Spent on war since January 1, 2026
$8.7B per day · $100,957 per second
Projected 2026, based on SIPRI 2024 actuals and a 5-year average growth rate. Actual figures are published annually in late April.
Instead, this money could have…
Cured cancer worldwide53,000,000
See sources
- The Lancet Oncology Commission — Global cancer care costs (2021)
- American Cancer Society — Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Facts and Figures (2022)
Approximate average per-patient cost of a full first-course cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and follow-up) in a high-income setting, drawn from Lancet Oncology Commission and ACS cost-of-care estimates.
Eradicated malaria globally35
See sources
- The Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication (2019)
- WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 (2021 update) (2021)
Total cumulative additional global investment required to eradicate malaria by 2030, per the Lancet Commission's modelled additional funding of roughly USD 90-120 billion on top of current spending.
Ended world hunger96
See sources
- Ceres2030 / Nature Research — Ending hunger sustainably (2020)
- IFPRI / Nature Food — Investment needs to end hunger by 2030 (2020)
Average additional annual public expenditure (approximately USD 33 billion) required from donors and low/middle-income governments through 2030 to end hunger (SDG 2), per Ceres2030 / IFPRI models published in Nature Food.
Clean water for everyone28
See sources
- World Bank — The Costs of Meeting the 2030 SDG Targets on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (2016)
- WHO / UNICEF JMP — Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022 (2023)
Annual capital investment of approximately USD 114 billion needed through 2030 to achieve universal safely managed drinking water, per the World Bank's SDG 6 costing study (Hutton & Varughese 2016).
Built schools in poor countries637,000,000
See sources
- UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report — Pricing the right to education (2015)
- Global Partnership for Education — Results Report (2022)
Approximate per-pupil capital cost (construction plus basic equipment) of creating one new school place in a low- or lower-middle-income country, derived from UNESCO GEM Report and GPE infrastructure costings.
Vaccinated every child on Earth335
See sources
- Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance — Investment Opportunity 2021-2025 (2020)
- WHO Immunization Agenda 2030 (2020)
Estimated annual global cost of delivering a full routine childhood immunization schedule to every child (approximately USD 9-10 billion), combining Gavi replenishment figures and WHO IA2030 costing.
Eliminated extreme poverty32
See sources
- World Bank — Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2022: Correcting Course (2022)
- Our World in Data — The economic cost of ending extreme poverty (2021)
Annual income transfer required to lift everyone above the USD 2.15/day international poverty line (the 'poverty gap'), estimated at roughly USD 100 billion per year using World Bank PIP data.
Protected all tropical rainforest71
See sources
- Rainforest Trust — Cost per acre protected (2023)
- FAO — Global Forest Resources Assessment (tropical forest area) (2020)
Total cost to place all of Earth's remaining tropical rainforest under durable legal protection. Computed as USD 25 per hectare (Rainforest Trust per-acre averages scaled to a hectare) multiplied by approximately 1.8 billion hectares of remaining tropical forest (FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020).
Doubled the world's solar capacity3,184
See sources
- IRENA — Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023 (2024)
- IEA — Renewables 2023 Analysis and Forecast to 2028 (2023)
Approximate capital cost to install one gigawatt (1 GW) of new utility-scale solar PV capacity, per IRENA's Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023 (global weighted-average ~USD 0.8-1.1 billion per GW installed). 1 GW powers roughly 200,000 European homes.
Funded all humanitarian appeals69
See sources
- UN OCHA — Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 (2023)
- UN OCHA — Global Humanitarian Overview 2023 (2022)
Total funding requirement of the UN-coordinated Global Humanitarian Appeal for 2024 (USD 46.4 billion to assist roughly 181 million people), as stated by UN OCHA.
Methodology
The counter projects this year's total global military spending based on the latest actual SIPRI figures multiplied by the 5-year average growth rate, then ticks in real time as a fraction of that yearly total based on seconds elapsed since January 1.
Each humanitarian alternative is computed from authoritative sources (WHO, World Bank, UNICEF, Gavi, UN OCHA, UNESCO, IRENA, FAO). Cost units and citations are listed in each category's “see sources” panel.
All data is open and lives in the public repository.