icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
27 Apr, 2020 07:40

Annual global military spending hits highest point in a decade – SIPRI

Annual global military spending hits highest point in a decade – SIPRI

The US continues to be the driving force behind the surge in global military expenditure, spending $732bn last year, with China far behind in second place and India rounding out the top three, according to data provided by SIPRI.

Newly-released data by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that global military spending in 2019 jumped by 3.6 percent in comparison to the previous year, reaching a mind-boggling $1,917 billion in what has become its biggest annual growth since 2010.

Although the increase in US military spending – which swelled by 5.3 percent – was not the biggest among other top spenders, the sheer size of Washington’s military expenditure eclipses that of all other countries by miles.

With $732 billion spent in 2019, the US accounts for 38 percent of global military spending. China, which increased its military spending by 5.1 percent, still has a long way to go to catch up with Washington – while it churned out a whopping $261 billion, that figure is still almost three times less than that of the US.
India, which was ranked fourth last year, climbed into the top three with a 6.8 percent yearly increase, which pushed its military spending to $71.1 billion.

“India’s tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan and China are among the major drivers for its increased military spending,” Siemon Wezeman, a SIPRI senior researcher, said.

Pakistan’s expenditure stands at $10.3 billion. SIPRI noted that it has risen by 70 percent since 2010.

Russia was the fourth-largest spender in 2019, after not making the top five the previous year. Moscow’s military expenditure rose 4.5 percent, standing at $65.1 billion.
Saudi Arabia rounded out the top five countries, which combined account for almost two-thirds (62 percent) of global military spending.

If you like this story, share it with a friend!

Dear readers! Thank you for your vibrant engagement with our content and for sharing your points of view. Please note that we have switched to a new commenting system. To leave comments, you will need to register. We are working on some adjustments so if you have questions or suggestions feel free to send them to feedback@rttv.ru. Please check our commenting policy
Podcasts
0:00
24:47
0:00
25:49