2012/04/22

Military expenditures 2011

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I won't call these "defence expenditures" - no matter how popular this is in some places.


The figures and graphics are in this (poorly layouted) fact sheet. NATO military budgets are in excess of 60% of global mil expenditures. Greece's drop in mil expenditures was big (26%) and not exactly unexpected. Lithuania doubled this figure, though. Azerbaijan's incredible increase of mil spending (89% !!!) supports the reports from last year about a high risk of a renewed war with Armenia. (I remember reports of a parliamentary delegation which upon return expressed its strong concern about the region turning into a powder keg, for example.) Just don't know why SIPRI files it under "Europe" ('wrong' side of the Caucasus).
Maybe our foreign policy should still pay attention to it?
 
World military burden, i.e. world military spending as a share of world gross domestic product (%)
About 2.4 to 2.7 % since 2002, with 2.5% in 2011. That's a remarkable portion of global economic activity, considering that it's almost entirely about harming ourselves. 

S Ortmann
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