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Country-Level Military Finance Trends
Government & Civic Records
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About
Provides historical financial data detailing military spending globally over five decades. This longitudinal dataset captures military expenditure from 1970 through 2020 for numerous countries, allowing for time series analysis of defence budgets. The data includes spending measured in current US Dollars, as a percentage of government expenditure, and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Columns
country: Name of the nation (266 unique values).iso3c: Standard 3-digit country code.iso2c: Standard 2-digit country code.year: The specific year of the record, ranging from 1970 to 2020.Military expenditure (current USD): The absolute monetary value of military spending.Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure): Military spending relative to the total governmental budget.Military expenditure (% of GDP): Military spending relative to the national economic output.adminregion: The administrative region the country belongs to (e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa).incomeLevel: Classification of the country's income status (e.g., High income).
Distribution
The dataset is typically provided in a CSV file format and contains approximately 13,600 valid records (rows) across nine columns. While core geographic and temporal fields are well-populated, certain detailed expenditure metrics (such as Military expenditure in current USD or % of GDP) have a significant number of missing records (approximately 35%). Country codes may also have minor gaps.
Usage
This data is ideal for time series analysis exploring trends in global defence spending. Users can conduct country-specific economic comparisons, model the relationship between economic output (GDP) and military budget allocation, or study geopolitical financial shifts over 50 years. It is also valuable for comparative studies across income levels and administrative regions.
Coverage
The data covers military expenditure across 266 distinct geographical entities. The temporal scope is extensive, covering five decades from 1970 up to and including 2020. Coverage is worldwide, classified by various administrative regions and income levels, although not all expenditure metrics are available for every country/year combination.
License
CC0: Public Domain
Who Can Use It
- Economists: To analyse the impact of military spending on national budgets and GDP.
- Political Scientists/Geopolitical Analysts: To track the changing balance of power and defence priorities globally.
- Researchers: To study long-term temporal trends (1970–2020) in governmental resource allocation.
- Journalists/Data Visualisers: To create informative graphics demonstrating global expenditure shifts.
Dataset Name Suggestions
- Global Defence Spending (1970-2020)
- Fifty Years of World Military Expenditure Data
- Country-Level Military Finance Trends
- Military Expenditure by Country: 1970–2020
Attributes
Original Data Source: Country-Level Military Finance Trends
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