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by Eliezer Sherman
Davids Sling interceptor. Photo: Israel Defense Ministry.
The two countries spending the highest percentage of their gross domestic product on defense spending are Saudi Arabia and Israel, Forbes reported on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia spent 10.4 percent of its GDP in 2014 on beefing up its military, while Israel spent 5.2% of its GDP last year on arming the Israel Defense Forces.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia boosted its military spending by 17% last year, amid concerns that its bellicose neighbor across the Persian Gulf, Iran, was working to destabilize the region and obtain a nuclear weapon.
Israel shares Saudi concerns, and reports have even surfaced of increased intelligence-sharing and defense ties between the two countries over the Iranian threat, despite having no diplomatic relations.
While the U.S. spent $571 billion on defense last year, this only represented 3.5% of U.S. GDP. So while Israel spent $23 billion, the purchases took a much bigger chunk out of Israel’s cash. Russia spent about 4.5% of its GDP on defense, and India spent 2.4%. China, which spent $129.4 billion in 2014, only spent about 2.1% of GDP.
