Global military expenditure grew 7 per cent to US$2.43 trillion in 2023, the steepest annual rise since 2009 as international peace and security deteriorated, a leading think-tank said on Monday (Apr 22).

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement the 10 largest spenders in 2023, led by the United States, China and Russia, all increased their military spending.

Nan Tian, senior researcher at SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said: “States are prioritising military strength but they risk an action–reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape.”

SIPRI said Russia raised spending by 24 per cent to an estimated US$109 billion. Ukraine increased spending by 51 per cent to US$65 billion and received at least US$35 billion in military aid from other countries.

“Combined, this aid and Ukraine’s own military spending were equivalent to about 91 per cent of Russian spending,” the think-tank said.

It said Nato member countries’ spending totalled 55 per cent of the world’s expenditure.

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“For European Nato states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook,” SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said.

“This shift in threat perceptions is reflected in growing shares of GDP being directed towards military spending, with the Nato target of 2 per cent increasingly being seen as a baseline rather than a threshold to reach.”

Nato member states are expected to set aside at least 2 per cent of gross domestic product for defence expenditure by the alliance.

SIPRI said most European Nato members had boosted such spending. The US raised it by 2 per cent to US$916 billion, representing around two-thirds of total Nato military spending.

The percentage changes are expressed in real terms, in constant 2022 prices, SIPRI added. REUTERS