II. Regional trends and major spenders

Chapter:

5. Military expenditure

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2010

Author(s):

Sam Perlo-freeman, Olawale Ismail, Noel Kelly, Carina Solmirano

Boxes 5A.1–5A.6 highlight the significant trends in regional military spending and the world’s top 15 military spenders in 2009 are listed in table 5A.1. These 15 countries accounted for 82 per cent of world military spending, with the top 5 accounting for 61 per cent, slightly higher shares than in 2008. The United States accounted for by far the largest share, 43 per cent—far ahead of China, which cemented its position as the second largest spender, with France, the United Kingdom and Russia some way behind. The small increase in the US share (from 41 per cent in 2008) is due to the appreciation of the US dollar in 2009. The identities of the top 15 spenders have remained the same since 2007, although the rankings below the top 5 changed somewhat in 2009, with European countries slipping down the rankings—due to a combination of currency changes and relative changes in actual spending levels (indeed in some cases despite increases in currency values against the dollar).