Japan vs South Korea: Military expenditure

Japan

55.27 billion current USD

in 2024

South Korea

47.57 billion current USD

in 2024

Japan rank

10th

South Korea rank

11th

Military expenditure over time

Japan currently reports 55.27 billion current USD against 47.57 billion current USD in South Korea, a difference of 7.70 billion current USD.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.2 times South Korea's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Japan ahead.

Globally, Japan ranks 10th and South Korea ranks 11th of 167 countries.

Indicator: Military expenditure (current USD)
Unit: current USD
Source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 211 places, 10,601 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Military spending USD, in current prices (converted at the exchange rate for the given year)