Below is an edited version of a post I originally shared in 2010. It still reflects 2010 numbers. I revised and highlighted the material for this post.
Since the Syrian civil war and the alleged Arab Spring gave the world a bunch of broken states (to add to the generally iffy Iraq and Afghanistan), I think this general review of militarization of nations, though it's now outdated, is worth posting again as food for your thoughts. World security and peace relies on a mix of freedom and security (military and otherwise) where the "good guys" have the balance. America and NATO allies do not need to be the world policeman forever, do they? Many of these highly militarized countries were thrown into a revolution or civil war of some sort during the so-called Arab Spring. The Arab Spring felt more like an Islamist Chill to some, including me, except for Tunisia.
I'm not trying to suggest that just because a nation is Muslim it is dangerous, because some are modern and positively aware of ideas such as women's rights and tolerating a diversity of religions, such as wealthy, civilized little Brunei.
What this list does suggest is that many Muslim nations have been very well armed. In some cases, that's not good news for the West, but in other cases, you have to ask questions such as: "When was the last time Eritrea attacked a neighboring country, or was attacked by another country?"
Since the Syrian civil war and the alleged Arab Spring gave the world a bunch of broken states (to add to the generally iffy Iraq and Afghanistan), I think this general review of militarization of nations, though it's now outdated, is worth posting again as food for your thoughts. World security and peace relies on a mix of freedom and security (military and otherwise) where the "good guys" have the balance. America and NATO allies do not need to be the world policeman forever, do they? Many of these highly militarized countries were thrown into a revolution or civil war of some sort during the so-called Arab Spring. The Arab Spring felt more like an Islamist Chill to some, including me, except for Tunisia.
I'm not trying to suggest that just because a nation is Muslim it is dangerous, because some are modern and positively aware of ideas such as women's rights and tolerating a diversity of religions, such as wealthy, civilized little Brunei.
What this list does suggest is that many Muslim nations have been very well armed. In some cases, that's not good news for the West, but in other cases, you have to ask questions such as: "When was the last time Eritrea attacked a neighboring country, or was attacked by another country?"
"... most of the top 20 military spenders are Arab and/or Muslim-dominated nations."
The CIA World Factbook provides many bits of information about the world we live in, such as the discernible numbers for a variety of subjects, such as population, average income and GDP - gross domestic product. (Think of GDP as similar to being all household annual income before expenses, but for a whole country. That's perhaps not exactly right, but you can read up on GDP on your own.)
An interesting thing gleaned from the information provided on military expenditures is that most of the top 20 military spenders are Arab and/or Muslim-dominated nations (the Muslim nations in the top 20 are bolded). In the top 20 is Israel, too. There are 14 predominantly Muslim countries in the first 20, 12 of which are essentially Muslim states (as in, I see them as being run by Muslim religious law).
So are these nations insulating themselves from the non-Muslim world, concerned about their safety from enemies who would come at them from the outside, or are they more worried about some internal enemies?
The world average for military spending is 2% of GDP. The U.S. is just over double the average, at 4.06%. The U.K., by contrast, matches India and Iran, at a mere 2.50%.
The US military commitment is massive, of course. So is its GDP. So the US military outlay far outweighs these much smaller economies, pound-for-pound. In 2011, US production output was about three times that of China, our closest economic competitor. Even though China's population is three times larger than the U.S. headcount. China's military outlay is 4.60% of its GDP.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/rawdata_2034.text
Raw Data:
1 Oman 11.40
2 Qatar 10.00
3 Saudi Arabia 10.00
4 Iraq 8.60
5 Jordan 8.60
6 Israel 7.30
7 Yemen 6.60
8 Armenia 6.50
9 Eritrea 6.30
10 Macedonia 6.00
11 Burundi 5.90
12 Syria 5.90
13 Maldives 5.50
14 Mauritania 5.50
15 Kuwait 5.30
16 Turkey 5.30
17 Morocco 5.00
18 Singapore 4.90
19 Swaziland 4.70
20 Bahrain 4.50
21 Bosnia & Herzegovina 4.50
22 Brunei 4.50
23 China 4.30
24 Greece 4.30
25 United States 4.06
26 Libya 3.90
27 Russia 3.90
28 Tajikistan 3.90
29 Cuba 3.80
30 Zimbabwe 3.80
31 Djibouti 3.80
32 Cyprus 3.80
33 Namibia 3.70
34 Angola 3.60
35 Colombia 3.40
36 Turkmenistan 3.40
37 Egypt 3.40
38 Algeria 3.30
39 Botswana 3.30
40 Guinea-Bissau 3.10
41 Lebanon 3.10
42 United Arab Emirates 3.1043 Australia 3.00
44 Sudan 3.0045 Solomon Islands 3.00
46 Pakistan 3.0047 Indonesia 3.00
48 Cambodia 3.00
49 Rwanda 2.90
50 Comoros 2.80
51 Kenya 2.80
52 Chile 2.70
53 Korea, South 2.70
54 Azerbaijan 2.6055 Sri Lanka 2.60
56 Lesotho 2.60
57 France 2.60
58 Bulgaria 2.60
59 Congo, Democratic
Republic of the 2.50
60 Iran 2.50
61 Vietnam 2.5062
62 India 2.5063
63 United Kingdom 2.4064
64 Croatia 2.3965
65 Portugal 2.3066
66 Sierra Leone 2.3067
67 Uganda 2.2068
68 Taiwan 2.2069
69 Burma 2.1070
70 Malaysia 2.03
71 World 2.00 < avg
72 Seychelles 2.00
73 Uzbekistan 2.0074
74 Estonia 2.0075
75 Finland 2.0076
76 Afghanistan 1.9077
77 Mali 1.9078
78 Norway 1.9079
79 Romania 1.9080
80 Fiji 1.9081
81 Slovakia 1.8782
82 Guyana 1.8083
83 Zambia 1.8084
84 Thailand 1.8085
85 Italy 1.8086
86 Hungary 1.7587
87 Poland 1.7188
88 Brazil 1.7089
89 Chad 1.7090
90 Ghana 1.7091
91 Slovenia 1.7092
92 South Africa 1.7093
93 Nepal 1.6094
94 Netherlands 1.6095
95 Uruguay 1.6096
96 Togo 1.6097
97 Cote d'Ivoire 1.5098
98 Sweden 1.5099
99 Peru 1.50100
100 Nigeria 1.50101
101 Germany 1.50102
102 Albania 1.49103
103 Czech Republic 1.46104
104 Belarus 1.40105
105 Belize 1.40106
106 Kyrgyzstan 1.40107
107 Papua New Guinea 1.40108
108 Tunisia 1.40
109 Ukraine 1.40
110 Senegal 1.40
111 Mongolia 1.40
112 Bangladesh 1.30
113 Cameroon 1.30
114 Denmark 1.30
115 Liberia 1.30
116 Niger 1.30
117 Malawi 1.30
118 Bolivia 1.30
119 Belgium 1.30
120 Burkina Faso 1.20
121 Spain 1.20
122 Venezuela 1.20
123 Ethiopia 1.20
124 Lithuania 1.20
125 Latvia 1.20
126 Canada 1.10
127 Guinea 1.10
128 Benin 1.00
129 Switzerland 1.00
130 Paraguay 1.00
131 Panama 1.00
132 New Zealand 1.00
133 Madagascar 1.00
134 Bhutan 1.00
135 Central African Republic 0.90
136 Congo, Republic of the 0.90
137 Ecuador 0.90
138 Gambia, The 0.90
139 Ireland 0.90
140 Luxembourg 0.90
141 Tonga 0.90
142 Somalia 0.90
143 Philippines 0.90
144 Kazakhstan 0.90
145 Gabon 0.90
146 Argentina 0.80
147 Sao Tome and Principe 0.80
148 Mozambique 0.80
149 Japan 0.80
150 Austria 0.80
151 Barbados 0.80
152 Bahamas, The 0.70
153 Malta 0.70
154 Dominican Republic 0.70
155 Costa Rica 0.60
156 Honduras 0.60
157 Suriname 0.60
158 Nicaragua 0.60
159 Jamaica 0.60
160 El Salvador 0.60
161 Georgia 0.59
162 Antigua & Barbuda 0.50
163 Mexico 0.50
164 Laos 0.50
165 Cape Verde 0.50
166 Guatemala 0.40
167 Haiti 0.40
168 Moldova 0.40
169 Mauritius 0.30
170 Trinidad & Tobago 0.30
171 Tanzania 0.20
172 Bermuda 0.11
173 Equatorial Guinea 0.10
174 Iceland 0.00
61 Vietnam 2.5062
62 India 2.5063
63 United Kingdom 2.4064
64 Croatia 2.3965
65 Portugal 2.3066
66 Sierra Leone 2.3067
67 Uganda 2.2068
68 Taiwan 2.2069
69 Burma 2.1070
70 Malaysia 2.03
71 World 2.00 < avg
72 Seychelles 2.00
73 Uzbekistan 2.0074
74 Estonia 2.0075
75 Finland 2.0076
76 Afghanistan 1.9077
77 Mali 1.9078
78 Norway 1.9079
79 Romania 1.9080
80 Fiji 1.9081
81 Slovakia 1.8782
82 Guyana 1.8083
83 Zambia 1.8084
84 Thailand 1.8085
85 Italy 1.8086
86 Hungary 1.7587
87 Poland 1.7188
88 Brazil 1.7089
89 Chad 1.7090
90 Ghana 1.7091
91 Slovenia 1.7092
92 South Africa 1.7093
93 Nepal 1.6094
94 Netherlands 1.6095
95 Uruguay 1.6096
96 Togo 1.6097
97 Cote d'Ivoire 1.5098
98 Sweden 1.5099
99 Peru 1.50100
100 Nigeria 1.50101
101 Germany 1.50102
102 Albania 1.49103
103 Czech Republic 1.46104
104 Belarus 1.40105
105 Belize 1.40106
106 Kyrgyzstan 1.40107
107 Papua New Guinea 1.40108
108 Tunisia 1.40
109 Ukraine 1.40
111 Mongolia 1.40
112 Bangladesh 1.30
113 Cameroon 1.30
114 Denmark 1.30
115 Liberia 1.30
116 Niger 1.30
117 Malawi 1.30
118 Bolivia 1.30
119 Belgium 1.30
120 Burkina Faso 1.20
121 Spain 1.20
122 Venezuela 1.20
123 Ethiopia 1.20
124 Lithuania 1.20
125 Latvia 1.20
126 Canada 1.10
127 Guinea 1.10
128 Benin 1.00
129 Switzerland 1.00
130 Paraguay 1.00
131 Panama 1.00
132 New Zealand 1.00
133 Madagascar 1.00
134 Bhutan 1.00
135 Central African Republic 0.90
136 Congo, Republic of the 0.90
137 Ecuador 0.90
138 Gambia, The 0.90
139 Ireland 0.90
140 Luxembourg 0.90
141 Tonga 0.90
142 Somalia 0.90
143 Philippines 0.90
144 Kazakhstan 0.90
145 Gabon 0.90
146 Argentina 0.80
147 Sao Tome and Principe 0.80
148 Mozambique 0.80
149 Japan 0.80
150 Austria 0.80
151 Barbados 0.80
152 Bahamas, The 0.70
153 Malta 0.70
154 Dominican Republic 0.70
155 Costa Rica 0.60
156 Honduras 0.60
157 Suriname 0.60
158 Nicaragua 0.60
159 Jamaica 0.60
160 El Salvador 0.60
161 Georgia 0.59
162 Antigua & Barbuda 0.50
163 Mexico 0.50
164 Laos 0.50
165 Cape Verde 0.50
166 Guatemala 0.40
167 Haiti 0.40
168 Moldova 0.40
169 Mauritius 0.30
170 Trinidad & Tobago 0.30
171 Tanzania 0.20
172 Bermuda 0.11
173 Equatorial Guinea 0.10
174 Iceland 0.00
- jR, aka AirFarceOne (Twitter)
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