Military spending in MENA by selected country 2021

In 2021, the annual military spending in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was the highest for Saudi Arabia at about 53.7 billion U.S. dollars.

MENA military trends

Saudi Arabia was ranked fifth among the top global military spenders in 2019. It is the largest military spender in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Saudi’s military spending reached its all-time high during 2015 when it was the third-largest military spender globally. Saudi Arabia was expected to increase its military spending following tension with Iran after an Iranian missile attacked Saudi’s oil industry in 2019, and with its military operations in Yemen. The MENA region had the highest average military spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to other regions. Military spending as a share of GDP in Saudi Arabia in 2019 reached eight percent. The high military burden reflects instability and conflict in the region.

MENA budget deficit

The military expenditure of the MENA region on average is above their fiscal capabilities as the budgets allocated to operations leave less than the required amounts for the demands of the public. The average public debt as a share of GDP of the MENA region was about 40 percent in 2018. The governments of the region have been favoring using tactics such as having a strong army to delay the involvement of the democratic wave in the governing process, over the option of changing their social approach to accommodate the needs of the public. However, the majority of the public has high confidence in the military and government institutions in the region. The military forces of countries of the MENA region are known to have a strong involvement in the economic matters of the countries such as high levels of military spending post the Arab Spring to dampen any further social mobilization or uprisings. In 2020, Yemen had the highest risk of development deficit and deprivation among conflict countries in the region, followed by Syria.