Military spending worldwide has risen by 37% over the past 10 years, reaching 1.204 Trillion dollars in 2006, according to the annual report published by SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) on June 11th.
The United States, with a spending of 528.7 Billion dollars in 2006, accounts for 46% of the total military spending worldwife, way ahead of all the other countries.
Right behind the US are the UK and France that both account for 4 to 5 % of the worldwide miltary spending in 2006.
The top 15 countries in the list alone account for 83% of the global budget.
Arms sales by the 100 top arms manufacturers in the world rose by 3% over 2005, reaching 290 Billion dollars.
I bet all these countries explain that all these arms are for security and safety reasons; what’s truly ironic is that over the past 10 years that military spending has risen by 37%, safety and security has dropped by so many times more than that!
The world is certainly not getting any safer!
So isn’t it clear yet that the more weapons we have, the less safe we become?
Imagine if a sum as big as that or even a fraction of it was invested in development projects, education, fighting poverty, building trust and better international relations, spreading understanding, or mediating between conflicting sides for example; I’m sure the world would be a much safer and better place for us all to live in.
The only people who win from this all are the arms manufacturers, but the loss is that of the whole of humanity!