Armenia and Azerbaijan are among top ten most militarized countries in the world in 2014, according to the Global Militarization Index (GMI) issued by The Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC).
Although Azerbaijan's military budget exceeds that of Armenia, it is ranked the 10th while Armenia is the 3rd in the GMI. The document says that Armenia and Azerbaijan increased their military budgets in 2013 and Russia supplies weapons to both the countries. Experts say that the situation is dangerous and global actors should interfere with the situation to prevent further escalation.
GMI ranked Israel as the most militarized country. Among top ten militarized countries are Singapore, Syria, Cyprus, South Korea, Jordan and Greece, according to the Index. Meanwhile, the United States is ranked the 31st.
The Index is based on the ratio of military expenses to the GDP and healthcare budget.
It is noteworthy that Armenia's military budget for 2013 and 20104 totaled 192 bln drams ($472 million) while Azerbaijan's military expenses totaled $3.8 billion in 2014 and will be increased by $1 billion in 2015.