In 1990, the countries of the world spent more than $900 billion on arms.

November 20, 1991
Issue 

Since 1945, more than 22 million people have been killed in wars. 13 million of them were civilians.

Number of jobs created for each $1 million spent on:

Missile production

9

Military aircraft

14

Cleaning up pollution

16.5

Local public transport

21.5

Education

63

Five per cent of the world's annual military spending could pay for all of the following:
Reforestation: planting several billion trees ($2 billion)
Providing safe drinking water for the one-third of the world's population that lacks it ($5 billion)
Restoration of degraded farmland ($2 billion)
Research into replacement of ozone-destroying CFCs ($1 billion)
Reduction of air pollution ($5 billion)
Conservation of Third World natural assets ($4 billion)
Family planning services for 100 million couples ($6 billion)
Cleaning up hazardous wastes ($10 billion)
Research into environmental protection ($10 billion)

Industrialised countries' government-funded research and development:

Environmental pollution

1%

Energy

4%

Military

47%

Major arms exporters, 1969-88:

USSR

$236 billion

USA

$149 billion

France

$43 billion

UK

$23 billion

West Germany

$18 billion

China

$15 billion

Czechoslovakia

$14 billion

Poland

$13 billion

Italy

$11 billion

Switzerland

$5 billion Military expenditure and social/environmental development (1987 ranking)

Country

Military expenditure

Education

Health

Environment

USA

1

8

16

135

USSR

2

15

30

136

France

3

15

11

129

West Germany

4

21

9

125

UK

5

16

22

131

Japan

6

14

12

127

Iran

7

72

76

95

Italy

8

40

23

114

Saudi Arabia

9

69

57

137

China

10

73

72

122

India

11

102

96 115

Iraq

12

74

76

108

World military expenditures per soldier: $36,000
World education expenditures per student: $1100

Human resources (1987)

# of military personnel

# of teachers

# of doctors

World

26,620,000

36,710,000

5,024,600

Developed countries

10,246,000

10,731,000

3,079,500

Underdeveloped countries

16,374,000

25,979,000

1,945,100

From 1978 to 1988, Third World countries spent 23% more on buying foreign weapons than they received in economic development aid

US ranking

Military expenditure: 1

Military technology: 1

Military bases: 1

Military training of foreign forces: 1

Naval fleet: 1

Combat aircraft: 1

Nuclear warheads and bombs: 1

Nuclear tests: 1

Arms exports: 2

Armed forces: 3

Per cent population with safe water: 1

Per cent school-age children in school: 1

Literacy rate: 4

Per capita expenditure on education: 8

GNP per capita: 8

Maternal mortality rate: 13

Per capita public expenditure for health: 14

Life expectancy: 15

Infant mortality rate: 18

Population per doctor: 18

Under 5 mortality rate: 22

Per cent infants with low birth weight: 36

Fuel consumption of military equipment

M-1 Abrams tank: 47 litres/kilometre

F-15 jet, peak thrust: 908 litres/minute

F-4 Phantom fighter/bomber: 6359 litres/hour

Battleship: 10,810 litres/hour

B-52 bomber: 13,671 litres/hour

Aircraft carrier: 21,300 litres/hour

Carrier battle group: 1,589,700 litres/day

Armoured division: 2,271,000 litres/day US military carbon emissions in 1988 totalled 46 million tons, 3.5% of the US total

West German armed forces contribution to air pollution

Carbon monoxide: 6.5%

Nitrogen oxides: 5.4%

Hydrocarbons: 3.9%

Sulphur dioxide: 1.3%

Equivalents

One main battle tank

1000 classrooms for 30,000 children

One-half day's
world military spending

WHO program to wipe out malaria

One jet fighter

40,000 village pharmacies

One destroyer

Electricity for 9 million people

6 months' military spending

Ten-year program providing food requirements for all underdeveloped countries

Stealth bomber program

World clean water program for 6.5 years

Sources: World military and social expenditures 1991, State of the World 1991, Stop Aidex Campaign

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