Global military spending set a historic record against the background of the war in Ukraine: in 2023, it reached USD 2.44 trillion.
This is the assessment made by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its report.
For the year, the growth of global military spending amounted to 6.8%, which also became a record indicator since 2009. At the same time, for the first time in 15 years, spending increased in all five geographic regions and reached 2.3% of world GDP.
"The increase in global military spending in 2023 can be explained primarily by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the escalation of geopolitical tensions in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East," experts note.
The top five countries in terms of defense spending have not changed since 2022. As before, the USA is leading in this indicator. In 2023, they spent USD 916 billion, or 3.4% of national GDP, on defense (against USD 877 billion, or 3.5% of GDP a year earlier).
China spent USD 296 billion, or 1.7% of GDP (USD 292 billion, 1.7% of GDP in 2022). Russia ranks third with USD 109 billion, or 5.9% of GDP (USD 86.4 billion, 4.1% of GDP). They are followed by India (USD 83.6 billion, or 2.4% of GDP) and Saudi Arabia (USD 75.8 billion, or 7.1% of GDP).
Russia's military spending in 2023 increased by 24% compared to 2022 and by 57% compared to 2014. Expenditures for military needs amounted to 16% of all budget expenditures, which became a record after the collapse of the USSR. However, the current amount of spending is "highly uncertain" due to the growing opacity of russia's financial system, SIPRI said. In addition to the state budget, funds for the military sphere come from such extrabudgetary sources as enterprises, private individuals and organizations.
"The growth of russian military spending in 2023 was largely facilitated by russia's economic indicators, which exceeded expectations, despite a significant drop in the country's revenues from oil and gas," the analysts write. They forecast a further increase in russia's military spending until 2026.
In turn, Ukraine increased its defense spending by 51%, up to USD 64.8 billion. The military burden was 37% of GDP, which is 58% of all government spending. At the same time, Kyiv's expenses reached 59% of russian expenses. However, if we take into account military aid of USD 35 billion from Western allies, this share will increase to 91%, according to SIPRI.
The combined costs of 31 NATO countries amounted to USD 1.34 trillion, or 55% of the world volume. The United States has a share of 68% in the alliance. At the same time, 11 countries of the bloc coped with the task of increasing military spending to 2% of GDP in 2023, which was a record number over the past ten years.
"The unprecedented growth of military spending is a direct consequence of the global deterioration of the peace and security situation. States prefer military power, but in the conditions of increasing volatility in the geopolitical and security landscape, they risk falling into an action-reaction spiral," said the senior researcher Nan Tian weapons production programs.
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