Uruguay leads South America in military spending per capita

What it is

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its annual military spending report on 17 May 2026. The next day, Ámbito published Uruguay's figures: "more than 577 dollars per inhabitant" in 2025 — against US$297.1 for Guyana, US$272.8 for Colombia, US$268.9 for Chile, US$112.7 for Brazil and US$84.7 for Argentina — a total of US$1,954.3 million, 2.28% of GDP and around 7.09% of public spending, the second-highest share in the region behind Colombia (9.29%). Ámbito puts the starting point in 2020, when spending was US$320.90 per inhabitant: a 79.87% rise in five years.

What is questioned

The figure that puts Uruguay at the top of the region is not mainly a measure of weapons. SIPRI's own data questionnaire states that "military pensions must be included in accordance with SIPRI's definition of military expenditure" and asks each country for an estimate if they are not counted. And an analysis by economist Ronny Correa-Quezada (Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja), published on 28 May 2025 by the Spanish Regional Science Association, notes that in Uruguay "almost 50% of the defence budget goes to the Retirement and Pensions Service" of the armed forces. A discrepancy between the outlets reporting the same SIPRI data should also be flagged: Ámbito reports 577 and 320.90 dollars as spending per inhabitant and US$1,954.3 million as the country total, while MercoPress publishes 577.2 and 320.9 million dollars as Uruguay's total spending in 2025 and 2020, with an increase "close to 80%". This file publishes both readings.

Why it matters to you

If nearly half of what Uruguay reports as defence spending is retirements and pensions, the country can rank first in the region while still sailing 1960s ships and cutting fuel and medical supplies. The question the figure opens is not how much is spent, but on what: international comparisons can mislead unless the pension share is stripped out.

Where it stands