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The Russian invasion of Ukraine fueled an increase in military spending and in 2022 the figure reached $2.24 trillion, according to a new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The countries that spent the most on weapons and equipment were the United States, China and Russia.
World military investment reached its all-time high in 2022. With the war in Ukraine, several States decided to increase their defense spending or assured that they will allocate more resources to arm themselves, this in the midst of increasingly complex geopolitical scenarios.
“The continued increase in global military spending in recent years is a sign that we live in an increasingly insecure world. States are strengthening their military forces in response to the deteriorating security environment, which they do not expect to improve in the near future, he said. nantianSenior Research Fellow at the Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program of the SIPRI.
And it is that the figures rose for the two main actors in the conflict in eastern Europe. In the report of the Stockholm International Institute for Peace Research, it is calculated that Russia’s military spending grew by 9.2% last year to $86.4 billionwhich is equivalent to 4.1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022 and what supposed for the country 34% more than what had been planned within the national budget.
On the other hand, data from Ukraine shot up to records never seen before. In 2022, its military spending reached 44,000 million dollarswhich represents an increase of 640% more than in 2021 and what translates as the largest increase in military spending by a country in a single year ever recorded by data from the SIPRI.
The difference between Russia’s budget plans and its actual military spending in 2022 suggests that the invasion of Ukraine has cost Russia far more than it anticipated.
The kings of military investment
The United States, in addition to being the largest economy in the world, is also the country with the highest spending military, with figures that seem difficult to reach even for those who are in second and third place.
In 2022, The US reached 877 billion dollars in military spendingalmost 40% of global spending and at least three times more than the amount allocated by China,which accumulated 292,000 million and which ranked second.
Washington has been a key player in the war in Ukraine and has led the Western bloc backing Kiev. In 2022, US financial aid to Ukraine amounted to $19.9 billion, that is say, the most in such aid given to a single country in any year since the Cold War.
But while the US investment was titanic, it really only represents 2.3% of the country’s total spending, which means that Washington invested domestically in many other military theaters for its own benefit and security.
“The United States allocated $295 billion to military operations and maintenance, $264 billion to acquisitions and research and development, and $167 billion to military personnel,” HE read in the report.
Behind the United States and China are Russia, India and Saudi Arabiathe latter reported an increase of 16% and 2022 was established as the first increase in military spending since 2018.
Europe’s military spending goes back to Cold War levels
Although the US takes first place in this ranking, it is the countries of Central and Western Europe that added the most so that the world exceeded 2.4 trillion dollars in military spending in 2022.
The countries in which military investment in this region increased the most were Finland (+36%), Lithuania (+27%), Sweden (+12%) and Poland (+11%), while the UK, Germany and France are the only European countries to make the top 10 top spenders Worldwide.
“The military spending of the Central and Western European States amounted to 345,000 million dollars in 2022. In real terms, the spending of these countries exceeded for the first time that of 1989, when the Cold War ended, and was 30% higher to that of 2013”, highlights the SIPRI.
Among other aspects, the report highlights the third consecutive year that military spending has fallen in Turkey, which in 2022 reduced the item to 26% compared to 2021, as well as the 88% increase in Ethiopia, just when a government offensive was renewed. against the People’s Liberation Front tigray in the north of the country.
