World's top 10 military spenders
Last updated on: June 8, 2010 13:58 IST
Image: A US Marine Corps Harrier jet lands on the deck of the USS Iwo Jima
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
UNITED STATES: $661 billion (Rs 3,098,100 crore) : According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the world's biggest defence spender has increased its outlay by 75.8 percent since 2000.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: A Taiwan army ground crew run towards US made attack helicopters during a demonstration.
Photographs: Simon Kwong/Reuters
China - $100 billion (Rs 460,000 crore): Beijing regards its military expenditures as a state secret, but SIPRI estimates that China spent $100 billion on its military in 2009.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: France's Defence Minister Herve Morin (front R) and Spain's Defence Minister Carme Chacon.
Photographs: Javier Barbancho/Reuters
France:$63.9 billion (Rs 300,000 crore). The biggest military spender in Europe increased its budget 7.4 percent from 2000. France has the world's second-highest per capita military expenditure, at $1,026 (about Rs 47,000) per person per annum.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: A soldier from the 1st Royal Welsh batallion waits for a chinook helicopter to land.
Photographs: Phil Noble/Reuters
England: $58.1 billion (Rs 271,800 crore) London increased military spending 28.1 percent over the decade. As a percentage of GDP, that's 2.5 percent, and about in line with the world average of 2.7 percent.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: Russian soldiers board a Mi-26 helicopter near Grozny
Photographs: Reuters
Russia: $53.3 billion (Rs 248,400 crore). Russia's military spending has seen a 105 percent increase since 2000.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force 1st Airborne Brigade duringt an annual new year military exercise
Photographs: Toru Hanai/Reuters
Japan: $51 billion (Rs 239,000 crore). The world's second-largest economy is focusing revenues away from military, decreasing such spending by 1.3 percent over the past decade. That's less than 1 percent of total GDP
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: Soldiers in historical uniforms march during a military parade in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol
Photographs: Gleb Garanich/Reuters
Germany: $45.6 billion (Rs 213,700 crore). The biggest economy in Europe has gradually shifted revenues away from defence, causing a 6.7 percent drop in military spending over the past decade.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: Saudi Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, returns a salute to Saudi soldiers
Photographs: Fahad Shadeed/Reuters
Saudi Arabia: $41.2 billion (RS 193,110 crore). The biggest military spender in the Middle East has increased defense investments 66.9 percent over the past decade.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: An Indian Army Dhruv helicopter operates during 'Yudh Abhyas 09', a joint Indo-US training exercise
Photographs: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
India: $36.3 billion (Rs 170,430 crore). The only Asian country in the top 15 aside from rival China. India spent the ninth highest amount of any country worldwide. That's a 67.3 percent increase over the decade, according to SIPRI. But per capita military spending in India the world's second most-populous country is one of the world's lowest, at just $30.4 (about Rs 1,427) per person.
World's top 10 military spenders
Image: A photo of Italian army Sergeant Major Roberto Valente who was killed by a car bomb in Afghanistan
Photographs: Ciro De Luca /Reuters
Italy: $35.8 billion (Rs 167,790 crore). Number 10 but spending less. Over the past decade, Rome decreased state military spending by 13.3 percent more than any other country in the top 10. According to SIPRI's annual report, of the 19 states in the G20, only Argentina, Indonesia, and Italy did not increase their military spending in 2009.
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