Military spending around the world

A huge portion of the world's resources are used in militaries all over the world, but just how much is each nation spending?

The US is in the number one spot with almost £421 billion for its military expenditure.

In second place in this list is China with its £150 billion budget for their military program. The country is asserting its dominance in the Pacific with its ever-increasing professional military and navy.

Saudi Arabia is at a surprising number three with £61 billion being spent on its military.

The country has increased its military spending due to its war in Yemen, and increased need for security in the ever-destabilising Middle East.

Russia is in fourth place and while it enjoyed high oil prices it modernised much of its military.

Britain and France are the EU's biggest military spenders in this list with budgets of £38 billion and £35 billion respectively.

In March 2015 the United States approved a deal to sell nearly $100 million worth of smart bombs to the Turkish government. This purchase is part of the United States' foreign military sales program.

The United States is the biggest weapons and technology exporter in the world by a large margin.

Four of the top five largest defence contractors in the world are American companies. The next four largest exporters are Russia, Germany, France and China.

On the other side, the single largest purchaser of military equipment is Saudi Arabia which spent roughly $6.5 billion in 2014.