Military ranking

Oh, to be Japan...

"The defence budget of America alone, at $693 billion, accounts for more than 60% of the total." Does that make sense? What's the point of it?
Another issue. "Defense budgets", Departments, etc. are highly misleading (but only human) terminologies. More ofter than not they should be labeled "offence budgets", Departments, etc.

I'm sure Isreal and Singapore would top the charts if were measure defence as a percentage of GDP

the author wrote,“China ……boasts the largest armed forces.”

---Very funny! it is very exaggerated.Few Chninese will say that like the author.China is a very poor country and have the most poor people in the world,about 600 million at least. and still far behind advanced countries in many fields including military.

---I think rich countries such as Britain and France should double defence budgets,and send more warships to Indian Ocean or other trade routes,too many pirates,very rampant who destroy world peace and development.

---Maybe,as the NO.1 rich country,US should increase his defence budget to $1000 billion,they need do more to protect something.IMO,They are the best bodyguard and very professional in the world.It is welcomed that more foreign warships travel around the world all day and all night,the world trade will more prosperous and secure.

People starve to death but the government still maintains a huge military in North Korea. In reality: The military = The economy (100% of GDP).

This paradigm is more dramatic than any other country However, leaving Israel, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, and likely Afghanistan off of this comparison presents a distorted view of the world.

Return US military spending to the same percentage of GDP as 2005. It's the least the grossly overfed Pentagon can do to contribute to our fiscal security.

@ Country Road

The author was only saying that China has the largest armed forces in terms of number, not technology or capability. I don't see how one could possibly disagree with this, it's simply a fact: 2.29 million is a bigger number than 1.56 million. This has been true for many, many years. In fact, I was surprised by the 2.29 million figure - I thought it was close to 3 million a decade ago, but I could be wrong.

I find some part of this article is very amusing, like it's attacking something but too afraid to say it loud. G, say it! USA, you are spending too much on "defence"! And Saudi, god knows you spend this lot to buy the support of U.S.

It just occurred to me that China's defense budget is about half of India's as a percentage of GDP, and only slightly higher than "pacifist" Japan.

Ignacio, the author is very clear, the ten biggest defense budgets added up a total of 1.1 trillion, from those 1.1 trillion USA alone spend $693 billion. That alone makes 60% of the total amount. Why is behind saudi arabia is because, he compares the budget to the GDP which of coures, USD's GDP is greater that saudi arabia's GDP.
Now for, Country road, where in the hell have u been? "china is a very poor country" In fac, china today is second world economy.it just recently displaced japan. Whether such wealth has not yet reached to its people is totally a different argument.

Another important consideration is the military footprint of various countries around the world.

http://blog.hiddenharmonies.org/2010/08/map-of-u-s-military-bases-around...

The U.S. in inextricably stuck, for better or for worse. Think of it this way, there is a huge vested interest within Japan and the U.S. to keep the 50k U.S. troops in Okinawa. Now, let's suppose the U.S. want to pull back. It will always be a bitter fight between the pro and the con.

And don't forget about former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower warnings as he left office about the Military Industrial Complex:

http://blog.hiddenharmonies.org/2011/01/henry-a-kissinger-avoiding-a-u-s...

The U.S. is having a serious internal battle to trim back this military. This fight is going to get very ugly. Those against the cut back will trump up fear around the globe.

America's military spending is about as efficient as its health care spending.

Yes, omitting North Korea is a major oversight, given that they are around 20-25% of GDP.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_exp_per_of_gdp-military-expenditur...

Well, you can't calculate it for Israel unless you factor in how much the US pays them in military assistance...and for how relatively cheap they buy their weapons from them.

Obama continues to deliver....change?

Interesting to compare Britain and France.

Assuming similar GDP, Britain spends about 40% more on 30% less personnel.

France has a bigger navy, a comparable nuclear deterrent, a big aircraft carrier in service, ....

So why is this?

Warms my heart to see Uncle Sam looking out for its citizens by putting my taxdollars to work wisely - cutting back on unnecessary, frivolous expenses like education, so we can spend more on what really matters like guns, tanks, bombs.

Compared with many countries, the US shares a lot of responsibilities with the military operations that take place in a given area. In a sense, this kind of limits how much these countries have to spend in order to balance out their perceived aggressors. Defense spending can has been manipulated for a variety of reasons - to protect trade or protect national security.

It is only recently that some countries, such as China, have had to play a hand in these matters. Before, it simply wasn't in their interest to take part in in these endeavors, but in order for them to be granted certain privileges, they have had to change their isolationist motives.

What a waste! Who is threatening USA? Infact no body if you go deeper into the threat analysis. It is a fear mongering situation. No body in the right mind would want to go to war except USA who are trigger happy and weapons give a boost to thier economy. I am ashamed to see India spending so much on defence whilst half of the country is starving. These strageties need to change and the world would be a happy place for all.

Where is Italy? We should be at 1.7%.