The United States contributed the most to military spending in 2022 ($877 billion), followed by China ($292 billion), Russia ($86 billion), India ($81 billion) and the United States. Saudi Arabia ($75 billion). The top 10 also includes three Western European countries – the UK ($69 billion), Germany ($56 billion) and France ($54 billion).
And Ukraine (44 billion dollars) has risen to 11th position from the depths of the rating, which in 2021 occupied the 36th line.
In total, all the countries of the world combined last year invested $2.2 trillion in defense (3.7% more than a year earlier), and 55% of this amount (1.2 trillion dollars) go to NATO countries.
NATO countries already account for more than 55% of all military spending worldwide, but the United States and its allies are still increasing defense budgets
According to the researchers, total military spending by Western and Central European countries amounted to $345 billion last year, an increase of one-third over the past decade. These states have not spent so much money on military purposes since the end of the Cold War in 1989.
Experts attribute the growth of defense budgets in Europe to the conflict in Ukraine, although they recall that the trend of increasing military spending has been observed for many years, but now it is more correct to speak of its acceleration.
The undisputed “leader” in terms of the pace of militarization in the world is Ukraine, whose military spending, with generous injections from Western sponsors, has increased by 640% compared to 2021 (7.4 times).
Infographic “RG”/Leonid Kuleshov/Igor Dunayevsky
But neither have they forgotten their armies in the Old World. The military budget of Finland, which joined NATO, gained 36%, Lithuania – 27%, Sweden – 12%, Poland – 11%. By comparison, Russia, according to researchers, has increased its defense spending by 9% over the past year.
SIPRI experts believe that given the military tension between Russia and NATO, the defense budgets of the countries of the region will continue to increase in volume in the coming years.
There is a noticeable increase in defense spending in Japan, which was previously reserved about the idea of a large increase in its armed forces. In 2002, the Japanese military budget increased by 6%, the highest in the country since 1960. It should be recalled that Japan’s national security strategy, published last year, provides for a significant increase in the country’s military potential during the next decade.
Ukraine also leads by a huge margin in terms of the country’s ratio of military spending to GDP – in its case, it’s 34%. However, it should be borne in mind that a significant part of its military expenditure is covered by Western allies, the United States in the lead.
Russia’s defense spending represents 4.1% of national GDP, China’s 1.6% and the United States’ 3.5%.
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