Reference: New Report and Data Files: “World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 2015”
From the U.S. State Dept.:
This edition of World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers (WMEAT), WMEAT 2015, published in December 2015, covers the eleven-year period from 2002 through 2012, the most recent year for which final data for many parameters were available in 2015. It responds to a statutory requirement that the U.S. Department of State annually publish detailed, comprehensive and statistical information and in-depth analyses regarding military expenditures, arms transfers, armed forces, and related economic data for each country of the world.
This edition of WMEAT is published electronically, on the website of the U.S. Department of State, in the form of four distinct downloadable documents:
- this “Introduction and Overview” section, also available as a PDF document;
- Table I, the military expenditures and armed forces personnel table, in an Excel spreadsheet workbook containing eight “world pages” (pages of global scope) and 170 country pages;
- Tables II – IV, the arms transfer deliveries tables, in an Excel spreadsheet workbook containing thirteen “world pages” (no country pages); and
- a “Sources, Data and Methods” section, in a PDF document.
The Tables make up the body of this report. They offer much information not described in the “Overview.” The “Sources, data and methods” section is indispensible for understanding the methodological basis for data in the tables, especially with respect to substantial and pervasive uncertainties and sources of error.
Read the Complete DOS Blog Post/Intro
See Also: NEW CRS Report: Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 2007-2014, (via FAS.org)
Hat Tip and Thanks: @Gijn
Filed under: Data Files, News

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.