Murphy's Law: June 19, 2001

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When the Cold War ended, world military spending didn't take as much of a dive as many expected. Ten years after the Soviet Union disintegrated, defense spending is inching up again, standing at about $800 billion worldwide. World Defense spending declined some twenty percent right after the Cold War Ended (going from a trillion dollars a year to some $800 billion) and fell to nearly $700 billion by 1998. But since then it has been moving up again. The major reason is U.S. defense spending, which is currently 37 percent of the world total. Spending is also up in Africa (lots of rebellions and civil wars), Russia (trying to halt the slide of it's once formidable military power) and South Asia (an arms race between India and Pakistan.) Arms exports are also growing, with the United States (half the world total) and the European Union (24 percent of the world total) leading the way.

 

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