The world is arming itself at the fastest rate since near the end of the Cold War, according to a new report, as major wars rage in Ukraine and Gaza and military tensions spike from Europe to Asia. <\/p>\n
The 9.4% year-on-year rise to $2.718 trillion in global military spending in 2024 is the highest figure ever recorded by the authoritative Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in its annual report \u2013 which warned there\u2019s no end in sight to the spiraling global arms race. That is the highest rise since 1988, the year before the Berlin Wall fell. <\/p>\n
\u201cMany countries have also committed to raising military spending, which will lead to further global increases in the coming years,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n
The United States remains by far the world\u2019s biggest military spender \u2013 almost a trillion dollars in 2024, the report said. <\/p>\n
Big ticket items in the US budget included F-35 stealth fighters and their combat systems ($61.1 billion), new ships for the US Navy ($48.1 billion), modernizing the US nuclear arsenal ($37.7 billion) and missile defense ($29.8 billion). <\/p>\n
The US budget included $48.4 billion in aid for Ukraine, almost three-quarters of Kyiv\u2019s own defense budget of $64.8 billion. <\/p>\n
China followed the US in overall military spending with an estimated $314 billion, just under a third of the US total, the report said. <\/p>\n
It did not break down Beijing\u2019s spending by weapons or command, but noted China \u201cunveiled several improved capabilities in 2024, including new stealth combat aircraft, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and uncrewed underwater vehicles.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cChina also continued to rapidly expand its nuclear arsenal in 2024,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n
Together, Washington and Beijing accounted for almost half of the world\u2019s military spending in 2024, the report said. <\/p>\n
But countries involved in \u2013 or wary of \u2013 regional conflicts showed the biggest increases in spending year over year. <\/p>\n
Israel, which launched an invasion of the Palestinian territory of Gaza in 2023, showed a whopping 65% increase in military spending in 2024. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, showed an estimated increase of at least 38%, but the SIPRI noted that figure was likely higher as Moscow augments military coffers with money from regional and other sources. <\/p>\n
The more than three-year-long conflict in Ukraine has seen NATO countries significantly boost their military budgets in response to Russia\u2019s belligerence and as US President Donald Trump presses Europe and the US-led alliance to be more responsible for their defense, saying they\u2019ve been taking advantage of the United States for too long. <\/p>\n
Germany, with the world\u2019s fourth-largest defense budget, upped its spending by 28%. Romania (43%), the Netherlands (35%), Sweden (34%), the Czech Republic (32%), Poland (31%), Denmark (20%), Norway (17%), Finland (16%), Turkey (12%) and Greece (11%), were the other NATO members among the top 40 defense spenders worldwide who showed double-digit increases in 2024. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe rapid spending increases among European NATO members were driven mainly by the ongoing Russian threat and concerns about possible US disengagement within the alliance,\u2019 said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. <\/p>\n
But analysts said it may take more than money for US allies in Europe to become militarily self-sufficient. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is worth saying that boosting spending alone will not necessarily translate into significantly greater military capability or independence from the USA. Those are far more complex tasks,\u201d SIRPI researcher Guiberteau Ricard said in a press release. <\/p>\n
In the Indo-Pacific, the SIPRI said China\u2019s 7% increase in 2024 marked the 30th consecutive year-over-year rise in spending for the People\u2019s Liberation Army, \u201cthe largest unbroken streak recorded\u201d in the institute\u2019s database, the report said. <\/p>\n
\u201cChina\u2019s military build-up has also influenced the military policies of its neighbors, prompting many of them to increase spending,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s military budget rose 21% in 2024 \u2013 Tokyo\u2019s largest increase since 1952. That brought military spending to 1.4% of gross domestic product, the biggest chunk of Japan\u2019s economy devoted to the military since 1958. <\/p>\n
The Philippines, embroiled with China in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, increased its defense spending 19%. <\/p>\n
And though spending in South Korea went up only 1.4% in 2024, Seoul has the \u201chighest military burden in East Asia,\u201d at 2.6% of GDP, the institute said. <\/p>\n
Taiwan, an island democracy of some 23 million people that the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own and has vowed to seize by force if necessary, increased its defense budget by only 1.8% last year, but Taipei\u2019s military spending is up 48% since 2015, the report said. <\/p>\n
India, meanwhile, had the world\u2019s fifth-largest defense budget ($86.1 billion) in 2024. New Delhi\u2019s increase over 2023 was only 1.6%, but the country\u2019s defense spending is up 42% over the past decade, indicative of a troubling trend, researchers said. <\/p>\n
\u201cMajor military spenders in the Asia\u2013Pacific region are investing increasing resources into advanced military capabilities,\u201d Nan Tian, director of the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said. \u201cWith several unresolved disputes and mounting tensions, these investments risk sending the region into a dangerous arms-race spiral.\u201d <\/p>\n
Also in Asia, Myanmar, which has seen internal conflict since a military coup in 2021, increased spending by 66% in 2024. At 6.8% of its GDP, Myanmar maintains the largest military burden in the Asia-Pacific, the report said. <\/p>\n
Military expenditures in Africa were up 3% overall in 2024. Algeria is the continent\u2019s biggest spender, while ranking 20th worldwide. <\/p>\n
In the Americas, Mexico showed a 39% surge in military spending in 2024, \u201creflecting the government\u2019s increasingly militarized response to organized crime,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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