[OC] G20 military expenditure as a percentage of GDP in 2025 (excluding the AU and EU)

Data sources: [https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/military-spending-as-a-share-of-gdp-sipri](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/military-spending-as-a-share-of-gdp-sipri)

Tools used: [https://qgis.org](https://qgis.org/)

The Saudi figure is sort of a misnomer as its not strictly “military” spending. They famously use military purchases as, primarily, a vehicle for acquiring political connections. This is to say that they deliberately spend *far* beyond the actual value of the equipment or contracts they’re purchasing because the long term connection and soft power that accompanies the deal is the actual goal.

Think of it as less “Saudi spending $10 on tanks because they need tanks” and more “Saudi spending $100 on making sure the US (or whoever, but usually the US) is going to be in its corner, and also they get some tanks thrown in.”