This database, provided freely online by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), is a simple but effective tool for those interested in the annual military expenditure of individual countries. Although this is one of the smaller databases in the SIPRI suite, it is a significant piece of the arms, arms control and disarmament research conducted by the institute.
Coverage includes data from 172 countries from 1988 to 2009. The most recent update occurred June 3, 2010. Figures are calculated three ways: in local country currency at current prices; US currency in constant (2008) prices and exchange rates; and as a percentage of GDP. A definition of military expenditure is provided indicating what information is included or excluded in the context of this database. A Sources and Methods section provides additional information including a more detailed explanation of the definition and limitations in its application. This section also provides users with sources used in data collection as well as the methodology used in creating the figures. A detailed explanation of estimates reported for China should be considered when using data for that country. Users should note that local currency figures (except for the USA) are calculated by fiscal year in contrast to figures in US currency, which are calculated by calendar year.
The most important feature of this database is the comparability of figures over time. Although the SIPRI Yearbook provides annual military expenditure figures, the statistics are not comparable over time due to subsequent revisions and updates after the volume goes to press. This database, through standardization of data as described in the Sources and Methods section, allows country data to be compared over time.
The database can be accessed from the side menu bar of the SIPRI website homepage. A simple drop‐down menu allows users to select an individual country for data extraction. There is nothing for the user to compute. All tables are produced in identical format. Unfortunately, extraction of multiple countries in a single request is not possible at this time. This is not the case for other SIPRI databases. Although accompanying documentation indicates that users can download data, no download option was available during the testing. This is a severe drawback for users. This product would be greatly enhanced by providing the option to create unique tables with multiple country extractions created on the fly for download. Currently users are left with limited ability to retain the query outputs aside from printing results.
Recent access to this product by users of Internet Explorer has been marred by errors in the menu bar display resulting in some overview information being hidden from view. Firefox users will not experience this problem.
This simple database does not contain features one would expect in such a product; however, other factors should be taken into account before discounting it entirely. All information contained in this database is freely available and can be used in conjunction with a suite of related SIPRI products. The ability to trace changes in country expenditures over time makes this a worthwhile tool for researchers interested in issues surrounding arms and arms control.
