Tag Archives: military

North Korean Missiles

maximum range of north korean missiles

North Korea possesses a variety of missiles with different range capabilities. On one hand, there is the Scud-V with a range of less than 1,000 Km. that will easily reach South Korea, on the other there is the Taepodong-3 with a range of 10,000 Km. that could potentially reach the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe.

In terms of balance in the conflict zone, North Korea outnumbers South Korea and the US forces combined in number of troops, tanks, aircraft and navy vessels.

Source: News Agency Ria Novosti

Suggested reading: The Brookings Institution: North Korea and Nuclear-Armed Missiles:  Calming the Hyperbole

 

Number of Deaths in World War II

This visualization found in Wikimedia.org, shows World War II casualties per country by number and percentage of population, as well as the percentage of military and civilian deaths for the Allied and the Axis Powers.

The countries with the largest number of casualties were the Soviet Union, China, Germany, Poland, and Indonesia. As a percentage of the population, the nations with the  largest number of casualties were Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Germany, and the Soviet Union.

For the Allied forces, the heaviest casualties were inflicted on the civilian population, whereas the largest number of casualties for the Axis forces were inflicted on the military.

 

U.S. Military Personnel Around the World

According to this map by Bloomberg, in 2012 approximately 12.5% of active-duty military personnel were stationed outside the United States, in places like Afghanistan, Turkey, Australia Canada, Greenland, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Egypt, Myanmar, South Korea, Greece and Western Europe.

The pie chart above shows the top 14 places where the U.S. has active duty soldiers stationed.

Resources:

 

 

Education Expenditure vs. Military Expenditure

This visualization by the Deutsche Welle, shows how much is spent in education versus how much is spent in the military, as a percentage of the GDP, worldwide.

The dividing line denotes equal expenditure in both education and the military. Most countries seem to be concentrated on the left side of the line, meaning they spend more in education than in defense. Countries in this group include the United States, Iran, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Canada, etc. The country that immediately grabs our attention is Cuba, showing the highest expenditure in education (about 13% of its GDP) relative to its expenditure in defense (about 4% of its GDP). Lesotho follows Cuba very closely.

On the right side of the dividing line, we have the nations spending more on the military relative to education spending. Countries in this group include: Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Israel, etc. It is worth noting that Oman shows the highest expenditure in defense (close to 12% of its GDP) relative to its expenditure in education (about 4% of its GDP). Saudi Arabia and Qatar follow Oman closely.

For more visualizations of education indicators worldwide, visit: Deutsche Welle: In Numbers: Education Around the World

 

Women in Front-Line Combat Roles Worldwide

Women are not allowed to take part in front-line combat roles in most nations. According to the map shown above, published by the Washington Post, front-line combat positions for women are permitted mostly in western nations.

Countries that formally allow women in combat positions (red) include: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Eritrea, Israel, North Korea, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, where the ban on women in front-line combat has been recently lifted.

Countries where women are formally allowed in other major combat roles (orange), such as artillery and fighter pilots, include: the United Kingdom, Serbia, South Africa, Pakistan and South Korea.

 

The Most and Least Peaceful Countries

click to enlarge

Vision for Humanity has compiled the Global Peace Index (GPI) for 2012. The GPI is a composite index that measures the peacefulness of countries around the world. It considers 23 weighted quantitative and qualitative indicators such as perceived criminality in society, access to weapons, imports of weapons, military expenditure, homicides, political instability, jailed population, weapons exports, violent crime, among others.

The lower the score, the more peaceful the nation. I that context, the most peaceful country is Iceland, followed by Denmark, New Zealand, Canada and Japan. On the other end of the spectrum, the least peaceful country is Somalia, followed by Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The interactive map can be found at: Vision of Humanity: 2012 Global Peace Index

For detailed information about the GPI and its methodology, visit: Institute for Economics and Peace: Global Peace Index 2012