Brilliant Maps

Making Sense Of The World, One Map At A Time

  • BOOK!
  • Newsletter
  • Board Games
  • Posters
  • Scratch Maps

World Divided In Half Based On Military Spending

October 22, 2016 2 Comments

World Divided In Half Based On Military Spending

Map created by reddit user delugetheory

The map above shows the world divided into two regions with approximately equal military expenditures. The area in blue represents countries that are NATO members aka the “West,” who account for 51% of the world’s militarily spending. And the red countries make up the “Rest.”

The data comes from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Military Expenditure Database. Here are just a few fact about global military spending:

  • Globally, combined military spending stands at $1.7 trillion or 2.3% of global GDP.
  • The US is by far the world’s largest military spender, spending $596 billion per year or 3.3% of their GDP on the military.
  • Therefore, US military spending is just under 36% of the global total and 69% of NATO’s total.
  • The second biggest spender is China at just $215 billion annually or just 1.9% of their GDP.
  • Rounding out the top 10 are: Saudi Arabia (13.7% of GDP), Russia (5.4% of GDP), UK (2.0% of GDP), India (2.3% of GDP), France (2.1% of GDP), Japan (1.0% of GDP), Germany (1.2% of GDP) and South Korea (2.6% of GDP).

To learn more about military spending in the US and globally have a look at the following books:

  • NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance
  • The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending
  • America’s War Machine: Vested Interests, Endless Conflicts

Think this map is interesting? Please help us by sharing it:

Filed Under: World Maps Tagged With: military

Comments

  1. Alex Munger says

    November 4, 2016 at 4:59 am

    And yet the Western Bloc continually accuses Russia (or whomever is in its cross-hairs at the time) of “provocation” and “aggression”. Thanks for this, a stark visual reminder of the rift in world geopolitics.

    Reply
  2. Geoff Clarke says

    November 22, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    There are of course many other ways to divide countries into two equal expenditure areas, depending what you want to show. I am sure that starting with Russia and China would create a different map than one starting with America. For imparital clarity you should really show some other versions.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


World Atlas · Settlers of Catan · Risk · Game of Thrones · Coloring Books · Globes
Monopoly · Star Wars · Game of Life · Pandemic · Ticket To Ride · Drinks Cabinets
Copyright © 2023 · Privacy Policy · Fair Use, Attribution & Copyright · Contact Us
Follow Us: E-mail · Twitter · Facebook · Pinterest · Flipboard