10
1840s 492.16 million constant 2022 US$ 463.67 million constant 2022 US$ 519.98 million constant 2022 US$ 10
1850s 552.10 million constant 2022 US$ 485.37 million constant 2022 US$ 648.61 million constant 2022 US$ 10
1860s 781.43 million constant 2022 US$ 641.66 million constant 2022 US$ 1.09 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1870s 2.20 billion constant 2022 US$ 1.71 billion constant 2022 US$ 3.83 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1880s 2.68 billion constant 2022 US$ 2.07 billion constant 2022 US$ 3.57 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1890s 4.40 billion constant 2022 US$ 3.74 billion constant 2022 US$ 4.99 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1900s 6.07 billion constant 2022 US$ 5.29 billion constant 2022 US$ 7.54 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1910s 55.80 billion constant 2022 US$ 967.45 million constant 2022 US$ 142.41 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1920s 2.29 billion constant 2022 US$ 672.99 million constant 2022 US$ 6.76 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1930s 42.73 billion constant 2022 US$ 2.47 billion constant 2022 US$ 195.51 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1940s 461.51 billion constant 2022 US$ 148.15 billion constant 2022 US$ 681.50 billion constant 2022 US$ 6
1950s 16.11 billion constant 2022 US$ 13.60 billion constant 2022 US$ 19.59 billion constant 2022 US$ 5
1960s 33.84 billion constant 2022 US$ 22.01 billion constant 2022 US$ 40.92 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1970s 57.63 billion constant 2022 US$ 40.33 billion constant 2022 US$ 69.61 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1980s 61.84 billion constant 2022 US$ 55.59 billion constant 2022 US$ 66.58 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
1990s 58.21 billion constant 2022 US$ 47.03 billion constant 2022 US$ 64.29 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
2000s 50.24 billion constant 2022 US$ 44.25 billion constant 2022 US$ 55.46 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
2010s 51.82 billion constant 2022 US$ 45.72 billion constant 2022 US$ 62.39 billion constant 2022 US$ 10
2020s 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ 1

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 7 France 71.97 billion constant 2022 US$ compare
  2. 8 Ukraine 62.62 billion constant 2022 US$ compare
  3. 9 Japan 62.31 billion constant 2022 US$ compare
  4. 11 South Korea 57.02 billion constant 2022 US$ compare
  5. 12 Italy 41.14 billion constant 2022 US$ compare
  6. 13 Australia 38.94 billion constant 2022 US$ compare

See the full ranking of 172 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is military spending in Germany?
Military spending in Germany was 62.28 billion constant 2022 US$ in 2020, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest military spending recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 681.50 billion constant 2022 US$ in 1944.
What is the lowest military spending recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 252.73 million constant 2022 US$ in 1818.
How does Germany rank for military spending?
Germany ranks 10th out of 172 countries with data for 2020.
Is military spending rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 196 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.