Center for Defense Information
Research Topics
Television
CDI Library
Press
What's New
Search

U.S. Military Spending Vs. The World
By Christopher Hellman, Senior Analyst
February 3, 2003
 

Last of the Big Time Spenders:

U.S. Military Budget Still the World's Largest, and Growing

Selected Countries Military Budget
United States $399.1 Billion
Russia*  $65.0
China*  $47.0
Japan  $42.6
United Kingdom  $38.4
France  $29.5
Germany  $24.9
Saudi Arabia  $21.3
Italy  $19.4
India  $15.6
South Korea  $14.1
Brazil*  $10.5
Israel  $9.4
Spain  $8.4
Australia  $7.6
Canada  $7.6
Taiwan  $7.0
Netherlands  $6.6
Turkey  $5.8
Singapore  $4.8
Sweden  $4.5
Iran  $4.1
Kuwait  $3.9
Norway  $3.8
Greece  $3.5
Poland  $3.5
Argentina*  $3.3
United Arab Emirates*  $3.1
Egypt  $3.0
Belgium  $2.7
Pakistan*  $2.6
Denmark  $2.4
Vietnam  $2.4
Colombia  $1.7
Czech Republic  $1.6
Iraq*  $1.4
North Korea  $1.4
Philippines  $1.4
Portugal  $1.3
Libya*  $1.2
Hungary  $1.1
Syria  $1.0
Cuba*  $0.8
Sudan*  $0.6
Yugoslavia  $0.7
Luxembourg  $0.2

Figures are for latest year available, usually 2002. Expenditures are used in a few cases where official budgets are significantly lower than actual spending. The figure for the United States is from the annual budget request for Fiscal Year 2004.

* 2001 Funding

Table prepared by Center for Defense Information.
Sources: International Institute for Strategic Studies, Department of Defense

"For 45 years of the Cold War we were in an arms race with the Soviet Union. Now it appears we're in an arms race with ourselves."

Admiral Eugene Carroll, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Deputy Director
Center for Defense Information


[HOME] [ISSUE AREAS]