Qatar vs Saudi Arabia
Qatar vs Saudi Arabia: Military spending per person
Military spending per person: $5,428 in Qatar in 2022 and $2,428 in Saudi Arabia in 2025, by SIPRI estimates. In 2022 the value was higher in Qatar, by $3,175, or 2.41 times that in Saudi Arabia.
US dollars per person · SIPRI
What the numbers say
- Qatar has been higher since 2021, when it overtook Saudi Arabia.
Every year
US dollars per person · SIPRI
| Year | Qatar | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | – | $2,428 |
| 2024 | – | $2,386 |
| 2023 | – | $2,366 |
| 2022 | $5,428 | $2,253 |
| 2021 | $4,154 | $2,027 |
| 2020 | – | $2,095 |
| 2019 | – | $2,169 |
| 2018 | – | $2,439 |
| 2017 | – | $2,273 |
| 2016 | – | $2,090 |
| 2015 | – | $2,957 |
| 2014 | – | $2,833 |
| 2013 | – | $2,433 |
| 2012 | – | $2,125 |
| 2011 | – | $1,894 |
| 2010 | $1,134 | $1,833 |
| 2009 | $1,285 | $1,738 |
| 2008 | $1,733 | $1,675 |
| 2007 | $1,446 | $1,619 |
| 2006 | $1,231 | $1,408 |
| 2005 | $1,130 | $1,262 |
| 2004 | $1,014 | $1,088 |
| 2003 | $1,078 | $1,022 |
| 2002 | $1,096 | $1,059 |
| 2001 | – | $1,266 |
| 2000 | – | $1,268 |
| 1999 | – | $1,206 |
| 1998 | – | $1,424 |
| 1997 | – | $1,285 |
| 1996 | – | $984 |
| 1995 | – | $1,014 |
| 1994 | – | $1,144 |
| 1993 | – | $1,377 |
| 1992 | – | $1,345 |
| 1991 | $2,002 | $1,501 |
| 1990 | $1,827 | $1,575 |
| 1989 | $2,028 | $1,291 |
| 1988 | $2,431 | $1,423 |
- Estimate
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the country spends on its armed forces and defence for each person living there, in US dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation.
- Source: Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Military Expenditure Database, https://doi.org/10.55163/CQGC9685.
- Marked points are SIPRI’s own: a dot where it gives the figure as its estimate, a ring where it calls the figure highly uncertain.
- Ranks count the 151 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Qatar vs Saudi Arabia
Health
- Life expectancyQatar: 82.4 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 78.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityQatar: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024Saudi Arabia: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityQatar: 4.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023Saudi Arabia: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionQatar: 3.48% in 2017Saudi Arabia: 3.54% in 2017
- Suicide rateQatar: 4.6 per 100,000 people in 2017Saudi Arabia: 2.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationQatar: 2.98 million people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 33.3 million people in 2023
- Population growthQatar: 2.24% a year in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.39% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateQatar: 1.73 births per woman in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.28 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationQatar: 99.4% in 2025Saudi Arabia: 84.6% in 2025
- Median ageQatar: 33.2 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 29.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overQatar: 1.6% in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.8% in 2023
- Net migration rateQatar: 13.4 per 1,000 people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 9.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingQatar: 6.5% of GDP in 2022Saudi Arabia: 6.48% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsQatar: $16.1B in 2022Saudi Arabia: $81.5B in 2025
- Military share of state spendingQatar: 26.9% of government spending in 2022Saudi Arabia: 23.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelQatar: 22,000 people in 2020Saudi Arabia: 282,000 people in 2020
- National powerQatar: 0.18% of world capability in 2022Saudi Arabia: 1.34% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersQatar: 1.07% of the labour force in 2020Saudi Arabia: 1.92% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsQatar: 1.05 billion TIV in 2025Saudi Arabia: 3.04 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsQatar: 2 million TIV in 2025Saudi Arabia: 3 million TIV in 2023