Defence Industry Rakes in Billions as Global Military Spending Hits ‘All-Time High’

Global military expenditure soared to its highest level in over a decade in 2023, reaching an all-time high of $2.4 trillion as war and rumors of war drove spending across the world, researchers said Monday.

The United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia were respectively the top five spenders overall.

AFP reports military spending rose across the globe with Europe, the Middle East and Asia leading the way in boosting defence outlays, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

“Total military spending is at an all time high … and for the first time since 2009, we saw spending increase across all five geographical regions,” Nan Tian, a senior researcher at SIPRI, told AFP.

Military spending rose by 6.8 percent in 2023, the “steepest year-on-year increase since 2009,” according to the report.

“It’s a reflection of the deterioration of peace and security around the world. There’s really not a region in the world where things have gotten better,” Tian said.

The continuation of the war in Ukraine led to an increase in spending by Ukraine, Russia and “a whole host” of European countries, Tian said.

Russia boosted spending by 24 percent, reaching $109 billion in 2023, according to SIPRI’s estimates as seen by AFP.

Since 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea, the country’s military spending has risen by 57 percent.

An employee handles 155 mm caliber shells after the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania on April 16, 2024. In brick buildings that are more than a century old, dated machinery churns artillery for modern conflicts, especially the war in Ukraine. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty)

In Europe, Poland saw the largest increase in military spending by far, up by 75 percent to $31.6 billion.

Spending also rose across the Middle East, where Israel — the region’s second-largest spender — saw a 24-percent increase, to $27.5 billion in 2023 — mainly driven by the country’s offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists.

Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s largest spender, also upped its spending by 4.3 percent to an estimated $75.8 billion.

The U.S. — which spends more on its military than any other nation — increased spending by 2.3 percent to $916 billion.

China boosted spending on its military for the 29th straight year, raising it by another six percent to an estimated $296 billion.

Read the full Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report on global defense spending trends here

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