RTX - Russia's invasion of Ukraine drives record in global defense spending: SIPRI

2023-04-24 11:14:01 ET

Military spending worldwide last year rose to a record after Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest buildup in Europe since the Cold War ended more than 30 years ago, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The think tank said defense spending last year grew 3.7% to $2.24 trillion, with a 13% increase in Europe as Russia and Ukraine waged war, and other countries boosted their military budgets in response.

“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,” Dr Nan Tian, senior researcher at SIPRI’s military expenditure and arms production program, said in a statement. “States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future.”

Ukraine's military spending last year surged sevenfold for the biggest annual increase in SIPRI data going back to the early days of the Cold War in 1949. The total doesn’t include military aid from Western countries including the United States.

SIPRI estimated U.S. military aid to Ukraine made up 2.3% of total U.S. military spending in 2022.

Russia's military spending rose by an estimated 9.2%, a figure that SIPRI said is "highly uncertain given the increasing opaqueness of financial authorities" after the invasion of Ukraine.

"The difference between Russia's budgetary plans and its actual military spending in 2022 suggests the invasion of Ukraine has cost Russia far more than it anticipated," Lucie Beraud-Sudreau, director of SIPRI's military expenditure and arms production program, said in the announcement.

U.S. military spending last year reached $877 billion, or 39% of the estimated total worldwide, and three times more than the amount spent by China, the world’s second-biggest spender, according to SIPRI.

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