Global military spending will reach US$2.4 trillion in 2023 after increasing by 7%
By Rahul | Published | No Comments
Stockholm: Global military spending will surge by 7% in 2023 to reach $2.43 trillion, as ongoing conflicts continue to fuel demand for military hardware.
The United States and China had the highest military spending last year, according to Sweden’s Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Minamida, a senior researcher at SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Weapons Production Program, warned that although countries have taken steps to prioritize military power, countries still face the risk of an “action-reaction spiral” amid the current geopolitical and security turmoil.
The think tank emphasized that in addition to the US$35 billion in military assistance Kyiv received from various countries, Russia’s military expenditure increased by 24% to approximately US$109 billion, while Ukraine’s military expenditure increased by 51% to US$65 billion.
This means that Ukraine’s total military spending, plus the aid it receives, is equivalent to 91% of Moscow’s expenditures.
In addition, SIPRI emphasized that the military expenditures of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states account for 55% of the world’s total military expenditures.
SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said that in the past two years, the wars in Russia and Ukraine have “fundamentally changed the security prospects of member states.”
The think tank highlighted that most European NATO members have increased their military spending, noting that changes in threat perceptions can be seen in the increase in the proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) devoted to military spending, with NATO’s target of 2% being explained as a minimum rather than a threshold.
It is worth noting that NATO members are required to spend at least 2% of their GDP on alliance defense expenditures.
In addition, SIPRI also stated that the United States, as a major member of NATO, increased its military expenditure by 2% to 9% and US$16 billion, which is actually equivalent to two-thirds of NATO’s total expenditure.
Percent changes are expressed in real terms at constant 2022 prices, the think tank said.
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