Report finds over $1 trillion per year is spent on arms worldwide

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Tuesday, June 7, 2005

An AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface tactical missile developed in the United States. According to the report, almost half the world's military spending is by the United States.

According to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), total world military spending was $1.35 trillion in 2004. The institute says that this is just 6% off the all time record, set in 1987 at the end of the Cold War. However this record could soon be shattered as spending jumped 5% last year alone.

In a stark example of the huge amount spent on the military by the United States, SIPRI revealed that almost half of all spending is by the US, $455bn or 47% to be exact. This figure is greater than the combined spending of the next 32 heaviest spenders. US spending on its armed forces now stands at 3.9% of its GDP, less than the 6% during the Cold War, but more than the 3% reported the previous year.

The top five spenders in 2004 were as follows:

Sources

SIPRI Yearbook 2005
"Weapons spending tops $1 trillion" — BBC News, June 7, 2005
"Report: World military spending tops $1T in 2004" — USA Today, June 7, 2005
Reuters. "World military spends $1 trillion in '04" — CNN, June 7, 2005

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