15 Countries With Highest Defense Spending and Largest Military Budgets

1. United States

Military Spending: $611 Billion

The U.S. not only has the largest military spending in the world, but its expenditures are only slightly lower than those of the following nine countries combined. The U.S accounts for 33% of all weapon exports and is involved in most major conflicts around the world, playing a major role in the fight against the Islamic State. As the largest NATO member, the U.S also has 800 military bases in other countries and earlier this year inaugurated its first military base in Israel. Recently, the U.S Senate approved a $700 billion military bill for next year. The U.S is also a nuclear superpower, with 6,800 warheads, including 1,800 deployed. Overall, U.S military spending accounts for 3.3% of its GDP and during the last decade that spending has inched down by 4.8% to sit 20% lower than its peak in 2010. The decline can be attributed to 2011 legislation that capped military spending, although subsequent legislation adopted in 2013 and 2015 eliminated those restrictions.

The U.S is also home to some of the largest aerospace and defense companies, some of which have engaged in a number of M&A transactions. In 2016, Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE:COL) bought B/E Aerospace for $8.20 billion and Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) merged with the IT services businesses of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) in a deal worth $5.93 billion. Both deals were the largest in the industry last year.

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These are the 15 countries with highest defense spending and largest military budgets. Not only are these countries spending staggering amounts of money on their defense, but some of them also plan further increases in order to be able to face any potential threats. The question remains whether or not the governments of these countries will use all their military power to maintain global peace, or will spark more conflicts with potentially devastating consequences.

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