Global military spending has reached a record high of $2.24 trillion, growing 3.7% in real terms in 2022, largely due to Europe’s spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Europe saw a 13% increase in military spending last year, the highest in the region since the end of the Cold War, as Russia’s military spending increased by 9.2%. NATO’s latest annual budget, approved in 2022, represents a 25.8% annual increase in armed forces budgets, with twelve of the 27 countries that increased military spending from 2021 to 2022 being NATO members.
European Military Spending Surges
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) announced that global military spending grew to $2.24 trillion, with the largest driver of global increase being the escalation of tensions in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. SIPRI revealed in 2022, European military expenditure reached a level unseen since the end of the Cold War, largely due to increases in Russia and Ukraine. Many other NATO-affiliated European countries have also boosted their military budgets amid rising tensions. Notably, Belgium, Netherlands, and Poland, which are Ukraine’s closest European neighbors and a country worried about where Russia might go next, increased military spending by more than 10% last year.
NATO members have significantly increased their military expenses amid escalating tensions with Russia. In 2022, NATO’s budget saw a 25.8% annual increase, with several member countries announcing multi-year plans to further boost funds for military expenditure.
US Defense Budgets
The US military budget grew by a relatively meager 0.7%, less than its key competitors, Russia and China (+4.2%). Still, the United States is the world’s largest military power, and with an $877 billion military budget in 2022, it spends more than twice as much as Russia and China combined. According to SIPRI, US military aid to Ukraine will amount to 2.3% of overall US military spending in 2022.
Russia’s Military Spending
Russia’s armed forces budget increased by 9.2% in 2022, according to SIPRI, but the figures are not very certain since the Russian financial authorities have become very opaque since the beginning of the war with Ukraine. According to Lucie Beraud-Sudreau, director of the institute’s program on military spending and arms production, the disparity between Russia’s budget plans and actual military expenses in 2022 reveals that the invasion of Ukraine is costing Moscow significantly more than projected.
Non-European Countries Also Increasing Military Spending
While NATO countries are increasing their military budgets, non-European countries are also significantly increasing their military spending. Russia, which increased its military spending by 9.2%, is among the top countries that have significantly increased armed forces budgets. Japan’s draft budget for the next fiscal year includes a 26.3% rise in defense spending. China, the world’s second-largest military spender, increased its defense financing by 4.2%. However, it is worth noting that China, a nation with 30 times more people than Ukraine, spent 47 times Ukraine’s military budget in 2020.
Many countries including China, India, and Israel increased their spending by double digits over the past decade. However, as a percentage of GDP, defense spending has actually decreased by 0.1% since 2013. This suggests that economic expansion has outpaced national budgets in areas such as defense. The rise in military spending is expected to continue as many governments have plans to increase their armed forces budgets. Rising tensions on the Pacific Front and Africa in recent weeks, with Sudan reportedly having spent an estimated 2.47 billion USD on their recent civil war, only signal more expenditure on defense globally.
