Military Spending Map Flips: Israel Leads World Per Capita

A new visualization of global defense spending reveals a dramatically different hierarchy when measured per citizen rather than total budget.
According to 2024 data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel ranks first in the world at nearly $5,000 per person, driven by mandatory military service and acute security challenges despite a total budget of just $47 billion.
The United States places second at $2,895 per capita, reflecting its enormous $997 billion defense outlay spread across a large population.
Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Norway, and Ukraine round out the top tiers, with per-person spending exceeding $1,700. Meanwhile, global superpower China drops to $221 per capita, its $300 billion budget diluted across 1.4 billion citizens.
European powers like Germany, France, and the U.K. cluster in the middle, balancing defense commitments with larger populations.
This per-capita lens reveals which nations truly prioritize military investment relative to their people, elevating smaller, wealthier, or embattled countries above traditional budget giants.