<P> For FY 2010 , Department of Defense spending amounts to 4.7 % of GDP . Because the U.S. GDP has risen over time , the military budget can rise in absolute terms while shrinking as a percentage of the GDP . For example , the Department of Defense budget is slated to be $664 billion in 2010 ( including the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan previously funded through supplementary budget legislation ) , higher than at any other point in American history , but still 1.1 -- 1.4 % lower as a percentage of GDP than the amount spent on military during the peak of Cold - War military spending in the late 1980s . Admiral Mike Mullen , former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , has called four percent an `` absolute floor '' . This calculation does not take into account some other military - related non-DOD spending , such as Veterans Affairs , Homeland Security , and interest paid on debt incurred in past wars , which has increased even as a percentage of the national GDP . </P>
<P> For FY 2010 , Department of Defense spending amounts to 4.7 % of GDP . Because the U.S. GDP has risen over time , the military budget can rise in absolute terms while shrinking as a percentage of the GDP . For example , the Department of Defense budget is slated to be $664 billion in 2010 ( including the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan previously funded through supplementary budget legislation ) , higher than at any other point in American history , but still 1.1 -- 1.4 % lower as a percentage of GDP than the amount spent on military during the peak of Cold - War military spending in the late 1980s . Admiral Mike Mullen , former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , has called four percent an `` absolute floor '' . This calculation does not take into account some other military - related non-DOD spending , such as Veterans Affairs , Homeland Security , and interest paid on debt incurred in past wars , which has increased even as a percentage of the national GDP . </P>
how much of us gdp goes to military
how much of us gdp goes to military
4.7 %
4.7 %