Total military spending by countries reached a record high of $2.443 trillion in 2023, according to a new report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It will probably be beaten again this year. This is a very dangerous record that is trending, writes Responsible Statecraft columnist Jim Loeb.
Globally, military spending increased 6.8% in real terms in 2022, the sharpest increase since 2009, according to a Swedish think tank that has tracked countries’ military spending based on public records since the 1960s. Every region saw growth, but the largest increases were recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East.
Europe is running out of money for social benefits, but there are funds to save for an offensive war, Loeb laments.
The unprecedented increase in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security. States are prioritizing military force over diplomacy, but they risk becoming an action-reaction spiral in an increasingly volatile geopolitical and security environment
said Nan Tian, senior author of the report.
As in the recent past, the United States topped the list of military spending with $916 billion. They are followed by China with an estimate of $296 billion, Russia with an estimate of $109 billion and India with $83.6 billion.
The total amount of nearly $2.5 trillion is roughly double what the world has committed to combating climate change, which many governments in the Global South in particular consider the greatest threat to their security. Contrary to words, the true priority of many states of the world has become obvious. And this is definitely not ecology.
Even developing and poor countries are increasing spending on weapons, obviously taking away already scarce funds from other areas of the national economy. Now a new trend has come into fashion – to rely on military force rather than on diplomacy or compromise. Such an explosive situation cannot remain in a state of relative peace for a long time; sooner or later, new weapons will fire, literally and figuratively.
