We told you earlier this month that global defense spending had reached a record $2.2 trillion last year. A study released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute puts that total even higher: over $2.4 trillion.
The new report says that world military spending rose for the ninth straight year in 2023 and the 6.8% increase least year was the largest year-over-year increase since 2009.
“The world military burden—defined as military spending as a percentage of global gross domestic product (GDP)—increased to 2.3 per cent in 2023,” the report says. “Average military expenditure as a share of government expenditure rose by 0.4 percentage points to 6.9 per cent in 2023 and world military spending per person was the highest since 1990, at $306.”
U.S. military spending came to $916 billion, which was far and away the most of any country, representing 37% of the global total. China, second on the list, spent an estimated $296 billion, about 12% of the world total. Russia’s military spending, estimated at $109 billion, put it third on the list. Ukraine, ranked eighth, spent nearly $65 billion on its military last year, which was 58% of the government’s total spending and 37% of the country’s gross domestic product.
