Sunday, April 20, 2014

Top 10 Countries With Highest Defense Spending

Original source : http://www.smashinglists.com
Posted : August 2012
Author : the admin

There are many different factors that serve as an indicator for the annual defense spending for a country. They can include the overall size of the economy, the number of threats, resources and the priorities of a given society. I am sure it will come as no surprise when you see which country spends the most when it comes to the annual defense budget. Then again, when you have something worth protecting, you don’t really care what you have to go through.

10. BRAZIL
Spending: $35.4 Billion

World Share: 2.0%

Percentage of GDP: 1.5
Brazilian Navy, Air Force and Army serve under one group called the Brazilian armed forces. It is the largest in all of Latin America with around 327,710 troops and officers. They don’t really have any serious external or internal threats but for some reason their annual spending ends up at number ten. Their military is under the control of their president with President Dilma Rousseff as the Commander-in-Chief and Celso Amorim as Minister of Defense.

9. GERMANY
Spending: $46.7 Billion

World Share: 2.7%

Percentage of GDP: 1.3
The Federal Defense Force or Bundeswehr is what the army, navy and air force serve under. The states of Germany are not allowed to have armed forces of their own. According to their constitution, the military subject falls under the federal government. They have around 207,247 troops. In addition to that they have around 200,000 troops in reserve. Thomas de Maiziere serve as the Commander-in-Chief and the Defense Minister.

8. INDIA
Spending: $46.8 Billion

World Share: 2.7%

Percentage of GDP: 2.5
Indian Armed Forces consist of Army, Navy, Coast Guard and the Air Force. They are supported by paramilitary forces. President Pranab Mukherjee serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the forces while A. K. Antony is the Minister of Defense. They are spending money on their missile system and their nuclear program. They have more than 1.32 million troops with around another 2.14 million as reserves. They are one of the world’s largest military forces.

7. SAUDI ARABIA
Spending: $48.2 Billion

World Share: 2.8%

Percentage of GDP: 8.7
The Saudi Armed Forces comprised of Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Force, Royal Saudi Navy, Royal Saudi Air Defense, Saudi Arabian National Guard and the paramilitary forces. They have more than 200,000 active troops. The national guard does not serve as reserve, they are a full-fledged part of the Armed Forces. King Abdallah bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud serves as their Commander-in-Chief and Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud is the Minister of Defense.

6. JAPAN
Spending: $59.3 Billion

World Share: 3.4%

Percentage of GDP: 1.0
Japan Self-Defense Forces were established after the end of the Second World War occupation of Japan. They are mostly engaged in international peacekeeping missions these days. The defense forces serve under the prime minister by the name of Yoshihiko Noda with Satoshi Morimoto as the Minister of Defense. They have around 247,746 active troops while another 57,899 personnel in reserve. Of course these figures are an estimate.

5. FRANCE
Spending: $62.5 Billion

World Share: 3.6%

Percentage of GDP: 2.3
The French Armed Forces consist of the French Army, French Navy, French Air Force and National Gendamerie. The President of the nation is the head of those forces and his title is ‘Chief of the Military Forces’ or ‘Chef Des Armees’ in French. The name of the President or the C-in-C is Presiden Francois Hollande while Jean-Yves Le Driam is the Minister of Defense. They have around 251,750 active military troops with another 70,000 in reserve.

4. UNITED KINGDOM
Spending: $62.7 Billion

World Share: 3.6

Percentage of GDP: 2.6
The British Armed Forces include the Navy, Air Force and Army. They are also known as Her Majesty’s Armed Forces or the Armed Forces of the Crown. The Queen serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the forces; Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Rt. Hon Philip Hammond MP is the Secretary of State for Defense and General Sir David Richards is the Chief of the Defense Staff. They have around 227,160 active personnel while another 174,800 in reserve.

3. RUSSIA
Spending: $71.9 Billion

World Share: 4.1%

Percentage of GDP: 3.9
When the Soviet Union was dissolved the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was formed. The army is under the control of the government and therefore their president Vladimir Putin serves as the Supreme Command-in-Chief of the army. Anatoliy Serdyukov is the Minister of Defence. They have around 1,027,000 active personnel (2010) with another 754,000 in reserve. Their forces are ranked fifth in the entire world.

2. CHINA
Spending: $143 Billion

World Share: 8.2%

Percentage of GDP: 2.0
People’s Republic of China has a unified military organization by the name of People’s Liberation Army. It was established in the year 1927 on the 1st of August and to this date it is celebrated as the PLA Day. Hu Jintao serves as the Chairman of Central Military Commission, General Liang Guanglie is the Minister of National Defense while General Chen Bingde is the Chief of PLA General Staff. They have around 2,285,000 active troops and are ranked first while they have another 800,000 as a reserve.

1. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Spending: $711 Billion

World Share: 41%

Percentage of GDP: 4.7
The forces of the United States of America are the United States Armed Forces. Their president serves as the head with help from the United States Department of Defense. Therefore the Commander-in-Chief of the entire forces is President Barack Obama. Leon Panetta serves as the Secretary of Defense and General Martin Dempsey is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They have around 1,456,862 active military troops while another 1,458,500 in serving as reserve.

~Blog Admin~

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