Our World in Data is a free, nonprofit website with a mission to increase understanding of the world’s largest problems and drive informed action to solve them. Based out of Oxford University (@ox.ac.uk), founded by @maxroser.bsky.social.
Our World in Data
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“Scaling up: how increasing inputs has made artificial intelligence more capable”: ourworldindata.org/scaling-up-ai
Exponential growth is at the heart of the rapid increase of computing capabilities in the last decades.
Learn more in our articles:
"What is Moore's Law?": ourworldindata.org/moores-law
The cost of computer memory and storage has fallen exponentially.
SIPRI updates this data annually, with the next release expected around April 2027.
Explore the data for all countries in the interactive version of this chart: ourworldindata.org/grapher/mili...
The latest release covers around 150 countries from 1949 to 2025, though not all countries and regions have data for the full period.
Our colleague @parriagadap.bsky.social recently updated our charts with the latest release.
SIPRI builds the database from open sources — defense budgets, audit reports, and IMF and World Bank figures — and adjusts for differences in how countries report their fiscal years, so the numbers are comparable across borders.
SIPRI compiles the most consistent long-run data available on military spending: in absolute terms (as shown in the chart here) and as a share of both GDP and overall government spending.
How much do countries spend on their militaries?
How has this changed over time, and how do different countries compare?
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (@sipri.org) provides a key resource for answering these questions and more.
