Global military spending increased in 2023 for the ninth consecutive year to €2.30 trillion, according to SIPRI

Spain experiences an increase of 9.8% compared to 2022 and 42% in the last decade

MADRID, 22 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Global military spending increased in 2023 for the ninth consecutive year to reach 2.44 trillion dollars (about 2.30 trillion euros), which represents a growth of 6.8 percent compared to the previous year, the largest increase since 2009, and which is led by the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, according to data provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Furthermore, the organization has highlighted that military spending has increased on all five continents, something that has not happened since 2009, with the increases recorded in Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East being "especially important."

"The unprecedented increase in military spending is a direct response to the deterioration of global peace and security. States are prioritizing military force, but risk entering an action-reaction spiral in a geopolitical and increasingly volatile security situation," said SIPRI Military Expenditure and Weapons Production Program researcher Nan Tian.

The United States continues to be the country with the highest spending worldwide, increasing it by 2.3 percent to 916 billion dollars (about 860 billion euros), which represents 68 percent of the military spending of all of NATO, whose Members spent a total of 1.34 billion dollars (1.26 billion euros).

This figure has been reached in a context in which eleven countries have exceeded the expenditure of two percent of GDP estimated by the Atlantic Alliance more than a decade ago.

"For European NATO states, the last two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed security prospects. This change in threat perception is reflected in the increase in the proportion of GDP going to military spending, and NATO's 2 percent target is increasingly seen as a reference point rather than a threshold to be reached," said SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato.

Spain, for its part, continues to occupy 17th place on the list of countries with the most military spending with a total of 23.7 billion dollars (about 22.2 billion euros) in 2023, which represents an increase of 9.8 percent compared to to 2022 and 42 percent in the last decade.

It is also worth highlighting the 75 percent growth between 2022 and 2023 experienced by Poland, which has become the 14th country with the most military spending with 31.6 billion dollars (about 29.6 billion euros).

In 2023, Russia increased its military spending by 24 percent to reach $109 billion (about €102 billion), which represents 5.9 percent of its GDP. Since annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Russian authorities have increased this spending by 57 percent.

Last year, Ukraine became the eighth country with the most military spending, allocating 37 percent of its GDP to reach 64.8 billion dollars (61 billion euros) which, added to the 35 billion dollars (about 33 billion euros) of military aid, accounts for 91 percent of Russia's spending.

In the Middle East region, the constant increase in tensions resulting from the attacks by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, has caused the increase in military spending to increase by nine percent, the highest growth rate in the last decade, reaching 200 billion dollars (188 billion euros).

Israel, which has experienced the largest regional increase after Saudi Arabia, has allocated 27.5 billion dollars (about 25.8 billion euros), while Iran has been the fourth country in the Middle East in military spending with 10.3 billion dollars (9.7 billion euros). euros).

From Beijing, the Chinese authorities have allocated 296 billion dollars (about 277 billion euros) to military spending, an increase of six percent compared to 2022 and which represents half of the spending in Asia and Oceania, where their neighbors have justified their own increases as a counterpart to China's.

"China is allocating much of its growing military budget to increasing the combat readiness of the People's Liberation Army. This has led the governments of Japan, Taiwan and other countries to significantly increase their military capabilities, a trend that will accelerate in the coming years. coming years," said SIPRI Military Expenditure and Weapons Production Program researcher Xiao Liang.

In fact, Japan has allocated $50.2 billion to the military budget, eleven percent more than the previous year, a growth rate that Taiwan has also experienced, reaching $16.6 billion (€15.6 billion). India has spent 4.2 percent more than in 2022, reaching $83.6 billion (about €78.3 billion).

In Latin America, the increase in military spending is related to the increase in crime levels, especially in the Central American and Caribbean area, where the Army has been used to combat criminal gangs, which is why it has grown 54 percent between 2014 and 2023. Among these countries, the Dominican Republic stands out, with an increase of 14 percent as a result of the crisis that Haiti is experiencing.

Mexico, for its part, has already reached 11.8 billion dollars (11 billion euros) in military spending, which makes it one of the few countries to invest less money, decreasing by 1.5 percent compared to the previous year. In Brazil, this spending has increased by up to 3.1 percent to 22.9 billion dollars (21.5 billion euros).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a country mired in a long and complicated conflict, has seen its military budget increase by 105 percent, the highest growth rate experienced by any country in 2023.

Africa also has the second largest percentage increase in the world, as Sudan has contributed 78 percent more to its military budget due to internal violence and the indirect effects of the war being fought in its territory.

Algeria has also managed to increase its spending by 76 percent to reach 18.3 billion dollars (about 17.2 billion euros), which it has been able to realize in part due to the income from gas exports to Europe when it tried to reduce its dependence on the Russian gas.