TOP MILITARY SPENDERS

Comparison of US and Other Nations’ Military Spending 2010

(billions of US 2010 dollars)

 

 

IISS*

SIPRI**

PPP***

 

USA

693.6

698.3

698

1.

China

111

119.5

178 - 210

2.

UK

57.8

59.6

57.6

3.

Japan

54.4

54.5

43.6

4.

France

52

59.3

49.8

5.

Russia

65.2

58.7

88.2 - 98.5

6.

Saudi Arabia

45.2

45.2

64.6

7.

Germany

44.1

45.2

40

8.

Brazil

33.4

33.6

36.2

9.

India

30.9

41.3

116

10.

South Korea

25.1

27.6

 

11.

Australia

23.6

24

 

12.

Italy

21.9

37

 

13.

Canada

20.2

22.8

 

14.

Turkey

17.4

17.5

 

15.

UAE

16.1

16.1

 

16.

Spain

14.7

15.4

 

17.

Israel

14

14

 

18.

Netherlands

11.2

 

 

19.

Colombia

10.4

 

 

20.

Iran

10.6

 

 

21.

Taiwan

9

 

 

Total for non-US group

688.2

691

674 - 716

 

*        International Institute for Strategic Studies          **     Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

***    PPP = Purchasing Power Parity, a measure that facilitates international budget comparisons by adjusting exchange rates to reflect the relative domestic buying power of national currencies.

 

Notes: The IISS column presents officially reported spending in USD at 2010 exchange rates, with two exceptions: China and Russia. For these, the number is an estimate of actual spending. The second column is SIPRI’s estimate of actual expenditures, also shown in USD at 2010 exchange rates. The PPP column converts estimates of actual expenditures into approximate purchasing power, mostly drawn from SIPRI data. For China and Russia, it also shows an IISS estimate of purchasing power, thus producing a range. Purchasing power calculations improve on estimates that use exchange rates alone. However, PPP ratios are based on comparisons between national economies as a whole, not the defense sectors specifically. This can overstate military purchasing power when a nation’s military sector is much more advanced than its economy overall or when a nation depends heavily on international arms purchases.

 

Sources: International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2012 (London, 2012); Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Yearbook 2011 (Oxford, 2011).