The U.S. has historically devoted a larger share of its economy to defense than other G7 countries

Defense Spending (% of GDP)

In this line chart, the United States begins with the highest defense spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at 5.6 percent in 1975. Each countries' defense spending as a percentage of GDP trends lower over time except for Japan. By Jan 1, 2022, the United States' defense spending drops to 3.5 percent of GDP, which is higher than the other six countries. The next highest is the United Kingdom's defense spending at 2.2 percent of GDP.
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Get the dataEmbed Download image
Notes: Data for the United States are for the fiscal year that ended on September 30 of the stated year. Data for all other countries are based on calendar years. The G7, or Group of Seven, is a forum for the countries that have the world’s largest advanced economies. The source for this chart uses a definition of defense spending that is more broad than budget function 050 and defense discretionary spending.