21 August 2000
Source:
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
1 August 2000
(State Department issues information on obtaining publication) (320) The State Department's Bureau of Verification and Compliance reports that world trends in military spending and the arms trade showed an upswing in 1997, following post-Cold War declines. The Department issued its findings on these trends as well as statistical tables on related data for each of 172 countries in a report available from the Superintendent of Documents. Following is information on obtaining the report: (begin text) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Office of the Spokesman August 21, 2000 MEDIA NOTE MILITARY EXPENDITURES AND ARMS TRANSFERS 1998 The State Department's Bureau of Verification and Compliance reports that world trends in military spending and the arms trade showed an upswing in 1997, following post-Cold War declines. The findings are contained in the just-released report, World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1998, the 27th in the series. In addition to statistical tables on military expenditures, arms transfers, armed forces, and economic comparison data for each of 172 countries over the 1987-1997 period, the publication contains analytic highlights and charts, world rankings of countries for 17 indicators, and an essay on small arms and light weapons. The World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers report was published by the former U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency until its merger with the Department of State. Copies of the report are sold by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office. Press copies may be obtained from the Office of Press Relations, Rm. 2109. The report is also available on the website of the Bureau of Verification and Compliance: http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/bureau_ac/wmeat98/wmeat98.html or contact the Bureau of Verification and Compliance, WMEAT Staff, (202) 736-4290. (end text)
21 August 2000
(State Department report shows arms trade increase in 1997) (1410)
The following fact sheet summarizes the major findings of the
just-released report, World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers
1998. The report, which is the 27th in the series, was issued on
August 21 by the State Department's Bureau of Verification and
Compliance.
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
August 21, 2000
FACT SHEET
WORLD MILITARY EXPENDITURES AND ARMS TRANSFERS 1998
Military Expenditures
-- World military spending rose to $842 billion in 1997, a 2% increase
over the previous year. This may represent the beginning of an upturn
in the world trend, following a 1995-96 low that had fallen 60% from
the 1987 peak level.
-- The spending of the developed countries rose slightly in 1997 to
$610 billion after bottoming in the previous year at 54% of the
1987-88 peak.
-- Developing country spending, on the other hand, has been growing
since 1993-94 and reached a new historic high of $232 billion in 1997.
The developing share of world spending was 28%, rising from 17% a
decade earlier.
-- Regional shares of world military spending shifted over the
1987-1997 period, as Eastern Europe's share in particular fell from 35
to 8% with the collapse of communism. At the same time, there was over
a doubling of the shares of East Asia (from 9 to 21%) and South Asia
(0.9 to 2), with growing shares by North America (29 to 34), Western
Europe (16 to 22), and South America (1.6 to 2.4%).
-- The OECD countries accounted for 62% of world military spending in
1997, up from 48% a decade earlier. The NATO share rose from 44 to
54%.
-- In the half-decade of 1993-1997, rising spending trends where seen
in East Asia, South America, South Asia, and North Africa. The main
decline was in Eastern Europe, particularly Russia.
-- United States spending in 1997 made up 33% of the world total,
compared to 27% in 1987 and a high of 36% in 1993. This was despite
having declining spending trends over the decade as well as the latter
half-decade, since the rest of the world declined more rapidly.
-- The world's top 10 military spenders in 1997 were (in billions):
United States $276 billion United Kingdom $35 billion
China - Mainland 75 (rough estimate) Germany 33
Russia 42 ( " " ) Italy 23
France 42 Saudi Arabia 22
Japan 41 South Korea 15
Arms Imports
-- The world arms trade rose sharply in 1997 to $55 billion, a 23%
increase over 1996, following a precipitous drop by nearly one half
from the 1987 all-time high of $81.5 billion to $42 billion in 1994
(in 1997 dollars).
-- Most of the previous decline had been in the arms imports of
developing countries, whose 1994 bottom was under 40% of its 1987
peak. Developed country arms imports were fairly steady over the
decade, with a low in 1995. As a result, the developing and developed
shares of world imports went from about 70:30 in 1987 to roughly 50:50
in 1997.
-- Three importing regions - the Middle East, East Asia, and Western
Europe - accounted for over 80% of the world trade in 1997. In 1987,
their share had been under two-thirds. Middle East imports alone were
over one-third of the total in both years; East Asia's share more than
doubled to reach 30% in 1997; Western Europe's imports declined
moderately.
-- In the three-year 1995-1997 period, the main importing regions and
their world share were (in billions of current dollars):
Middle East $53.1 38%
East Asia 35.5 25
Western Europe 25.8 18
North America 5.3 4
South America 4.2 3
Oceania 4.0 3
-- In this period, the leading arms importing countries were the
following (in billions):
Saudi Arabia $31.3 Turkey $4.9
China - Taiwan 12.5 United Kingdom 4.5
Japan 6.8 South Korea 4.2
Egypt 5.3 United States 3.8
Kuwait 5.0 United Arab Emir. 3.8
Arms Exports
-- World arms exports (equal to world arms imports) rose 23% in 1997
to $54.6 billion, or about two-thirds of the all-time high a decade
earlier. The increase went mainly to East Asia and the Middle East.
-- The top arms exporting regions in 1997 were North America with 59%
of the world total (of which the U.S. had 58%), Western Europe -- 30%,
Eastern Europe -- 7%, and East Asia -- 2.5%. By comparison, in 1987
Eastern Europe (mainly the Soviet Union) lead with 44%, North America
had 29%, and Western Europe, 19%.
-- In 1995-1997, the main exporting countries were (in billions of
current dollars):
United States $77.8 55% Germany $3.8 3%
United Kingdom 18.0 13 Sweden 3.1 2
France 12.0 8 China - Mainland 2.4 2
Russia 9.2 7 Israel 2.0 1
-- U.S. exports in this period went mainly (55%) to developed
countries, and 24% went to NATO countries. The shares of U.S. exports
by recipient region were:
Middle East 33% Oceania 3%
Europe 28 Africa 1
East Asia 27 South Asia 1
The Americas 4 Non-regional 4
-- The top recipients of U.S. arms exports in 1995-1997 were (in
billions):
Saudi Arabia $13.7 Turkey $3.1
China - Taiwan 8.1 Kuwait 2.9
Japan 6.8 South Korea 2.9
Egypt 4.6 Israel 2.6
United Kingdom 4.4 Germany 2.4
-- The ratio of the number of major weapon imports to the dollar
volume of arms imports indicates that developed counties import fewer
major weapons and more of other items (parts, accessories, services,
etc.) than do developing countries.
-- In terms of the number of major weapons exported during the
1995-1997 period, the U.S. was the primary supplier with 34% of the
world total, followed by Russia, 19%, and France, 12%. France was the
largest supplier in the 1992-1994 period.
-- Over the 12 year period 1986-1997, the largest supplier of major
weapons was the Soviet Union/Russia combination with 29% of the total,
followed by France (26%), the United States (13%), China (4%), and the
United Kingdom and Germany (3%).
-- The Middle East led in major weapon imports in 1995-1997, followed
by Western Europe, East Asia, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and
South Asia.
Other Indicators
-- Countries with the top 10 armed forces in 1997 were (in thousands):
China - Mainland 2,600 Turkey 822
United States 1,532 South Korea 670
Russia 1,300 Vietnam 650
India 1,265 Pakistan 610
North Korea 1,100 Iran 575
-- The world's military burden, as commonly measured by the ratio of
military expenditures to GNP, dropped to 2.6% in 1997 from 5.2% a
decade earlier. In 1997, it was nearly the same for developed (2.5%)
and developing (2.7%) countries. By region it ranged from 7.6% in the
Middle East to 1.5% in Central America and the Caribbean.
-- In another measure of burden, the ratio of military expenditures to
central government expenditures (which may take better account of a
country's ability to finance its military effort), the developed
countries by 1997 fell to a smaller burden (9.4%), than the developing
countries (13.3%). The Middle East burden of 22.7% was again the
highest, while Western Europe had the lowest, 5.5%.
-- The ratio of military expenditures to population, a rough indicator
of the cost of military security, dropped nearly in half, from $271 in
1987 to $145 in 1997 for the world. The decline was primarily in
developed countries, where it fell from $909 to $525. In developing
countries, it fell from $62 to $50.
-- In 1997, 7 of the top 10 countries in terms of this measure were in
the Middle East (in dollars per capita):
Israel $1,690 Saudi Arabia $1,050
Singapore 1,650 United States 1,030
Kuwait 1,500 United Arab Emir. 1,020
Qatar NA Bahrain 880
Brunei 1,220 Oman 790
-- The ratio of military expenditures per member of the armed forces
may serve as a rough measure of the level of military technology in a
country. In terms of this measure, the developed countries have
declined from an average of $99,000 per serviceman in 1988 to $85,000
in 1997. The developing country average, on the other hand, rose to a
new high of $15,400.
-- In 1997, this measure ranged from a high of $180,000 in the U.S. to
under $1,000 in several countries.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Informational Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)