Infographic: World's Biggest Military Spenders

I found an interesting infographic on global military spending on the The Economist Web site.

A Few Highlights

• World military expenditure in 2010 is estimated to have reached U.S.$1.62 trillion in current dollars.


• This represents a 1.3 per cent increase in real terms since 2009 and a 50 per cent increase since 2001.


•  This corresponds to 2.6 per cent of world gross domestic product (GDP), or approximately U.S.$236 for each person in the world.


•  The U.S. with its massive spending budget, is the principal determinant of the current world trend, and its military expenditure now accounts for just under half of the world total, at 43% of the world total.


•  The 15 countries with the highest spending account for over 82% of the total.


•  The U.S. is responsible for 43 per cent of the world total, distantly followed by the China (7.3% of world share), UK (3.7%), France (3.6%), and Russia (3.6%). 


• Even though India lives in probably the world's most dangerous neighbourhood, it spends only 2.7% of its GDP on defence.
  
  

Source for infographic: The Economist