Total global military spending rose for the second
consecutive year in 2018, to the highest level since 1988—the first year
for which consistent global data is available. World spending is now 76 per
cent higher than the post-cold war low in 1998.* World military spending in
2018 represented 2.1 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) or
$239 per person. ‘In 2018 the USA and China accounted for half of the
world’s military spending,’ says Dr Nan Tian, a researcher with the SIPRI
Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) programme. ‘The higher level of world
military expenditure in 2018 is mainly the result of significant increases
in spending by these two countries.’
The USA
and China lead increase in world military expenditure
US military spending grew—for the first time since
2010—by 4.6 per cent, to reach $649 billion in 2018. The USA remained by
far the largest spender in the world, and spent almost as much on its
military in 2018 as the next eight largest-spending countries combined.
‘The increase in US spending was driven by the implementation from 2017 of
new arms procurement programmes under the Trump administration,’ says Dr
Aude Fleurant, the director of the SIPRI AMEX programme.
China, the second-largest spender in the world,
increased its military expenditure by 5.0 per cent to $250 billion in 2018.
This was the 24th consecutive year of increase in Chinese military
expenditure. Its spending in 2018 was almost 10 times higher than in 1994,
and accounted for 14 per cent of world military spending. ‘Growth in
Chinese military spending tracks the country’s overall economic growth,’
says Tian. ‘China has allocated 1.9 per cent of its GDP to the military
every year since 2013.’
Three
decades of growth in military spending in Asia and Oceania
Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania has risen
every year since 1988. At $507 billion, military spending in the region
accounted for 28 per cent of the global total in 2018, compared with just
9.0 per cent in 1988.
In 2018 India increased its military spending by
3.1 per cent to $66.5 billion. Military expenditure by Pakistan grew by 11
per cent (the same level of growth as in 2017), to reach $11.4 billion in
2018. South Korean military expenditure was $43.1 billion in 2018—an
increase of 5.1 per cent compared with 2017 and the highest annual increase
since 2005.
‘The tensions between countries in Asia as well as
between China and the USA are major drivers for the continuing growth of
military spending in the region,’ says Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher
with the SIPRI AMEX programme.
Increases
in Central and East European countries
Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe
made large increases in their military expenditure in 2018. Spending by
Poland rose by 8.9 per cent in 2018 to $11.6 billion, while Ukraine’s
spending was up by 21 per cent to $4.8 billion. Spending by Bulgaria,
Latvia, Lithuania and Romania also grew (ranging from 18 per cent to 24 per
cent) in 2018.
‘The increases in Central and Eastern Europe are
largely due to growing perceptions of a threat from Russia,’ said Pieter
Wezeman, a senior researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme. ‘This is
despite the fact that Russian military spending has fallen for the past two
years.’
At $61.4 billion, Russian military spending was
the sixth highest in the world in 2018. Its spending decreased by 3.5 per
cent compared with 2017.
Other
notable developments
§ Military spending in South
America rose by 3.1 per cent in 2018. This was mainly due to the
increase in Brazilianspending (by 5.1 per cent), the second
increase in as many years.
§ Military expenditure in Africa fell
by 8.4 per cent in 2018, the fourth consecutive annual decrease since the
peak in spending in 2014. There were major decreases in spending by Algeria (–6.1
per cent), Angola (–18 per cent) andSudan (–49
per cent).
§ Military spending by states in
the Middle East for which data is available fell by 1.9
per cent in 2018.
§ Total military expenditure by
all 29 North Atlantic Treaty Organization members was $963
billion in 2018, which accounted for 53 per cent of world spending.
§ The largest absolute increase in
spending in 2018 was by the USA ($27.8 billion), while the
biggest decrease was bySaudi Arabia (–$4.6 billion).
§ Military spending in Turkey increased
by 24 per cent in 2018 to $19.0 billion, the highest annual percentage
increase among the world’s top 15 military spenders.
§ Six of the 10 countries with the
highest military burden (military spending as a proportion of GDP) in the
world in 2018 are in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia (8.8
per cent of GDP), Oman (8.2 per cent), Kuwait (5.1
per cent), Lebanon(5.0 per cent), Jordan (4.7
per cent) and Israel (4.3 per cent).
* All percentage changes are expressed in real terms
(constant 2017 prices).
For
editors
SIPRI
monitors developments in military expenditure worldwide and maintains the
most comprehensive, consistent and extensive data source available on
military expenditure. Military expenditure refers to all government
spending on current military forces and activities, including salaries and
benefits, operational expenses, arms and equipment purchases, military
construction, research and development, and central administration, command
and support. SIPRI therefore discourages the use of terms such as ‘arms
spending’ when referring to military expenditure, as spending on armaments
is usually only a minority of the total.
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