The World's Top 40 Largest Military Budgets

Zero Hedge: These Are The World's Top 40 Largest Military Budgets 

 In the final year of World War II, the U.S. spent about 38% of its GDP on its military. 

When adjusted for inflation, the military budget over those four years of war came to a staggering $4.1 trillion in 2020 dollars. 

And as Visual Capitalist's Pallave Rao and Joyce Ma detail below, almost 80 years later, modern day military spending isn’t much of a far cry from World War II budgets.  

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WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction. 2023 will break what was spent in 2022.

Top US General Says China And Russia Military Budgets Combined Exceed US Spending

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, arrive for a Senate Armed Services budget hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 10, 2021.  

VOA: China, Russia Military Budgets Combined Exceed US Spending, Top General Says 

China and Russia's combined military spending exceeds that of the United States when adjusted for purchasing power, which has allowed China to shorten capability gaps in its quest to become the top superpower by midcentury, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday. 

"Combined, the Russian and Chinese budgets exceed our budgets if all the cards are put on the table," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

He called China's increased spending trend "disturbing." China and Russia are the U.S. military's two biggest competitors. 

Defense secretaries from Jim Mattis to Lloyd Austin have identified China as the "pacing challenge" for the U.S. military.  

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WNU Editor: Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley is using this article to make his case .... Combined China and Russian Defense Spending Exceeds U.S. Defense Budget (Jim Inhofe, RCD). According to Senator Inhofe, the Chinese defense budget is $604 billion when adjusted for purchasing power, and the Russian defense budget is about $200 billion after adjustments. 

As to what is my take on all of this. When you add in the budgets from NATO and America's allies that are not in NATO (i.e. Japan, Taiwan, Australia, etc.). Russia and China do not come close to that type of spending.

Global Military Spending Rose In 2018

The show of force on 13 September, day three of the “active phase” of VOSTOK 2018 which included live-fire exercises, was more a carefully orchestrated military demonstration than a real military exercise. © News X

DW: Here’s how much global military spending rose in 2018

WASHINGTON — Overall military expenditures rose 2.6 percent between 2017 and 2018, to hit a total of $1.82 trillion dollars, according to new research from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The total from 2018 is 5.4 percent higher than 2009, and represents a 76 percent increase over 1998, a 20-year period.

Sixty percent of global military spending came from five countries: The United States ($649 billion), China ($250 billion), Saudi Arabia ($67.6 billion), India ($66.5 billion) and France ($63.8 billion). Russia ($61.4 billion) and the United Kingdom ($50 billion) were the other two countries to spend $50 billion or more on defense.

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WNU Editor: The report is here .... SIPRI Fact Sheet April 2019: Trends in world military expenditure, 2018 (Relief Web)

More News On Global Military Spending Rose In 2018

Military expenditures continues to increase across the globe -- Jerusalem Post
US, China, Saudis lead 2018 military spend -- News.com.au
Military spending around the world is booming -- The Economist
US military spending up for first time in 7 years: Sipri -- AFP
New technologies drive military spending: SIPRI -- DW

These Are The Countries That Have The Highest Military Expenditures As A Percent Of GDP

U.S. soldiers attend the inauguration ceremony of bilateral military training between U.S. and Polish troops in Zagan, Poland, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

The Street: Countries Spending the Most on Their Military

These are the countries that have the highest military expenditures as a percent of gross domestic product.

With defense spending totaling $610 billion in 2017, the U.S. spends more than any other country on military in the world. China ranks second. But as a percent of gross domestic product, the U.S. spends about 3.3%, far less than some countries.

The CIA keeps track of this stuff, because, well, that's what the CIA does. Based on the data from the CIA's World Factbook, these are the countries that have the highest military expenditures as a percent of gross domestic product, calculated on an exchange rate basis. The data is from 2016, unless otherwise noted.

See where the U.S. falls on this list of countries spending the most on their military.

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WNU Editor: China is not on the list.

Global Defense Spending Is Forecast To Reach $1.67 Trillion In 2018

Senior Airman Daniel Stehley, of the 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron munitions flight, spray paints build codes on inert guided bomb units after helping assemble each weapon at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., on Feb. 27, 2012. Senior Airman Kenny Holston, U.S. Air Force

CNBC: Global defense spending to reach levels not seen since end of Cold War, says report

* Worldwide defense spending is forecast to rise 3.3 percent in 2018 from this year, or the fastest growth rate in a decade, says IHS Jane's in new report.
* It said the jump in global defense spending is due in large part to a potential 4.7 percent rise in the U.S. military spending next year.
* The region with the fastest-growing defense spending is Eastern Europe, reflecting Baltic states' worries about Russia's military activities.
* Russia's annual military spending remains below its 2015 peak and is forecast to drop 8 percent in 2018 while China's jumps about 6 percent.

Global defense spending is forecast to reach $1.67 trillion in 2018, the highest level since the end of Cold War, according to a defense study released Monday.

IHS Markit's Jane's Defence Budgets Report forecasts annual global defense spending would represent a 3.3 percent increase over 2017, or the fastest growth rate in a decade.

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Update #1: Arms budgets to hit highs not seen since Cold War (The Telegraph)
Update #2: 2018 Global defense spending to hit post-Cold War high of $1.67 trillion (The Jerusalem Post)
Update #3:Locked and Loaded: Global Defense Spending Hits Record $1.62 Trillion - Report (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: And that number does not include other expenses .... homeland security, intelligence networks, etc..

Comparing The U.S. Defense Budget With The Rest Of The World

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Business Insider: This graphic shows how the US defense budget dwarfs the rest of the world's

Even as the US continues to try draw down its military engagements and spending, the country's military spending remains nearly three times as large as the world's second-largest defense spender.

The following graphic from Bank of America and Merrill Lynch's Transforming World Atlas note from August 2015 shows just how huge the US's defense budget is compared to the rest of the world.

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U.S. Defense Spending Is Contracting At A Rate Not Seen Since The 1950s

Image from The Economist

We're Witnessing The Biggest Contraction In Defense Spending Since The Korean War -- Business Insider

Real GDP grew at a 2.5% rate in Q1, which was below economists' expectations for 3.0% growth.

The biggest disappointment in the report was clearly defense spending.

"The unexpectedly large drag from defense spending was likely due in part to the first effects of sequestration, but could also be explained by constraints imposed by operating under a continuing resolution, which funded the government through March 27," said Goldman Sachs' Jan Hatzius.

Real defense spending contracted at an 11.5% rate in Q1, following a 22.0% rate of contraction in Q4.

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My Comment: While U.S. defense spending may be declining .... for some other nations defense spending is booming.

Defense Budgets: How The U.S. Outspends The World

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A telling graphic from the International Institute for Strategic Studies's newly released report on global military spending (click here for the original).

The Military Imbalance: How The U.S. Outspends The World -- Aol Defense

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has released its annual series of reports on international defense spending, The Military Balance 2012. The full text is subscriber-only, but a summary press release, detailed table of contents, and a very useful overview of one of the more interesting volumes, "Comparative Defence Statistics," are free online. The content of the comparative volume is important; it gives a view of the gigantic girth of the American defense budget.

First, however, to better appreciate what these figures reveal about the huge size of the US defense budget, a short discussion is needed about the caveats that some articulate to adjust the optics of the spending comparisons.

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My Comment: A very detailed and comprehensive look. The above graph says it all.

The World`s Military Balance

Military Balance: The US And Other Key Countries -- BBC

President Barack Obama has announced a future with a "leaner" US military.

The country was "turning the page on a decade of war" and faced a "moment of transition", he said.

Yet, although thousands of troops are expected to be axed, Mr Obama stressed that the country's military superiority would still be maintained.

Here is how the US's military might compared with that of other global powers in 2011.

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The U.S. Navy's Numbers Do Not Add Up

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan travels through the Pacific Ocean with other ships assigned to the Rim of the Pacific 2010 exercise, north of Hawaii, July 24, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Dylan McCord

Challenging The Navy’s Numbers -- Walter Pincus, Washington Post

Since the Defense Department faces the need to reduce expenditures, here is one suggested new year’s resolution: Make the military services have a mandatory 80 percent confidence level in their estimated costs of a new weapons systems before major funding is approved.

What is a “confidence level?” the average taxpayer might ask. It is something the services have been doing for years but without much publicity. It is the percentage guesstimate by which the military service believes the cost it puts forward for a new, major acquisition will actually hit that figure.

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My Comment: Like all government programs .... military or not .... the ugly truth is that in the end they never rally add up.

A World Wide Trend To Cut Defense Budgets (Maybe)

Sign of Changing Times: U.S. Senate Panel Trims 2011 Defense Appropriations Bill -- Defense News

As spending cuts go, the $8 billion that U.S. Senate appropriators trimmed from next year's defense spending bill wasn't much - a little more than 1 percent off the $678 billion requested by President Barack Obama.

But to many who monitor defense budgets closely, the fact that the defense budget was cut at all was more significant than the amount. The action by the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee shows that there is "a bipartisan push to cut defense," said Mackenzie Eaglen, a senior analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

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My Comment: The paragraph that caught my attention was the following ....

"Absent any new conflict, by 2015 the base defense budget by then looks to be in the $750 billion to $800 billion range." That includes more than $50 billion a year that will be needed to pay for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, Kiley said. "We are not leaving the Gulf entirely anytime soon."

An $800 billion Defense budget .... hmmmm .... I doubt it.

The U.S. is not the only country cutting its defense budgets .... check the stories here.

Update: No Cuts Now, HASC Tells DoD -- DoD Buzz

How Is The Financial Crisis And Budget Deficits Impacting Defense Spending?

Defence Spending In A Time Of Austerity -- The Economist

The chronic problem of exorbitantly expensive weapons is becoming acute.

THERE were the starlings: aerobatic teams with mesmerising group displays. There were the albatrosses: Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’s A380, heavy airliners that still manage long, effortless flight. And there were the buzzing propeller-driven military transporters, including the latest, the Airbus A400M. But the star turn was reserved for the birds of prey, the jet fighters.

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My Comment: It always comes down to money. But with financial and budgetary deficits being forecast to be in the stratosphere for years to come, defense budgets and procurements are going to be cut. The Economist/IISS looks at these trends, and does a rather good job in analyzing what to expect.

Aviation Week has a good commentary on the IISS report.

But what caught my eye, was IISS's assertion that China now has more warships than the U.S. (see graph). Hmmmm .... that is going to raise eyebrows in a few places.

NATO's Military Budgets Are To Be Slashed

NATO Allies Poised To Slash Military Budgets; Gates Urges Other Cost Savings -- Washington Post

LONDON -- European allies are bracing for their deepest cuts in military spending since the end of the Cold War, fueling concerns in Washington that an already wide gap in military power between the United States and the rest of NATO will grow.

On Monday, the German government said it is looking to reduce its 250,000-member military by at least 40,000 troops; the defense minister has suggested that a whopping cutback of 100,000 might be necessary.

Meanwhile, analysts project that Britain may have to cut its defense budget by 10 to 15 percent over the next six years as it grapples with what Prime Minister David Cameron has called "a staggering amount of debt."

France and Italy are also contemplating manpower reductions.

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My Comment: The Europeans are broke, and what is worse they lack the political will to fix it. But the line in this post that caught my attention was the following ....

In the United States, however, the Obama administration has declared defense and national security programs off-limits to the budget ax.

.... off-limits for how long? My prediction is that when the commission examining the U.S. budget deficit releases its report after the November elections, there will be a call to cut government programs, with the military being on the top of the list. Trillion dollar deficits are not sustainable .... regardless of what is "off-limits".

The Coming Defense Budget Cuts In NATO

Spain's Defense Minister Carme Chacon speaks with US Adm. James Stavridis (l.), supreme allied commander of NATO, during their meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Madrid on Feb. 23. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has promised to make defense cuts at the Pentagon, while Stavridis has promised to make cuts at NATO. Dani Pozo/AFP/Newscom

NATO Won't Be Spared Defense Budget Ax, Commander Says -- Christian Science Monitor

Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week promised to cut the Department of Defense budget. Monday, NATO Commander James Stavridis promised to do the same.

As Defense Secretary Robert Gates begins another push for Pentagon cuts, NATO is preparing to follow suit.

Adm. James Stavridis, the supreme allied commander of NATO, said Monday he will look to make "significant" cuts of both flag officers – generals and admirals – as well as staff for the US and NATO allies.

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More News On The Upcoming NATO Defense Budget Cuts

Adm. Stavridis: There will be fewer generals, less bureaucracy at NATO -- National Defense
NATO emphasizes defense spending despite crisis -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Nato and EU advised to streamline defence spending -- EU Observer
Greece will cut defence budget: minister -- Sydney Morning Herald/AFP
What now for European Defense? -- Daniel Darling, Faster Times
UK's Liam Fox faces an MoD budget battle -- Robert Fox, The Guardian

My Comment: Laying the groundwork for the alliance to commit to defense budget cuts .... an easy feat since literally every government in NATO is broke.

In Graphs: Arming The World

From The BBC:

Global military spending rose 45% between 1999 and 2008, fuelled by the US-led "war on terror" and by increased wealth in China, Russia and the Middle East.

In Western and Central Europe, military spending increased at a much slower rate than in any other part of the world, while the US accounted for 58% of the global increase during the decade.

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My Comment: On the face of it these figures look astounding .... but people in the U.S. military receive a wage and benefits .... soldiers in China are not paid (or are paid very little). The same can be said about Europe. Monies are focused on salaries, benefits, and pensions .... not weapons and equipment. The accompanying graphs reveal how much defense contractors are selling and making.