Sipri report: Global military spending at all-time high

According to the report by the peace research institute Sipri, conflicts are driving global military spending to a record high.

Source: dpa

Countries around the world are investing more money in their armed forces than ever before. Global military spending rose to $2,443 billion in 2023, a new record, according to a report published in Stockholm on Monday by the peace research institute Sipri.

Compared to the previous year, expenses increased by 6.8 percent. This is the strongest increase in one year since 2009, the experts explain.

The unprecedented increase in military spending is a direct response to the deterioration of global peace and security.

Nan Tian, ​​head of the Sipri military expenditure and weapons production program

By prioritizing military strength, states risked an “action-reaction spiral,” the expert warned – “in an increasingly unstable geopolitical and security environment.”

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US with the largest military expenditures

According to the report, the United States remains by far the country with the largest military expenditures, with a total of $916 billion. In second place is China (estimated at $296 billion), followed by Russia (estimated at $109 billion).

According to the analysis, NATO countries would account for more than half of global military spending by 2023. The member states of the Western Defense Alliance spent a total of $1,341 billion on the military last year.

This means that eleven of the 31 NATO countries will still achieve the so-called two percent target in 2023. The target states that each NATO country must spend two percent of its economic output on the military.

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The war in Ukraine has changed the security outlook

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced in mid-February that 18 alliance states would achieve the two percent target this year. Sweden joined the defense alliance on March 7, 2024 as the 32nd member state.

According to the report, most European NATO countries increased their military spending in 2023 compared to the previous year. Their share of the total military expenditure of all NATO states was 28 percent.

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Lorenzo Scarazzato, Sipri-Forscher

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of NATO’s military expenditure went to the US.

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Germany is in seventh place in the rankings

According to data from Sipri, German military spending amounted to around 67 billion dollars (about 62.8 billion euros), nine percent more than in 2022. Just like last year, Germany finished in seventh place in the rankings.

According to the peace survey, the Federal Republic’s military expenditure has increased by 48 percent since 2014. The federal government has announced that it will meet the two percent target set by NATO this year.

The analysis takes into account all government spending on their armed forces, including troop wages, weapons purchases and research expenditures.

Source: epd, AFP

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