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What are the biggest defence budgets in the world?

The United States dominates the world when it comes to defence spending - but how do other countries compare?

 

Afghan special forces arrive at the airport as they launch a counteroffensive to retake Kunduz from Taliban insurgents  Photo: NASIR WAQIF/AFP/Getty Images

By Ashley Kirk

The United States' military spending has dominated the world for years, but recent figures show that other nations are beginning to catch up.

While global tensions increase, with an increasingly complex Syrian conflict at the centre, countries are flexing their military might in a region ravaged by war.

But which countries are the biggest spenders on defence?

A Russian Su-24M dropping bombs during an airstrike in Syria

The United States dominates global spending on defence, with a budget more than double that of the next biggest spender, China.

It spends around $569bn a year on defence - the majority of which goes on operations, maintenance and personnel.

This has decreased from $587bn in 2014, according to data provided by IHS, which takes into account international exchange rates.

The world's 25 largest defence budgets

Country	Defence budget
United States	569.3
China	190.9
United Kingdom	66.5
Russia	53.2
France	52.7
India	49.7
Japan	49.3
Saudi Arabia	46.3
Germany	43.8
South Korea	35.7
Australia	34.3
Brazil	30.7
Italy	29.0
Canada	17.2
Turkey	15.9
Israel	15.6
United Arab Emirates	14.7
Taiwan	14.5
Spain	13.9
Algeria	12.4
Poland	12.2
Netherlands	10.6
Singapore	10.4
Pakistan	10.3
Iraq	10.3

While the USA's defence spending is declining, China's is increasing. Its budget stood at $191bn in 2015 - up from $176bn in 2014.

The United Kingdom, Russia and France are the next biggest spenders on defence. All of which are dwarved, however, by America's spending.

As well as the United States, Japan and Brazil had the biggest falls in defence spending between 2014 and 2015.

South Korea, the United Kingdom and China had the largest increases - with China boosting its defence budget by $14.7bn in a year.

Of the 25 largest defences in the world, 13 were Asian - with a total defence spending of $840bn.

Largest increases and decreases in spending 2014-15

	2014	2015
United States	586.9	569.3
Japan	54.6	49.3
Brazil	34.4	30.7
South Korea	32.6	35.7
United Kingdom	58.1	66.5
China	176.3	190.9

There were fewer Western countries in the top 25 - with seven of the top spenders being European and two being North American.

Three other continents were represented in the world's 25 largest defence budgets - Australia from Australasia, Brazil from South America and Algeria from Africa.

A Russian warship of the Caspian Flotilla launching missiles from the deployment area in the south-western Caspian Sea earlier this month

There are several different estimations of defence spending from a variety of sources.

The IHS has standardised all budgets into USD. Consequently, Russia's budget is lower due to the depreciation of the rouble against the dollar.

The IHS also said that Saudi Arabia looks lower compared to other sources because the figures do not include security spending, while the USA figure does not include FMF (foreign military financing) allocations.

 

 

EM

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