Summary provided by David Gee of QPSW
On Monday this week (11 June 2007),
the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released its
latest research figures for military spending. They found that in 2006,
the world spent $1,204,000 million (ie $1.2 trillion) on the military.
[1] This is the eighth consecutive annual rise in military spending,
which is now reaching levels not seen since the Cold War. [2]
The US accounted for 46% of the total in 2006, at $528,700 million (at 2005 prices). [3]
After the US, the largest military
spender was once again the UK, which accounted for 5% of the world
total in 2006, at $59,200 million (at 2005 prices). [3] This is despite
the government's belief that, 'There is currently no major conventional
threat to Europe...' [4]
France, China, Japan, Germany,
Russia, Italy, Saudi Arabia and India complete the highest ten
spenders, together accounting for 77% of all military spending
worldwide, at $888,700 million (at 2005 prices). [3] This is exactly
twice the amount that the UK's Stern Review estimated it will cost the
world to stop runaway climate change, at $444,000 million per year (1%
of global GDP). [5] It is eighteen times the estimated current
shortfall in the spending needed to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals to reduce global poverty significantly by 2015. (This shortfall
is estimated at $48,000 million and the overall cost for achieving the
Goals is estimated at $135,000-195,000 million per year to 2015.) [6]
In 2005, the US spent 19 times as
much on the military ($534,100 million) as on overseas development
assistance ($27,622 million); the UK spent almost five times as much on
the military ($53,600 million) as on overseas development assistance
($10,767 million) [7] [Note: these are comparisons for 2005, which is
the most recent year for which statistics for overseas development
assistance are available].
In 2005, the UK spent 50 times as
much on the military ($53,600 million) as on 'spending policies that
tackle climate change' (£545 million [= $1,072 million]).
[8] [Note: these are comparisons for 2005, which is the most recent
year for which statistics for overseas development assistance are
available]. The military is responsible for high levels of carbon
emissions. According to Scientists for Global Responsibility, the US
military causes about 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (1%
of national total or equivalent to all of Finland's annual emissions);
the UK military causes about 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
emissions (1% of national total or equivalent to all of Senegal's
annual emissions). [9]
[1] SIPRI
[2] SIPRI
[3] SIPRI
[4] MoD
[5] HM Treasury
[6] UN Millennium Project
[7] OECD
[8] Hansard
[9] SGR
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