[sgtlethargic]

TL;DR: World peace via a piece. USA#1! Uncle Sam sags his flag pants. Your federal income tax dollars at work-- INCOMING!

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated military expenditures as of 2018 at $1822 billion.[1] This represented a relative decline from 1990, when military expenditures made up 4% of world GDP. Part of the money goes to the procurement of military hardware and services from the military industry. The combined arms-sales of the top 100 largest arms-producing companies and military services companies (excluding China) totaled $420 billion in 2018, according to SIPRI.[2] This was 4.6 percent higher than sales in 2017 and marks the fourth consecutive year of growth in Top 100 arms sales. In 2004 over $30 billion were spent in the international arms-trade (a figure that excludes domestic sales of arms).[3] According to the institute, the volume of international transfers of major weapons in 2014–18 was 7.8 percent higher than in 2009–13 and 23 percent higher than in 2004–2008. The five largest exporters in 2014–18 were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China whilst the five biggest importers were Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria.[4]