Military Spending Around the World

September 11, 2015 in News by RBN Staff

Security Spending Around the World

GlobalSpending

Security Spending Around the World

The United States spends more on security and defense than any other country in the world. Let’s look at what we and other countries spend.

It’s a Defensive World
Global military spending accounts for nearly $2 trillion every year, and there’s little sign that will slow down soon.

$1.76 trillion

Global military spending, 2014 (1)

$249

Per-capita global spending (2)

Change in spending by region, 1988-2014 (3)

Africa: 182%

Americas: 13%

Asia/Oceana: 232%

Europe: -45%

Middle East: 148%

Share of world spending, top 15 and rest of world (1)

U.S.: 34%

China: 12%

Russia: 4.8%

Saudi Arabia: 4.5%

France: 3.5%

United Kingdom: 3.4%

India: 2.8%

Germany: 2.6%

Japan: 2.6%

South Korea: 2.1%

Brazil: 1.8%

Italy: 1.7%

Australia: 1.4%

UAE: 1.3%

Turkey: 1.3%

Rest of world: 20%

War and Peace
Military spending doesn’t necessarily equal a more peaceful existence. Here’s a look at how countries stack up on an index of peace.

Global peace index (lower numbers indicate higher levels of peace and safety) (4)

Afghanistan: 3.427

Albania: 1.821

Algeria: 2.131

Angola: 2.020

Argentina: 1.865

Armenia: 2.028

Australia: 1.329

Austria: 1.198

Azerbaijan: 2.325

Bahrain: 2.142

Bangladesh: 1.997

Belarus: 2.173

Belgium: 1.368

Benin: 1.958

Bhutan: 1.416

Bolivia: 2.025

Bosnia & Herzegovina: 1.839

Botswana: 1.597

Brazil: 2.122

Bulgaria: 1.607

Burkina Faso: 1.994

Burundi: 2.323

Cambodia: 2.179

Cameroon: 2.349

Canada: 1.287

Central African Republic: 3.332

Chad: 2.429

Chile: 1.563

China: 2.267

Colombia: 2.720

Congo: 2.196

Democratic Republic of the Congo: 3.085

Costa Rica: 1.654

Croatia: 1.550

Cuba: 1.988

Cyprus: 1.924

Czech Republic: 1.341

Denmark: 1.150

Djibouti: 2.113

Dominican Republic: 2.089

Ecuador: 1.997

Egypt: 2.382

El Salvador: 2.263

Equatorial Guinea: 1.987

Estonia: 1.677

Ethiopia: 2.234

Finland: 1.277

France: 1.742

Gabon: 1.904

Gambia: 2.086

Georgia: 1.973

Germany: 1.379

Ghana: 1.840

Greece: 1.878

Guatemala: 2.215

Guinea: 2.214

Guinea-Bissau: 2.235

Guyana: 2.029

Haiti: 2.074

Honduras: 2.210

Hungary: 1.463

Iceland: 1.148

India: 2.504

Indonesia: 1.768

Iran: 2.409

Iraq: 3.444

Ireland: 1.354

Israel: 2.781

Italy: 1.669

Ivory Coast: 2.133

Jamaica: 2.153

Japan: 1.322

Jordan: 1.944

Kazakhstan: 2.008

Kenya: 2.342

Kosovo: 1.938

Kuwait: 1.626

Kyrgyzstan: 2.249

Laos: 1.700

Latvia: 1.695

Lebanon: 2.623

Lesotho: 1.891

Liberia: 1.963

Libya: 2.819

Lithuania: 1.674

Macedonia: 1.944

Madagascar: 1.911

Malawi: 1.814

Malaysia: 1.561

Mali: 2.310

Mauritania: 2.262

Mauritius: 1.503

Mexico: 2.530

Moldova: 1.942

Mongolia: 1.706

Montenegro: 1.854

Morocco: 2.002

Mozambique: 1.976

Myanmar: 2.323

Namibia: 1.784

Nepal: 1.882

Netherlands: 1.432

New Zealand: 1.221

Nicaragua: 1.947

Nigeria: 2.910

North Korea: 2.977

Norway: 1.393

Oman: 1.947

Pakistan: 3.049

Panama: 1.903

Papua New Guinea: 2.064

Paraguay: 2.023

Peru: 2.029

Philippines: 2.462

Portugal: 1.344

Qatar: 1.568

Romania: 1.542

Russia: 2.954

Rwanda: 2.420

Saudi Arabia: 2.042

Senegal: 1.805

Serbia: 1.768

Sierra Leone: 1.864

Singapore: 1.490

Slovakia: 1.478

Slovenia: 1.378

Somalia: 3.307

South Africa: 2.376

South Korea: 1.701

South Sudan: 3.383

Spain: 1.451

Sri Lanka: 2.188

Sudan: 3.295

Swaziland: 2.102

Sweden: 1.360

Switzerland: 1.275

Syria: 3.645

Taiwan: 1.657

Tajikistan: 2.152

Tanzania: 1.903

Thailand: 2.303

Timor-Leste: 1.860

Togo: 1.944

Trinidad and Tobago: 2.070

Tunisia: 1.952

Turkey: 2.363

Turkmenistan: 2.138

UAE: 1.805

Uganda: 2.179

Ukraine: 2.845

United Kingdom: 1.685

United States: 2.038

Uruguay: 1.721

Uzbekistan: 2.187

Venezuela: 2.493

Vietnam: 1.848

Yemen: 2.751

Zambia: 1.846

Zimbabwe: 2.294

What We’re Spending On
Here’s a look at how the most recent U.S. defense budget breaks down: (5)

Department of Defense: $586.9 billion

Nuclear weapons: $18.6 billion

Defense-related activities*: $8.2 billion

Military retirement not scored to DoD: $35.8 billion

DoD retiree health care fund: $1.1 billion

Veterans Affairs: $151.3 billion

International affairs: $38.5 billion

Homeland Security**: $51 billion

Share of interest on debt: $76.3 billion

*Generally international FBI activities, Selective Service and other defense-related activities

** Excluding DoD, Department of Energy, State Department and VA