NEW DELHI: India, overtaken by Russia over the last one year, is now the world’s fourth largest military spender, while China continues to spend almost four times and the US more than 10 times its defence budget, as global military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year to reach an all-time high in 2022.
The total global military expenditure increased by 3.7% in real terms to reach $2,240 billion in 2022, with Europe registering its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as per the latest data released by think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The 10 largest military spenders are the US ($877 billion), China ($292 billion), Russia ($86.4 billion), India ($81.4 billion), Saudi Arabia ($75 billion), UK ($68.5 billion), Germany ($55.8 billion), France ($53.6 billion), South Korea ($46.4 billion) and Japan ($46 billion).
While the figures for China and Russia are estimates due to lack of transparency, Ukraine is placed at 11th rank with $44 billion and Pakistan at 24th spot with $10.3 billion.
“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world. States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future,” SIPRI said in a report on April 25.
India, of course, faces a clear and present threat from an aggressive and expansionist China, while Pakistan continues to fuel cross-border terrorism.
