It is essential for every country to maintain a proper defense infrastructure. The United States is one of the leading nations that have the most military budget. The defense of the United States is made up of 5 branches. These include Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. The military personnel is divided into three categories. They are active duty, reserve & guard forces and veterans & retirees. The Active duty people of the military are the soldiers and sailors that are on duty. Reserve and guard force the not full time. But they can be called for full-time military duty. Veterans and Retirees are the past members of forces and have retired.
The President of the United States also has the rank of Commander in Chief. He/she is responsible for all the final military decisions. The Secretary of the Department of Defense maintains authority over all the branches. They maintain their sovereignty on all departments except the Coast Guard. Department of Homeland Security is held responsible for Coast Guard. The United States is the largest weaponry exporter in the world. The country has a 34% share in arms export from 2013-17. Most of its defense equipment goes to Saudi Arabia. 5 of the top 10 weapon manufacturing companies are located in the US. These include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics.
Countries That Spend Most Only Military:
Following is a list of countries that have the most military budget:
| Rank | Country | Military Budget (US Billion Dollars) |
| 1 | United States | 647 |
| 2 | China | 151 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 56.7 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 50 |
| 5 | India | 47 |
| 6 | Russia | 47 |
| 7 | Germany | 45.2 |
| 8 | Japan | 44 |
| 9 | France | 40 |
| 10 | South Korea | 40 |
| 11 | Italy | 37.7 |
| 12 | Brazil | 29.3 |
| 13 | Australia | 26.3 |
| 14 | Israel | 20 |
| 15 | Canada | 16.3 |
| 16 | United Arab Emirates | 14.37 |
| 17 | Columbia | 12.14 |
| 18 | Spain | 11.6 |
| 19 | Afghanistan | 11.5 |
| 20 | Taiwan | 10.72 |
| 21 | Algeria | 10.57 |
| 22 | Turkey | 10.2 |
| 23 | Netherlands | 9.84 |
| 24 | Singapore | 9.7 |
| 25 | Poland | 9.36 |
| 26 | North Korea | 7.5 |
| 27 | Norway | 7 |
| 28 | Pakistan | 7 |
| 29 | Mexico | 7 |
| 30 | Indonesia | 6.9 |
| 31 | Oman | 6.71 |
| 32 | Greece | 6.54 |
| 33 | Iran | 6.3 |
| 34 | Sweden | 6.21 |
| 35 | Iraq | 6.055 |
| 36 | Chile | 5.83 |
| 37 | Thailand | 5.39 |
| 38 | Kuwait | 5.2 |
| 39 | Belgium | 5.08 |
| 40 | Ukraine | 4.88 |
| 41 | Switzerland | 4.83 |
| 42 | Malaysia | 4.7 |
| 43 | South Africa | 4.61 |
| 44 | Denmark | 4.44 |
| 45 | Egypt | 4.40 |
| 46 | Argentina | 4.33 |
| 47 | Angola | 4.15 |
| 48 | Venezuela | 4 |
| 49 | Portugal | 3.8 |
| 50 | Finland | 3.6 |
Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA):
China has the second largest defense budget. The country maintains a powerful army and spends 151 billion dollars on it. The armed forces of China are officially known as the Chinese People’s Republic Army. The Communist Party of China is the founding and the ruling party. PLA has a total of five professional service branches; these include Ground Force, Rocket Force, Navy, Air Force, and Strategic Support Force. There are different armed units that are assigned one of the five theatre commands as per their geographical location.
China’s force is known to be the largest military force in the world. It second largest in terms of their defense budget. It is one of the potential army powers that is modernizing at a very fast pace. Many research and development programs are being carried out in the country. These programs help in producing the latest weaponry. Adding to that, the nuclear department is also quite strong and developed. China is also known to be the third largest exporter of weapons. The regional defense of it is also quite strong. It has rising global power projection capabilities.
Saudi Arabia Military Spending:
Saudi Arabia is one of the leading nations that spend most on their armed forces. The country is under severe international pressure. That is because of the disappearance of a journalist named Jalal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Adding to that, there have been many clashes in Saudi Arabia with the United States. The arms trade of the US with Saudi Arabia is also affected. This happened because American munition is were used in many attacks by Saudi Aircraft against civilians in Yamen.
The country spends at least 10% of its total GDP on its armed forces. Adding to that they are planning to import more weapons. SA will import warfare equipment from the US for empowering their military. That seems to be a planned strategy to get the Uthe S on their side. Saudi Arabia also aims to become a dominant military power in the entire Middle Eastern region.
United Kingdom Defense Budget
The United Kingdom has one of the most effective military force in the world. The country is ranked forth by its defense budget. It spent 50 US dollars on its defense and military as per the statistics of the year 2018. The UK has the manpower of almost 30 million people. It has a total of 197,730 active military personnel. The country has a total of 832 aircraft. These include fighters, an attack transport, and trainers. The total naval assets of United Kingdom are 76. 2 of these are aircraft carriers, 13 frigates, six destroyers, ten submarines, 21 patrol vessels, and 13 mine warfare.
India: One of the Top 10 Defense Spenders
India also appeared on the list of top 5 countries that spend the most amount on their defense. In India, there are more than 2 million veterans, and 1.4 people are active military personnel. That is why most of the budget goes into their salaries. The increased expenditure doesn’t mean that they are deploying state of the art equipment. This was stated by Laxman Kumar Behera from Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis in Delhi. He also stated: “Because so much money is consumed by manpower costs, there isn’t enough left over to buy equipment,”
Russia: Defense Budget
Russia couldn’t secure a position in the top nation. It secured 6th rank in military expenditures worldwide. The finances of Russia are quite fragile after the two-year economic downturn. This downturn was caused by Western Sanctions and the collapse of global oil prices. A rise in the prices of crude oil aided in the stabilization of economy of Russia. The spending plan of government is aimed to keep the military expenditures will stay the same. The expenditures might decrease. These steps are being taken to manage inflation. Russia also has the largest nuclear stockpile in the world. It has a total of 6850 warheads. Approximately 1440 warheads are deployed and operational.
Defense Budget of Germany:
Germany is also one of the leading nations that spend most on their military services. Angela Merkel along with her defense minister stated that they would keep on boosting their defense spending. The country is planning to increase the military budget from 4 billion Euros to 42.9 billion euros. This would account for a 30 percent increase from 2014 to 2019. BY the year 2024, the country plans to increase its defense budget by 80 percent. This will allow them to buy the latest weaponry and equipment. Necessary steps are being taken to improve their military strength. The global firepower index ranks Germany on 10th rank with Power Index score 0.2461. The country has GFP affiliations are with Europe, NATO, and the European Union. Donald Trump has also stated that all the NATO members should increase their budget by at least 2 percent by the year 2024.
