World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers, 1998

Book excerpt: NOTE: NO FURTHER DISCOUNT FOR THIS PRINT PRODUCT--OVERSTOCK SALE -- Significantly reduced list price while supplies last This 27th issue of World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers (WMEAT) is published by the Department of State, following its merger with the previous publisher, the former U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. The report covers 1987 to 1997, from the final years of the Berlin Wall through eight succeeding years. Thus, it depicts the transition from the Cold War in statistical terms. The report shows that military spending in developing countries has been increasing since 1995, while that in developed countries may have reached the end of its decline. Arms imports of both groups have been increasing since 1994 and particularly in the last year. While armed forces continued to contract in the developed group, those of the developing group appear to have stabilized. Regional data reveal some arresting trends, including sharp advances in military spending and arms imports in East Asia, South America, and North Africa. The individual countries causing the trends are of course shown in the data. Indicators of military burden, such as the ratio of military spending to GNP, appear to have generally leveled and reached the bottom of their post-Cold War decline. They may be poised to rise again, and even the present levels are too high in many places in the developing world. The report shows that the work of arms control, non-proliferation, and disarmament cannot be relaxed, and indeed, greater efforts are needed now and in the future.