Military spending near record high.

Global military expenditures hit $1.04 trillion in 2004 ($975 billion in inflation-adjusted 2003 dollars), nearing the historic peak of 1987-88, according to a June report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In a world where billions of people struggle to survive on $1-2 per day, governments spent on average $162 per person on weapons and soldiers.

Military spending fell with the end of the Cold War but began to climb again after 1998, increasing dramatically in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Between 1995 and 2004, expenditures rose by 23 percent after inflation. The steepest increases, in percentage terms, took place in Central Asia, North Africa, South Asia, and North America. Only in Central and South America and in Western Europe did expenditures rise less than 10 percent.

The United States spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined: $455 billion in 2004, or 47 percent of the global total, reports SIPRI. U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have been funded through supplementary appropriations of about $238 billion in fiscal years 2002-05, on top of the regular military budget. These supplementary funds alone exceed the $193 billion spent on the military by the entire developing world in 2004.

The top 15 spenders in 2004 accounted for $799 billion, or 82 percent of the global total. The four biggest spenders after the United States--the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and China--accounted for $172 billion, or 18 percent. They are followed by Germany, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea ($116 billion, or 12 percent), then India, Israel, Canada, Turkey, and Australia ($57 billion, or 6 percent).

At a time when endemic poverty, health epidemics, climate change, and mass unemployment cry out for attention, the continued growth in military budgets reflects a troubling set of priorities. Ultimately, it represents a fateful failure to address the underlying reasons for much of the world's instability and insecurity. In 2003, industrial countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development spent $687 billion on military programs, 10 times their allocation for development assistance.

Russia              19.4
India               15.1
Rest of the World  183.6
United States      455.3
Other NATO         223.8
Japan               42.4
China               35.4

World Military Spending, 2004
(billions of 2003 U.S. dollars)

Note: Table made from pie chart.