USA spends less on defense per dollar of GDP than 45 other countries!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

#1 Oman: $1.12 per $10 of GDP

#2 Eritrea: $1.04 per $10 of GDP

#3 Ethiopia: $0.99 per $10 of GDP

#4 Afghanistan: $0.91 per $10 of GDP

#5 Mali: $0.86 per $10 of GDP

#6 Israel: $0.76 per $10 of GDP

#7 Saudi Arabia: $0.73 per $10 of GDP

#8 Jordan: $0.68 per $10 of GDP

#9 Burundi: $0.64 per $10 of GDP

#10 Iran: $0.60 per $10 of GDP

#11 Bahrain: $0.55 per $10 of GDP

#12 Egypt: $0.54 per $10 of GDP

#13 Kuwait: $0.47 per $10 of GDP

#14 Maldives: $0.46 per $10 of GDP

#15 Libya: $0.45 per $10 of GDP

#16 Guinea: $0.44 per $10 of GDP

#17 Singapore: $0.42 per $10 of GDP

#18 Djibouti: $0.40 per $10 of GDP

#19 Macedonia, Republic of: $0.38 per $10 of GDP

#20 Congo, Democratic Republic of the: $0.38 per $10 of GDP

#21 Armenia: $0.38 per $10 of GDP

#22 Yemen: $0.38 per $10 of GDP

#23 Syria: $0.37 per $10 of GDP

#24 Sri Lanka: $0.36 per $10 of GDP

#25 Qatar: $0.35 per $10 of GDP

#26 Zimbabwe: $0.35 per $10 of GDP

#27 China: $0.34 per $10 of GDP

#28 Colombia: $0.34 per $10 of GDP

#29 Rwanda: $0.32 per $10 of GDP

#30 Pakistan: $0.31 per $10 of GDP

#31 Greece: $0.30 per $10 of GDP

#32 Sudan: $0.30 per $10 of GDP

#33 Bosnia and Herzegovina: $0.29 per $10 of GDP

#34 Argentina: $0.28 per $10 of GDP

#35 Morocco: $0.28 per $10 of GDP

#36 Serbia and Montenegro: $0.27 per $10 of GDP

#37 Mauritania: $0.27 per $10 of GDP

#38 Turkey: $0.27 per $10 of GDP

#39 Chile: $0.27 per $10 of GDP

#40 Lebanon: $0.25 per $10 of GDP

#41 Cyprus: $0.25 per $10 of GDP

#42 Lesotho: $0.25 per $10 of GDP

#43 Cambodia: $0.24 per $10 of GDP

#44 Botswana: $0.24 per $10 of GDP

#45 Ecuador: $0.24 per $10 of GDP

#46 United States: $0.24 per $10 of GDP

#47 France: $0.23 per $10 of GDP

#48 Laos: $0.23 per $10 of GDP

#49 United Arab Emirates: $0.23 per $10 of GDP

#50 Brazil: $0.22 per $10 of GDP

#51 Algeria: $0.22 per $10 of GDP

#52 Guinea-Bissau: $0.20 per $10 of GDP

#53 Benin: $0.20 per $10 of GDP

#54 Korea, South: $0.19 per $10 of GDP

#55 Congo, Republic of the: $0.19 per $10 of GDP

#56 Uruguay: $0.19 per $10 of GDP

#57 Seychelles: $0.18 per $10 of GDP

#58 Uganda: $0.18 per $10 of GDP

#59 Australia: $0.18 per $10 of GDP

#60 Paraguay: $0.18 per $10 of GDP

#61 Liberia: $0.17 per $10 of GDP

#62 Tajikistan: $0.17 per $10 of GDP

#63 Bolivia: $0.17 per $10 of GDP

#64 India: $0.17 per $10 of GDP

#65 Uzbekistan: $0.17 per $10 of GDP

#66 Comoros: $0.16 per $10 of GDP

#67 Croatia: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#68 Mongolia: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#69 Fiji: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#70 Bulgaria: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#71 United Kingdom: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#72 Peru: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#73 Turkmenistan: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#74 Poland: $0.15 per $10 of GDP

#75 Vietnam: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#76 Malaysia: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#77 Germany: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#78 Estonia: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#79 Azerbaijan: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#80 Haiti: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#81 Bhutan: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#82 Romania: $0.14 per $10 of GDP

#83 Namibia: $0.13 per $10 of GDP

#84 East Timor: $0.13 per $10 of GDP

#85 Sweden: $0.13 per $10 of GDP

#86 Tunisia: $0.13 per $10 of GDP

#87 Norway: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#88 Italy: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#89 Madagascar: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#90 Kenya: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#91 Togo: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#92 Slovenia: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#93 Philippines: $0.12 per $10 of GDP

#94 Netherlands: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

#95 Gabon: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

#96 Malta: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

#97 Angola: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

#98 Czech Republic: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

#99 Thailand: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

#100 Hungary: $0.11 per $10 of GDP

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_exp_...-figure-per-gdp

[mawilson 2,133]

That's cool. Of course our GDP is ridiculous... it's like 1,500 Afghanistans.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

That's cool. Of course our GDP is ridiculous... it's like 1,500 Afghanistans.

Yeah and we should spend in a manner consistent with our means. It looks like our defense spending is well below our means, all the heartaching from the pacifists notwithstanding.

[mawilson 2,133]

That's cool. Of course our GDP is ridiculous... it's like 1,500 Afghanistans.

Yeah and we should spend in a manner consistent with our means. It looks like our defense spending is well below our means, all the heartaching from the pacifists notwithstanding.

Awesome!

[Niels Bohr 72]

Well, technically is was showing $10 scale on GDP on every country listed. So, it seems to be a fair assessment that the US ranks 45 on spending.

[Jenn! 918]

What are the arguments for defense spending being proportional to GDP?

[Niels Bohr 72]

This stats is showing $10 on GDP. Ignore the GDP. But, when you compare the entire GDP, the US spends more.

[IAMX 3,055]

What are the arguments for defense spending being proportional to GDP?

They're basically saying we need to spend more money developing bombs.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If you have more, you oughta spend more on protecting it.

We are not spending enough to protect what is ours.

[Jenn! 918]

This stats is showing $10 on GDP. Ignore the GDP. But, when you compare the entire GDP, the US spends more.

The implicit assumption in showing the ranking in this way is that two countries with identical GDP's should spend the same amount on defense. Why? That is what I am asking. It seems too simplistic to me - there are so many variables that would affect a country's defense spending.

[mawilson 2,133]

What are the arguments for defense spending being proportional to GDP?

Not sure about defense, but there's a good argument for offense spending being

proportional to GDP: the bigger the military, the easier it is to wage war with impunity!

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

That's cool. Of course our GDP is ridiculous... it's like 1,500 Afghanistans.

Yeah and we should spend in a manner consistent with our means. It looks like our defense spending is well below our means, all the heartaching from the pacifists notwithstanding.

[Jenn! 918]

Here's an article that asserts that pegging defense spending to GDP is bogus: http://theiraqinsider.blogspot.com/2008/04...e-spending.html

[IAMX 3,055]

Here's an article that asserts that pegging defense spending to GDP is bogus: http://theiraqinsider.blogspot.com/2008/04...e-spending.html

Whoever wrote this article should be in charge of the DOD, or at least, the allocation of funds to it:

Arguing that defense spending is historically low as a percentage of GDP, and therefore must be increased, is a bit like a landlord arguing that because a tenant received a much-deserved pay raise, their rent should be increased automatically. Intelligent defense planning relies on requirements, tradeoffs, and a thorough evaluation of risk – not GDP – to determine need. Tying defense spending to GDP enables the Pentagon to further delay tough choices about force structure and continue its current push for more research and procurement dollars going towards weaponry that may be useless in future Iraq-style conflicts. Defense spending should remain subject to budgetary survival of the fittest.

The only real need for an increased amount of DOD spending is if we plan on fighting in Iran as well as North Korea.

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

The only real need for an increased amount of DOD spending is if we plan on fighting in Iran as well as North Korea.

a two region war has been the standard for a long time.