According to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending reached $2,443 billion in 2023, representing a significant 6.8% increase from the year before and the largest annual increase since 2009. With $306 per person, the average military spending per person reached a record high since 1990.
According to the report, the prolonged conflict in Ukraine and growing tensions in the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania are the main causes of the increase in military spending.
Global Trends in Military Expenditure in 2023
According to a reputable conflict think-tank, India spent the fourth most on the military in the world in 2023. The nation spent 4.2% more on military spending in 2022, totaling $83.6 billion. Global military spending increased by 7% to $2,443 billion in 2023, marking the highest annual growth since 2009, according to the most recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report (SIPRI).
The United States, China, and Russia topped the list of the ten countries that increased their military spending in 2023, according to the report.
According to Nan Tian, Senior Researcher at SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, the rise was a direct reaction to a decline in peace and security throughout the world.
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Consequences of Growing Defense Investment
“States are prioritising military strength but they risk an action-reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape,” Tian stated. The percentage change was stated in constant 2022 prices, expressed in real terms. SIPRI noted that the percentage change was stated in real terms using constant 2022 prices.
With a protracted conflict between the government and non-state armed groups, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (+105%) saw the largest percentage increase in military spending by any nation in 2023. According to the report, South Sudan saw the second-largest percentage increase (78%) amid internal conflict and the aftermath of the Sudanese civil war.
Top 10 countries with highest military spending in 2023
- United States: $916 billion
- China: $296 billion (estimated)
- Russia: $109 billion (estimated)
- India: $83.6 billion
- Saudi Arabia: $ 75.8 billion (estimated)
- United Kingdom: $74.9 billion
- Germany: $66.8 billion
- Ukraine: $64.8 billion
- France: $61.3 billion
- Japan: $50.32 billion
