My Bases Are Bigger Than Your Country

Our roundup of the Pentagon's latest basing stats—plus a few we dug up ourselves.

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Thu Aug. 21, 2008 11:00 PM PDT

What a Spread!
Land occupied by US bases: 46,566 square miles*
Land area of North Korea: 46,541 square miles

Lessons From Rome
Roman bases at empire's peak (AD 117): 37
British bases at empire's peak (1898): 36
US military sites overseas (2007): 761*
In Germany: 268
In Japan: 124
In South Korea: 87
Number that the Pentagon defines as "medium" or "large" (worth at least $888 million): 30
Number of foreign countries/territories that host US bases: 39**
Total US sites, foreign and domestic: 5,429

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Military Architecture
Total Pentagon "facilities": 545,714*
Percentage of total on foreign soil: 19
Number on foreign soil: 102,376
Buildings: 52,962
Roads, bridges, weapons ranges, etc.: 39,648
Overseas facilities' "replacement cost": $119 billion

Priorities, Priorities
Estimated worldwide defense spending: $1.2 trillion
US share of the total: 49 percent
Federal defense spending (FY '08): $587 billion
Federal education spending (FY '08): $62 billion
Federal Social Security spending (FY '08): $5 billion
Bush budget request to train and equip foreign militaries (FY '08): $4.5 billion
Overall US spending for tsunami relief: $656 million

*Figures don't include bases in Iraq and Afghanistan; "facilities" include buildings, structures, roads, bridges, ranges, and plants; "sites" may include bases, hospitals, schools, and depots.
**The Pentagon does not acknowledge all of its bases. (See " America's Unwelcome Advances.")

Celia Perry is the research editor at Mother Jones. For more of her stories, click here.

Comments

Submitted by Pat Sui (not verified) on Fri Aug. 22, 2008 11:36 AM PDT.

[deleted]! I love this concept, but why are you comparing Roman and British "Bases" with US Military "Sites" ... that just monkey math. Makes you look like you're deliberately trying to manipulate something. Are you even reading these comments? Maybe the profanity helps? FOCK FOCK FOCK!

Submitted by David (not verified) on Fri Aug. 22, 2008 11:56 AM PDT.

I think comparisons with past empires are good, though the data would be suspect and the organizational needs at that time would of course not be the same.
But it makes the point clear: We already are an empire.

Submitted by JE (not verified) on Fri Aug. 22, 2008 2:47 PM PDT.

I left this piece of [deleted] country four years ago and glad I did.

Left country

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon Jul. 6, 2009 9:48 AM PDT.

Where did you go.
I hear Costa Rica is the happiest country in the world.

Sure would like to be happy.

I am certain that the allure

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon Aug. 3, 2009 8:06 PM PDT.

tagged as:

solution

I am certain that the allure of Amsterdamn and the District was too great.

Submitted by Karin (not verified) on Sat Aug. 30, 2008 8:23 PM PDT.

Glad to hear it.

Submitted by Gary North (not verified) on Fri Sep. 5, 2008 5:43 AM PDT.

This article deserves its own detailed Website, with links to supporting evidence, plus updates on costs annually.

Submitted by LiberalIncarnate (not verified) on Mon Sep. 8, 2008 6:51 PM PDT.

All empires inevitably fall. Rest assured. America will not fall from without, but from within.

Ironically, I look forward to this day when we are just an ordinary nation among nations.

Submitted by JKP (not verified) on Tue Sep. 9, 2008 8:08 PM PDT.

JE:

Hope the door hit you on the ass on your way out.

Submitted by james latimore (not verified) on Wed Sep. 10, 2008 6:59 PM PDT.

I was surprised at the relatively small number of foreign countries hosting U. S. bases--39. In other places, I have read of 150 or thereabouts. Did I miss something?

Submitted by Janet (not verified) on Tue Sep. 30, 2008 12:15 PM PDT.

Yes- I've also heard that it's 150 countries. The disclaimer in this article does state that the Pentagon tends to underestimate- who would have guessed? It's true that there is an unequal comparison between "bases" and "sites" - but just by the mere fact that we are in 150 countries is astonishing - regardless if there are 751 "sites".

Submitted by Gloria Paul (not verified) on Thu Oct. 9, 2008 3:36 PM PDT.

Thank you for providing these vitally important
and, until now, carefully hidden and disturbing
statistics.

Submitted by Mr Independent (not verified) on Sat Nov. 22, 2008 12:03 PM PST.

The only graph that is missing is the percent of GDP going to the Military Budget-It is a difficult chart however, as it passed the 100 percent mark in 2008!

Submitted by Daniel (not verified) on Fri Dec. 26, 2008 6:26 AM PST.

good article!

As a Navy dependent I grew up overseas in Africa, Malta and Spain- We lived in "little" Americas with our own schools and such- never really needing to go "off base" for anything.

The Pentagon paid dictator Franco for those bases in Spain, but now that democracy is flourishing in Spain it is time to come home- not just from Spain but also especially from the Middle East.

note to the British- please give Gibraltar back to the Spanish!

Submitted by Paul (not verified) on Sat Dec. 27, 2008 7:24 PM PST.

What? You do know the Romans had hundreds of permanent sites just in Britain. Additionally that "150 countries" includes the 150 countries where we have Marines working security at US Embassies and Consulates. You know what, every major power has troops posted in their Embassies. In reality there are only 71 military bases outside of the US.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/sites.htm