Military Spending : Data
According to the latest data published by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), world military spending continued to grow in 2021, reaching an all-time high of USD 2.1 trillion despite the economic fallout of the pandemic.
- As a result of a sharp economic recovery in 2021, the global military burden—world military expenditure as a share of world Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—fell by 0.1 percentage points, from 2.3% in 2020 to 2.2% in 2021.
Top Spenders:
- The five largest spenders in 2021 were the US, China, India, the UK and Russia.
- They accounted together for 62% of expenditure and the US and China alone accounted for 52%.
- The military spending in Asia and Oceania totaled USD586 billion in 2021.
- Spending in the region was 3.5% higher than in 2020, continuing an uninterrupted upward trend dating back to at least 1989.
- The increase in 2021 was due primarily to growth in Chinese and Indian military spending.
- Together, the two countries accounted for 63% of total military expenditure in the region in 2021.
- Russia increased its military expenditure by 2.9% in 2021, to USD65.9 billion, at a time when it was building up its forces along the Ukrainian border.
- NATO Members Spending: Eight European North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members reached the Alliance’s target of spending 2% or more of GDP on their armed forces in 2021.
- This is one fewer than in 2020 but up from two in 2014.
- India’s military spending of USD76.6 billion ranked third highest in the world.
- This was up by 0.9% from 2020 and by 33% from 2012.
- Amid ongoing tensions and border disputes with China and Pakistan that occasionally spill over into armed clashes, India has prioritized the modernization of its armed forces and self-reliance in arms production.
- In a drive to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64% of capital outlays in the 2021 Indian military budget were earmarked for acquisitions of domestically produced arms.
