Total global defense spending in 2023 has increased by 6.8% compared to 2022, surpassing $2.4 trillion, according to a report published on Monday by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
“Military spending rose for the ninth consecutive year to a record high of $2.443 trillion. For the first time since 2009, military spending increased in all five geographic regions defined by SIPRI, with particularly significant growth recorded in Europe, Asia. The Pacific and the Middle East,” the document said.
This is the highest increase in global military spending recorded since 2009, the report highlighted.
Russia’s military spending in 2023, according to SIPRI estimates, will amount to $109 billionwhich is an increase of 24% compared to the figures in 2022. This allowed the Russian Federation to take the 3rd place in the list of countries with the largest defense expenditures compiled by SIPRI.
Ukraine ranks 8th in terms of spending: they increased by 51% – to 64.8 billion dollars, but the report notes that during the year Ukraine received at least 35 billion dollars in military aid, including 25.4 billion dollars from the US.
US military spending last year increased by 2.3%, reaching $916 billion, the highest figure in the world. The share of US defense spending was 68% of NATO’s total military spending, SIPRI recalled.
The Stockholm Institute reports that most European NATO members also increased defense spending in 2023, and that 11 of the 31 members met or exceeded the defense spending target of around 2% of GDP.
China ranks 2nd in the world in terms of defense spending: about 296 billion dollars are allocated for military needs in 2023. This is 6% more than in 2022. Japan increases it by 11% – to 50.2 billion dollars.
SIPRI notes that “war and tensions in the Middle East are driving the biggest increase in spending in a decade.” Thus, according to estimates, in 2023, military spending in the countries of the Middle East increased by 9% – up to 200 billion dollars. The leaders are Saudi Arabia ($75.8 billion, an increase of 4.3%) and Israel ($27.5 billion, an increase of 24%). Iran has spent $10.3 billion in 2023.
India ranked 4th in a worlda on military expenditures: they amount to 83.6 billion dollars, which is 4.2% more than in 2022.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, military spending increased by 54% in 2023. compared to 2014. The rise of organized crime has forced several countries in the region to strengthen their military to combat criminal gangs. Thus, the Dominican Republic’s military budget increased by 14% last year precisely in response to the surge in organized crime in the neighboring Republic of Haiti. In 2021, growth was triggered by the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, which plunged Haiti into a state of crisis.
In Mexico, military spending reached $11.8 billion in 2023, up 5% from 2014. Budget funds for the National Guard, which fights organized crime, increased from 0.7% of total military spending in 2019 to 11% in 2023. of the military to tackle organized crime has been a growing trend in the region for many years, as governments either fail to address the problem through conventional means or choose to resort to more violent responses,” Diego López da Silva wrote in the report.
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