ThisCRS report lists and compares military expenditures of the United States and foreign countries usingtwo of the most commonly cited and readily available publications: The Military Balance, publishedin October of each year by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)andWorld Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers (WMEAT), published about annually by the U.S.Department of State, Bureau of Arms Control. (1)
Although the IISS and U.S. State Department aim to provide figures that are as consistent and accurate as possible, cross-national comparisons of defense spending are inherently imperfect. Available sets of figures are useful for comparative purposes, but often do not correspond with oneanother for a variety of reasons. This report provides two sets of figures from widely recognizedsources in order to offer Congress a sample of the data published on this topic.
This report lists and compares military expenditures of the United States and foreign nations using two sources: the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies' (IISS) The MilitaryBalance, and the U.S. State Department's World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers (WMEAT).
Although the IISS and the U.S. State Department aim to provide figures that are as consistent and accurate as possible, cross-national comparisons of defense spending are inherently imperfect. Available sets of figures are useful, but often do not correspond with one another for a variety ofreasons. This report provides two sets of figures from widely recognized sources in order to offerCongress a sample of the data published on this topic. This report will be updated as necessary.