Economic Costs | Costs of War (2024)

Through Fiscal Year 2022, the United States federal government has spent and obligated $8 trillion dollarson the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere. This figure includes: direct Congressional war appropriations; war-related increases to the Pentagon base budget; veterans care and disability; increases in the homeland security budget; interest payments on direct war borrowing; foreign assistance spending; and estimated future obligations for veterans’ care.

This total omits many other expenses, such as the macroeconomic costs to the US economy; the opportunity costs of not investing war dollars in alternative sectors; future interest on war borrowing; and local government and private war costs.

Public access to budget information about the post-9/11 is imperfect and incomplete. The scale of spending alone makes it hard to grasp. Public understanding of the budgetary costs of war is further limited by secrecy, faulty accountingand the deferral of current costs.

The current wars have been paid for almost entirely by borrowing. This borrowing has raised the U.S. budget deficit, increased the national debt and had other macroeconomic effects, such as raising consumer interest rates. Unless the U.S. immediately repays the money borrowed for war, there will also be future interest payments. We estimate that interest payments could total over $6.5 trillion by the 2050s.

Spending on the wars has involved opportunity costs for the U.S. economy. Although military spending does produce jobs, spending in other areas such as health care could produce more jobs. Additionally, investment in nonmilitary public infrastructure such as roads and schools has not grown at the same rate as investment in military infrastructure.

Finally, in addition to federal war costs, the post-9/11 wars have cost billions of dollars of state, municipal and private funds, including dollars spent on services for returned veterans and their families and local homeland security efforts.

(Page updated as of September 2021)

Economic Costs | Costs of War (2024)

FAQs

Economic Costs | Costs of War? ›

Including estimated future costs for veterans' care, the total budgetary costs and future obligations of the post-9/11 wars is about $8 trillion in current dollars. To learn more, read the report The U.S. Budgetary Costs of the Post-9/11 Wars, published on September 1, 2021.

What is the economic effect of war? ›

Wars often cause immense economic damage. In war sites, the capital stock, which comprises economic assets such as machinery and buildings, is destroyed. At the same time, economic output, on average, falls by 30 percent and inflation rises by about 15 percentage points over five years.

What is the economic cost of armed conflict? ›

The average economic cost of violence in the ten most conflict-affected countries in the world is equivalent to 41% of their gross domestic product (GDP). In stark comparison, the average economic cost of violence in the ten most peaceful countries amounts to just 3.9 per cent of their GDP.

What are the potential costs of war? ›

Wars cause death and destruction, disrupt trade, and wreak havoc on public finances. For countries that experience war on their own soil, this typically amounts to an outright economic disaster.

What is the true cost of war? ›

The true cost of war, however, is measured in the lives cut short and those left behind to carry on their memory. The true cost of war is the child who grows up without a father or mother or the partner who loses the opportunity to grow old with their significant other.

What are some economic factors that affect war? ›

In general, access to distant markets and scarce resources, imperialism, concerns about the impact of economic interdependence and population growth have been the most common economic causes of the outbreak of international wars, while the 'greed' and the exacerbation of 'grievances' are considered to be the main ...

What happens to economy in World War? ›

The gross national product of the U.S., as measured in constant dollars, grew from $88.6 billion in 1939 — while the country was still suffering from the depression — to $135 billion in 1944. War-related production skyrocketed from just two percent of GNP to 40 percent in 1943 (Milward, 63).

What is the economic cost of violence? ›

$14.4 trillion, to be precise. The consequences of violence amount to considerable direct and indirect costs that erode economic development, increase instability and increase inequality.

What are the economic impacts of conflict? ›

These effects include shocks to employment and investment, large outflows of refugees, and reductions in health and schooling levels. Alleviating the humanitarian crisis and preventing human capital losses is important for preventing long-term negative economic repercussions.

What war cost the most money? ›

The economic cost of this war has greatly changed the world by altering the power structure of the world. World War Two lasted 6 years and it was the most expensive war in the history. Adjusted for inflation to today's dollars, the war cost over $4 trillion.

Who pays the economic costs of the war? ›

And while the U.S. paid for past wars by raising taxes and selling war bonds, the current wars have been paid for almost entirely with borrowed money, on which interest has to be paid. Through FY2022, the U.S. government owes over $1 trillion in interest on these wars.

What is the estimated cost of war? ›

The U.S. federal price tag for the post-9/11 wars is over $8 trillion. The U.S. government is conducting counterterror activities in 78 countries.

How does war create money? ›

War usually leads to a shortage in the supply of commodities, which results in higher prices and higher revenues. When it comes to supply and demand in terms of economics, profit is the most important end. During war time, "war-stuff" is in high demand, and demands must be met.

How does war affect the US economy? ›

The wars have also impacted interest rates charged to borrowers by banks and other creditors. This is the result of war spending financed entirely by debt, which has contributed to a higher ratio of national debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and subsequent rising long-term interest rates.

What wars cost the most lives? ›

Most Deadliest Wars of All Time In The World
  • The Chinese Civil War. ...
  • The Russian Civil War. ...
  • Conquests of Timur-e-Lang. ...
  • World War I. ...
  • The Dungan Revolt. ...
  • Taiping Rebellion. Death toll: 20 million - 30 million. ...
  • The Qing Dynasty Conquest of the Ming Dynasty. Death toll: 25 million. ...
  • The Second Sino-Japanese War. Death toll: 29 million.
Jan 25, 2024

What are the 11 war crimes? ›

A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostages, unnecessarily destroying civilian property, deception by perfidy, wartime ...

How does conflict affect the economy? ›

One of the main ways conflict can cause economic damage is by influencing investors' expectations about political risks and the potential for a future resurgence in violence. Inclusive political institutions can support economic regeneration by preventing the risk of inequality between groups fuelling further unrest.

What were the economic effects of the post war? ›

As the Cold War unfolded in the decade and a half after World War II, the United States experienced phenomenal economic growth. The war brought the return of prosperity, and in the postwar period the United States consolidated its position as the world's richest country.

What are the effects of war on society? ›

War destroys communities and families and often disrupts the development of the social and economic fabric of nations. The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital.

What does economic mean in war? ›

Economic warfare or economic war is an economic strategy utilized by belligerent nations with the goal of weakening the economy of other states. This is primarily achieved by the use of economic blockades. Ravaging the crops of the enemy is a classic method, used for thousands of years.

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