politicsanalysisOur World in Data
The US spends far more on each member of its military than other major powers do
Measured against its number of personnel, the United States spends much more on its military than other large powers. Per soldier, sailor and airman, the gap is wide, because American defence spending covers expensive high-technology equipment, a global network of bases and the costs of maintaining forces abroad. Spending per person is a different lens from total budget size, which the US also leads by a large margin. Looking at it per service member shows how much of the budget goes to equipment and operations rather than troop numbers alone.
Military budgets combine pay, equipment, bases and operations. Dividing total spending by active personnel shows how much each service member costs in those terms, which can differ sharply from total spending.
Per-person figures help explain why US defence budgets are debated: they separate how large the forces are from how expensively they are equipped and deployed.
Comparing defence budgets per soldier has been a common method since the Cold War, when analysts weighed the cost of maintaining large forces. Experts disagree about whether high per-person spending reflects technology, pay, or the reach of overseas deployments.
