Defence budgets skyrocketed in 2023, with global military expenditure soaring by 6.8% to hit a record high of $2.44 trillion (£1.9tn). And no wonder. Amid major conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, together with the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, we're living in dangerous times. 

The rise in military spending is “unprecedented”, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The organisation closely monitors military expenditure and calculates each nation's outlay as a share of its GDP, the so-called defence burden, which indicates how much of a priority defence is to a country.

With much of the world on a war footing, read on to discover the 30 nations spending the most on military defence in relation to GDP. 

All dollar amounts in US dollars.