France gave 38% of its government research budget to defence, now 8%; the US still gives half
Britain: 46% in 1981 and 16% in 2023; the US: 55% and 51%. US military spending fell from 5.6% to 3.4% of GDP over the same years.
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Governments budget money for research: on health, energy, space, defence. In France and Britain the defence part of it has fallen several times over since the early 1980s; in the US it stayed near half, though military spending relative to GDP fell in all three.
Pairs of bars by country: orange is defence's share of government research appropriations in the first year of the series, blue in the latest.
- United States: Defence share of government R&D budget % of GBARD
1981: 54.6
- United States: Defence share of government R&D budget % of GBARD
2025: 51.5
- United States: Military expenditure % of GDP
1981: 5.6
- United States: Military expenditure % of GDP
2024: 3.4
- United Kingdom: Defence share of government R&D budget % of GBARD
1981: 46.3
- United Kingdom: Defence share of government R&D budget % of GBARD
2023: 15.6
- United Kingdom: Military expenditure % of GDP
1981: 5
- United Kingdom: Military expenditure % of GDP
2024: 2.3
- France: Defence share of government R&D budget % of GBARD
1981: 38.4
- France: Defence share of government R&D budget % of GBARD
2024: 7.8
- France: Military expenditure % of GDP
1981: 3.2
- France: Military expenditure % of GDP
2024: 2.1
OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators: GBARD, central government appropriations for R&D by objective, the share for defence. Military spending: SIPRI via the World Bank, % of GDP.
This is a budget, not actual research spending (GERD), and only central government money. Countries file different things under defence, such as military space or nuclear programmes. The card says nothing of causes.
A question for this picture
What share of civil government research budgets goes to space?