News Brief
Sharpest Annual Rise In Global Military Spending Since 2009, India Fourth Largest Spender: Here's All That SIPRI Report Says
Bhuvan Krishna
Apr 23, 2024, 08:03 PM | Updated 08:03 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
In 2023, India emerged as the fourth largest spender on military globally, allocating $83.6 billion, marking a 4.2 per cent increase from the previous year, as reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Here are the key findings from SIPRI's report:
Global military spending surged by 7 per cent to $2.43 trillion in 2023, representing the sharpest annual rise since 2009, attributed to deteriorating international peace and security.
The top spenders in 2023 were the United States, China, and Russia.
US military expenditure rose by 2.3 per cent to $916 billion, accounting for 68 per cent of total NATO military spending.
China, the world's second largest military spender, allocated approximately $296 billion to its military in 2023, marking a 6.0 per cent increase from the previous year.
Russia's military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated $109 billion, representing a 57 per cent rise since 2014, coinciding with the annexation of Crimea.
Ukraine, the eighth largest spender in 2023, saw a 51 per cent increase in military spending to $65 billion, supported by $35 billion in military aid from other countries, mainly the US.
European NATO members collectively increased their spending to $1.3 trillion, accounting for 55 per cent of global military expenditure.
Middle East witnessed a significant surge in military spending by 9 per cent to $200 billion, driven by conflicts and tensions in the region.
Israel's military spending grew by 24 per cent to $27.5 billion, primarily due to its offensive in Gaza in response to attacks by Hamas.
Iran ranked fourth in military spending in the Middle East with $10.3 billion, with a notable increase in allocation to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Japan and Taiwan saw increases in military expenditure by 11 per cent in 2023.
Central America and the Caribbean experienced a 54 per cent increase in military spending, mainly to combat organized crime.
Notably, the Democratic Republic of the Congo witnessed the largest percentage increase in military spending in 2023, rising by 105 per cent.
Poland's military spending surged by 75 per cent, making it the 14th highest spender globally.
Brazil's military expenditure increased by 3.1 per cent to $22.9 billion in 2023.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Bhuvan Krishna is Staff Writer at Swarajya.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.