SIPRI Yearbook 2007

SIPRI has released its 2007 Yearbook on Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, including a chapter on global military expenditure:

Between September 2001 and June 2006, the US Government provided a total of $432 billion in annual and supplemental appropriations under the heading ‘global war on terrorism’. This increase in US military spending has contributed to the rise in budget deficits, government debt and outlays on servicing these debts since 2001. Taking both immediate and long-term factors into account, the overall past and future costs until year 2016 to the USA for the war in Iraq have been estimated at $2267 billion.

In 2006 China’s military expenditure continued to increase rapidly, for the first time surpassing that of Japan and hence making China the biggest military spender in Asia and the fourth biggest in the world.

Japan decided, for the fifth consecutive year, to reduce its military spending in 2006 and to focus its military budget on missile defence.

SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) was founded
in 1966 to commemorate 150 years of unbroken peace in Sweden.

NHK notes that China has been criticized for the lack of transparency in its military spending, and that China's military spending may be 2 to 3 times larger than the figure announced by its government, as it does not include arms imports.

The institute said the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China together held more than 26,000 nuclear warheads at the start of 2007.

"Although the total number of warheads is gradually being cut, all five countries are undertaking or planning major programs to update their nuclear weapon arsenals," SIPRI said.

The world's top 10 military spenders in 2006. The list shows the amount each country spent on weapons in 2005 dollars, and the share of world arms expenditures.

1. United States, $528.7 billion, 46%

2. Britain, $59.2 billion, 5%

3. France, $53.1 billion, 5%

4. China, $49.5 billion, 4%

5. Japan, $43.7 billion, 4%

6. Germany, $37.0 billion, 3%

7. Russia, $34.7 billion, 3%

8. Italy, $29.9 billion, 3%

9. Saudi Arabia, $29.0 billion, 3%

10. India, $23.9 billion, 2%

Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Scary...

(Japan has no nuclear weapons, neither has Sweden)

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