Global military spending soars to new record highs
'Military security has became a priority again'
- "In this sense, these numbers are just a reflection of that mindset."
- Pointing to Ukraine and the recent exchange of blows between Iran and Israel, Schörnig also noted that defense was far most costly than an offensive.
- "Take the drones that Iran is delivering to Russia, for example, and that Iran recently deployed," he told DW.
- "Organizing that kind of defense is hugely cost-intensive."
Schörnig, the institute's senior researcher in international security, said conflicts such as the war in Ukraine were proof that the logic of disarmament has reached its limits. Instead, he said, the world has entered a new era in which armament is spiraling out of control as most arms control agreements are outdated or no longer in use.
- "States need to return to controlled armament," he said.
- "They need to agree not to arm themselves above a certain level. This could de-escalate things a bit.
- Arms controls could be an interim goal, a way to limit and stabilize armament, and avoid everyone wildly arming themselves however they like."
- In 2023, Israel's large-scale offensive in Gaza and tensions in the wider region led to the highest annual growth in military spending the Middle East had seen in 10 years.
- Total military expenditure in the region grew by 9% and amounted to $200 billion.
- Israel's military spending alone spiked by 24% to $27.5 billion, second only to Saudi Arabia.
- "If the general political climate doesn't change, I don't believe the current upward trend in armament will come to an end," he said.
- "This would only be possible if Ukraine achieved a peace agreement that didn't divide the country."
- He said he also hoped the United States and China could negotiate to keep the regional conflict with Taiwan under control.
Even if they could, he said, "this current geopolitical situation is like a powder keg, and SIPRI's numbers reflect just that."
This article was originally written in German.
What's behind China's military spending increase?
Liang said China was directing most of its growing military budget toward increasing the combat readiness of its People's Liberation Army.
"We are clearly seeing that trend because, if you look at spending, it has been rising for 29 consecutive years," Liang said. "That's the longest streak recorded by a single country. It's mostly actually increasing set alongside the pace of its economic growth, regardless of fluctuations in geopolitical tensions or global crisis such as the war in Ukraine or COVID."
- Japan and Taiwan both raised their military spending by 11%, to $50.2 billion and $16.6 billion, respectively.
Ukraine-Russia war spending imbalanced
- At 5.9% in 2023, Liang said, Russia's military spending in relation to its gross domestic product (GDP) reached its highest point since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- By comparison, Ukraine's military spending was 37% of its GDP.
- The bare numbers highlight that the fight between Russia and Ukraine is imbalanced, but Western support has helped Ukraine level the playing field, preliminary SIPRI reports indicated.
"From the spending trend last year, all but three countries in NATO increased their spending," Liang said.
- "And also we've seen the most number of countries, in 11 out of 31 members in NATO, that met or exceeded the 2% GDP target, which is the highest since the end of the Cold War.
- We expect to see more countries reaching their targets in the next few years.
- Now also, with Finland and Sweden joining NATO, I think the spending by NATO countries as a whole will keep rising."
- With a budget increase of 105%, the Democratic Republic of the Congo stood out as the country with the single largest increase in military spending in 2023 by percentage.
- Researchers attributed this boost to the protracted conflict between the government and non-state armed groups.
How surprising is military expenditure rise? Xiao Liang, a researcher in SIPRI's military expenditure and arms production program, told DW that "what might be surprising is how large the increases are in the rest of the world, especially in Latin America and Africa."
- Liang said the governments of Mexico and El Salvador were using the military for internal affairs such as combating organized crime and gang violence.
- Ecuador and Brazil are showing similarly concerning trends, he added.
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database
The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database contains consistent time series on the military spending of countries for the period 1949–2023. The database is updated annually, which may include updates to data for any of the years included in the database.
- Figures in constant (2022) and current US dollars, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita are presented according to calendar year.
- Figures given as a share of government expenditure are presented according to financial year.
The availability of data varies considerably by country, but for a majority of countries that were independent at the time, data is available from at least the late 1950s. Estimates for regional military expenditure have been extended backwards depending on availability of data for countries in the region, but no estimates for total world military expenditure are available before 1988 due to the lack of data for the Soviet Union.
SIPRI military expenditure data is based on open sources only.
Access the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database directly at milex.sipri.org/sipri.
Download the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database (Excel).
As an independent non-profit organization, SIPRI welcomes funding from private individuals and organizations who share our mission. Those interested in supporting SIPRI and our independent authoritative data can find more information by clicking here.
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