Military spending: EU dwarf shrinks as US gets bigger

World military expenditure in 2011 totalled $1.74tr, almost unchanged since 2010 in real terms, according to figures released on the 17 April 2012 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The three top spenders in Western Europe — France, Germany and the UK — have begun to reduce spending as part of austerity measures imposed to reduce budget deficits. France’s military budget had fallen 4% since 2008, and while reductions over the same period in Germany (1.4%) and the UK (0.6%) have been more modest, both states planned further cuts in the coming years.

Far larger cuts had been made in Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland as a result of their sovereign debt crises, and most central European countries had also made severe cuts.

• Primary Source

E!Sharp, May 2012; Anand Menon: The sovereignty myth: aka protectionism http://esharp.eu/

SIPRI: Press Release, 17.4.12: World military spending levels out after 13 years of increases, says SIPRI http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/17-april-2012-world-military-spending-levels-out-after-13-years-of-increases-says-sipri

ESO: Background information: Asia defence spending to overtake Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/asia-defence-spending-to-overtake-europe/

Deutsche Welle, 16.4.12: Financial crisis takes its toll on global military spending http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15887089,00.html

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