Project 01 · Power and Exposure · Spending vs. dying

$10.4 million
per death.

In 2024, the world spent $2,602 billion on military forces — the highest figure ever recorded. In the same year, 250,296 people died in armed conflict. The countries that spent the most were not the ones bearing the losses.

$2.6T
Global military
spending · 2024
37%
USA share of
global spend
$0
Palestine military
spend · 994 / 100k
Military spending 2024 · 121 countries
Military spending
Conflict deaths
← Less spending · More spending →
More deaths ↑
Mil. spend
Deaths 2022–25
01 — The field

One country.
A third of everything.

Each circle is a country. Size is proportional to its 2024 military spending. The United States alone — the largest circle — accounts for 37% of all global military expenditure. All others share the rest.

$968B
USA · 2024
$318B
China · 2024
02 — The human cost

The countries
that spend most
are not the ones dying.

A red circle appears inside each country — sized by conflict deaths 2022–2025. For the largest spenders: the red is invisible. For Ukraine, Myanmar, Palestine, Sudan: it dominates.

154K
Ukraine deaths
2022–2025
≈ 0
USA deaths
same period
03 — The outliers

Power and exposure
do not overlap.

USA: $968B spent. Zero recorded deaths.
China: $318B spent. 27 deaths.
Palestine: $0 spent. 53,776 deaths. 994 per 100k.
Ukraine: both — $66B and 154,560 dead.

04 — The structure

The gap
is structural.

X axis: spending. Y axis: deaths. Each country moves to its coordinates. The upper-left quadrant — high spending, near-zero deaths — is where the world's largest militaries live. The lower-right — no spending, extreme exposure — is where civilians die.

$10.4M
Spent globally
per conflict death
01
+36%

Increase in global military spending between 2015 and 2024 — from $1.9T to $2.6T. Every year of the last decade has set a new record.

02
34.5%

Ukraine's military spending as a share of GDP in 2024 — the highest proportion of any country on Earth. Up from 3.8% in 2015.

03
+1251%

Ukraine's military spending increase 2015–2024 — the largest 10-year rise ever recorded in the SIPRI database. From $4.9B to $66.8B.

04
9

Countries with zero recorded military spending and more than 1,000 conflict deaths 2022–2025. Among them: Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Sudan.

Coming next
The people who flee
Section 04 →