Military budget

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Military spending in 2005

A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by an entity (most often a nation or a state), to raising and maintaining an armed forces. Military budgets often reflect how strongly an entity perceives the likelihood of threats against it, or the amount of aggression it wishes to employ. It also gives an idea of how much financing should be provided for the upcoming year. The size of a budget also reflects the entity's ability to fund military activities. Factors include the size of that entity's economy, other financial demands on that entity, and the willingness of that entity's government or people to fund such military activity. Generally excluded from military expenditures is spending on internal law enforcement and disabled veteran rehabilitation.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2011, world military expenditure for the world amounted to 1.735 trillion US$.[1]

World's top 15 military budgets 2013[edit]

Most of the world's largest military spenders (the United States,[2] China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom) are recognized to be world powers.

This list is based on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2014 which includes a list on the world's top 15 military spenders in 2013, based on current market exchange rates.[3]

The world's top 5 military spenders in 2013.
Rank Country Spending ($ Bn.)[3] % of GDP World share (%)
World total 1747.0 2.4 100
1 United States United States 640.0 3.8 36.6
2 China People's Republic of China[a] 188.0 2.0 10.8
3 Russia Russia[a] 87.8 4.1 5.0
4 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia[b] 67.0 9.3 3.8
5 France France 61.2 2.2 3.5
6 United Kingdom United Kingdom 57.9 2.3 3.3
7 Germany Germany[a] 48.8 1.4 2.8
8 Japan Japan 48.6 1.0 2.8
9 India India 47.4 2.5 2.7
10 South Korea South Korea 33.9 2.8 1.9
11 Italy Italy[a] 32.7 1.6 1.9
12 Brazil Brazil 31.5 1.4 1.8
13 Australia Australia 24.0 1.6 1.4
14 Turkey Turkey 19.1 2.3 1.1
15 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates[a][c] 19.0 4.7 1.1
  1. ^ a b c d e SIPRI estimate.
  3. ^ Data for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is for 2012, as figures for 2013 are not available.

Historic expenditure[edit]







Political science and economics[edit]

The effects of military expenditure on a nation's economy and society, and what determines military expenditure, are notable issues in political science and economics. There are controversial findings and theories regarding these topics. Generally, some suggest military expenditure is a boost to local economies.[7] Still, others maintain military expenditure is a drag on development.[8]

Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS)[edit]


See also[edit]


Further Reading[edit]

External links[edit]