During the 1970s, African arms imports rose faster than in any other region of the world. Indeed, military spending doubled between 1970 and 1977, albeit falling since that peak by about one-quarter by 1982,1 as may be seen in Figure 1. The expansion by developing countries of their armed forces during the 1970s, which was certainly not confined to Africa, stimulated interest among economists regarding its impact on economic growth. Our article attempts a quantitative assessment of some of the moew important factors which influence levels of military expenditures in developing countries, first in general and then in Africa specifically, by means of cross-country multiple regression analysis for the average of the years 1978–80. Although military spending is often an end in itself, providing a living for the soldiers and their suppliers, it is also justified on the grounds that it deters armed conflict or domestic unrest, despite being responsible for so many coups d'état.
