What is the cosmic-ray luminosity of our Galaxy?

The total cosmic-ray luminosity of the Galaxy is an important constraint on models of cosmic-ray generation. The diffuse high-energy gamma -ray and ra dio synchrotron emissions of the Milky Way are used to derive this luminosi ty. The result is almost 2 orders of magnitude larger than the standard est imate, based on the observed isotopic abundances of cosmic-ray nuclides. We discuss the plausible interpretation of this discrepancy and the possible origin of such a relatively large luminosity.