Global defense spending reaches all-time high: report

Military spending around the world reached the highest level ever measured by a major global think tank last year, rising to $2.4 trillion by 2023, according to a new report.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year’s $2.4 trillion in global defense spending marked a 6.8 percent increase from 2022 and marks the ninth consecutive year of increased military spending.

Global military expenditure per person reached $306, the highest number recorded by SIPRI since 1990.

“The increase in global military spending in 2023 can mainly be attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating geopolitical tensions in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East,” researchers wrote in the report. “Military spending increased in all five geographic regions, with large spending increases recorded in Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.”

The Hill previously reported how global defense spending has soared with the return of great power competition and a more multipolar world. That has prompted countries to reconsider crucial national security priorities and policies, from Europe to the Indo-Pacific.

According to the SIPRI report, the US and China account for about half of all global defense spending and the top ten spending countries are responsible for 74 percent of all military spending.

The US spent $916 billion on defense last year, far more than any other country. China spent $296 billion on defense last year, becoming the second highest expenditure item, and increased its military budget by 6 percent compared to 2022.

SIPRI noted that China has increased its military spending over the past 29 years, but this has declined over the past decade, in line with a lagging economy.

The third highest spender was Russia with $109 billion, up 24 percent from 2022, while India was the fourth highest spender with $83.6 billion and Saudi Arabia was fifth with $75.8, according to the report. billion.

Russia is spending 5.9 percent of its total economic output on the war, according to the SIPRI report, which noted that Moscow’s figures in the report may not be entirely accurate due to the opaqueness of the financial system since the war in Ukraine.

In East Asia, defense spending has soared as tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific between China, the US and their allies, the report shows.

Japan, which has moved away from long-standing pacifist policies and is moving to increase military resources, spent about $50 billion last year, up 11 percent from 2022 and 31 percent from 2014.

Taiwan, a self-governing island nation threatened by China, increased its military budget by 11 percent last year.

In Europe, defense spending has risen to $588 billion, an increase of 16 percent compared to 2022 and 62 percent compared to 2014, SIPRI notes.

The increase in defense spending on the continent comes as NATO members try to reach a target of 2 percent of economic output for defense spending, a target driven more urgently by the war in Ukraine.