For the ninth consecutive year, military spending soared around the world to a record $2.4 trillion in 2023. According to a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global spending on weapons increased by 6.8% compared to the $2.24 trillion allocated in 2022.
In the last year, the United States was the country that spent the most money on its military ($916 billion accounting for 37% of total spending), followed by China ($296 billion) and Russia in third place. ($109 billion). India is next on the list of the 10 countries with the largest military budget ($83.6 billion), followed by Saudi Arabia ($75.8 billion), the United Kingdom ($74.9 billion), Germany ($66.8 billion), Ukraine ($64.8 billion), France (61.3 billion dollars) and Japan ($50.2 billion).
The study explains that the war that broke out as a result of Hamas attacks against Israel in October of last year, along with increasing tensions between the West and the Middle East and Russia's war with Ukraine dating back to 2022 are reasons why countries have increased the money it allocates to its armed forces. The fight against criminal gangs in South and Central America also had an influence. In short, Dr. Nan Tian, senior researcher at SIPRI's military expenditure and arms production program claims the increase is a direct response to the "global deterioration of peace and security."
By continent, the Americas lead the ranking with $1.09 trillion in military spending. They are followed by Asia and Australia, with $595 billion; Europe, with $588 billion; and Africa, with $51.6 billion.
Among the 40 countries that allocate the most money to their armed forces, only nine of them reduced their budget from 2022 to 2023. They are: Greece (-17%), Pakistan (-13%), Kuwait (-8.8%), Indonesia (-7.4%), Thailand (-6.5%), Italy (-5.9 %), Romania (-4.7%), Australia (-1.5%) and Mexico (-1.5%). The remaining 31 increased their spending. The countries with the highest increases were Algeria (+76%), Poland (+75%), Finland (+54%), Ukraine (+51%), Denmark (+39%), Turkey (+37%), Israel (+24%) and Russia (+24%).
