A military expenditure also known as the defence budget is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a nation to raising and maintaining armed forces or other essential for defence purposes.
As defence is a necessary evil, each country spends on their defence as per their economy and the time of necessity like border countries problem and other wars to strengthen their country and protect its people.
At Rediff Labs, we analysed the data on military expenditure by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The military expenditure is shown as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product of the country, as a percentage of government spending and as per capita in $. The charts show the top three countries compared with India and its neighbouring countries over the period of time.
Military expenditure of countries as percentage of GDP:
The GDP is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country’s economy. The chart below shows the top three countries where the percentage of GDP spend on military is high.
It is compared with India and its neighbouring countries. The chart shows the trend in expenditure on the country’s military from 1996 to 2016. Comparing India with its neighbouring countries, India spends a lesser percentage compared to Pakistan and more when compared to China.
The map which shows the military expenditure of all the countries in 2016 as percentage of GDP. The top countries are Oman, Saudi Arabia, The democratic republic of Congo, Algeria and Kuwait. The countries which spend less percentage of GDP on military are Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea, Venezuela, Ireland and Nigeria.
Military expenditure of countries in per capita (USD):
The below chart shows the military expenditure of India and its neighbours per capita in US dollars. India and China had gradually increased the amount spend on military. China from spending 11$ per capita in 1996 it has increased to $155 per capita in 2016. India, from spending $10 per capita it has increased to $42 per capita. Pakistan from spending $28 per capita in 1996 it has gone down to $20 per capita in 2001 and now it spends $52 per capita in 2016.
The map which shows the country’s military expenditure as per capita USD, the top countries which spend higher amount in military as per capita are Israel with $2193 stands at the top spot followed by Saudi Arabia with $1978, Oman comes in next with $1953$, United States with $1886 and Singapore with $1749.
The least spending countries on military expenditure per capital are Malawi $1.9, Madagascar $2.4, Liberia $2.7, Mozambique $3.9 and Sierra Leone $4.1.
Military expenditure of countries as share of government spending:
Military expenditure as a share of government spending is the percentage of amount spends on military by the government. In the chart it shows the trend of how India spends on its military as a percentage of its government spending comparing it with top countries which spend higher percentage and its neighbour countries.
When comparing to Pakistan and China India had spend a lesser percentage in 1996. Over time it has gone through a roller coaster ride and in 2016 it spends 8.9 per cent while China spends 6.2 per cent and Pakistan spends 18.1 per cent.
The map which shows the country’s military expenditure as a share of government spending in 2016. The top countries which spend higher percentage on military are Oman (29.6%), Saudi Arabia (27.6%), Sudan (24.7%), Pakistan (18.1%) and Iran (17.7%). The countries which spend lesser amount are Equatorial Guinea (0.60%), Mauritius (0.70%), Venezuela (0.70%) and Ireland (1.20%).
Apart from Island countries which don’t have any military forces there are some countries with no standing army but have limited military forces. They are Haiti, Iceland, Mauritius, Monaco, Panama and Vanuatu.
