Annual Expenditure for US Defense: $578b Annually

The U.S. spends $610 billion annually on national defense.

That’s more than the total spent by the next seven biggest military spending nations combined. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan spend a combined total of $578 billion annually.

There is little public recognition of this spending comparison. In fact, just 45 percent of American voters recognize that the United States spends more on its military than any other individual country in the world. Only 22% recognize that America spends more than Russia and China combined.

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more rep ts from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.