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

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

From GLW issue 36