LONDON – Global military spending reached a record high of $2.2 trillion in 2023, a 9% increase from the previous year due to escalating conflicts around the world, according to a report released by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The report, titled “Military Balance,” also projected that military spending would continue to rise this year as conflicts persist, leading to heightened global insecurity.
Director General Bastian Giegerich of IISS expressed concerns about the growing strategic instability and a new era of contested power, citing factors such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s military modernization, conflicts in the Middle East, and military coups in Africa.
The report also highlighted the devastating impact of war, with estimates that Russia has lost approximately 3,000 main battle tanks since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Additionally, NATO member states’ defense spending has surged to about 50% of the global total, despite accounting for less than an eighth of the world’s population.
While the United States remains the largest military spender, the report noted a significant increase of 32% in non-U.S. NATO members’ military spending since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, with 10 European Union countries reaching the goal of spending 2% of their GDP on defense last year.
Despite the rise in military budgets, the report warned that inflation and economic disruption have diminished the impact of the increased spending, particularly in Europe where arms production was not geared for wartime.
Apart from the West, Russia and China have also boosted their military budgets, with Russia’s total military expenditure increasing by almost 30% in 2023, and China marking its 29th consecutive year of defense spending growth.
The United States’ $900 billion defense budget in 2023 remained the highest in the world, but the report found that spending as a percentage of GDP was lower than in previous eras, signaling a shift in military expenditure dynamics.
Overall, the report painted a picture of a world facing escalating conflicts and rising military expenditure, with both global superpowers and smaller nations investing heavily in their defense capabilities as geopolitical tensions continue to escalate.