Global military expenditure at 3.6 per cent saw its largestannual spike in a decade in 2019 with China and India being the second- andthird-largest spenders after the US, a Stockholm-based think-tank said onMonday, the first time the two Asian giants were among the top three countriesspending more on armaments.
The total global military expenditure rose to USD 1,917billion in 2019, representing an annual growth of 3.6 per cent compared to2018, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute (SIPRI).
The 3.6 per cent spike it said was the largest spendinggrowth since 2010.
While the US drove the global growth, China and India — thetop Asian military spenders — were respectively the second- and third-largestmilitary spenders in the world, the report said.
China’s military expenditure reached USD 261 billion in2019, a 5.1 per cent increase compared to 2018, while that of India grew by 6.8per cent to USD 71.1 billion, it said.
“India’s tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan andChina are among the major drivers for its increased military spending,”said Siemon T Wezeman, SIPRI Senior Researcher.
The total global military expenditure in 2019 represents anincrease of 3.6 per cent from 2018 and the largest annual growth in spendingsince 2010, it said.
The five largest spenders, which accounted for 62 per centof the total expenditure, were the US, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia,the report said, adding that this is the first time that two Asian states havefeatured among the top three military spenders.
In addition to China and India, Japan (USD 47.6 billion) andSouth Korea (USD 43.9 billion) were the largest military spenders in Asia andOceania. Military expenditure in the region has risen every year since at least1989.
The report said that the military spending by the US grew by5.3 per cent to a total of USD 732 billion in 2019 and accounted for 38 percent of global military spending.
The increase in US spending in 2019 alone was equivalent tothe entirety of Germany’s military expenditure for that year.
“The recent growth in US military spending is largelybased on a perceived return to competition between the great powers,” saidPieter D Wezeman, Senior Researcher at SIPRI.
The global military spending in 2019 represented 2.2 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), which equates to approximatelyUSD 249 per person.
“Global military expenditure was 7.2 per cent higher in2019 than it was in 2010, showing a trend that military spending growth hasaccelerated in recent years,” said Dr Nan Tian, SIPRI Researcher.
“This is the highest level of spending since the 2008global financial crisis and probably represents a peak in expenditure,”the researcher said.
In Europe, Germany’s military spending rose by 10 per centin 2019, to USD 49.3 billion, the largest increase in spending among the top 15military spenders in 2019.
“The growth in German military spending can partly beexplained by the perception of an increased threat from Russia, shared by manyNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states. At the same time,however, military spending by France and the United Kingdom remained relativelystable,” said Diego Lopes da Silva, Researcher at SIPRI.
In 2019, Russia was the fourth-largest spender in the worldand increased its military expenditure by 4.5 per cent to USD 65.1 billion.
“At 3.9 per cent of its GDP, Russia’s military spendingburden was among the highest in Europe in 2019,” said Alexandra Kuimova,Researcher at SIPRI.
The average military spending burden was 1.4 per cent of theGDP for countries in the Americas, 1.6 per cent for Africa, 1.7 per cent forAsia and Oceania and for Europe, and 4.5 per cent for the Middle East (incountries for which data is available).
SIPRI said that data from previous global economic downturnssuggests that the economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic willprobably disrupt the future military spending.