GLOBAL MILITARY SPENDING HITS NEW HIGH OF US$2.72 TRILLION

COPENHAGEN, April 28 (Bernama-dpa) -- Global military spending reached a new high in 2024 for the 10th time in a row, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

According to a new report published Monday by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading think tank on conflict and defence, inflation-adjusted spending in 2024 rose by 9.4 per cent to US$2.72 trillion.

This is the steepest year-on-year increase since at least the end of the Cold War, SIPRI said. 

Military spending increased in all world regions, with particularly rapid growth in Europe and the Middle East, according to the report.

With the war in Ukraine in its third year, military expenditure rose across Europe by 17 per cent to US$693 billion, making it the main contributor to the global increase. All European countries increased their military spending in 2024, except Malta. 

According to SIPRI, Russia's military expenditure reached an estimated US$149 billion in 2024, a 38 per cent increase from 2023 and double the level in 2015.

The top five military spenders — the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and India — accounted for 60 per cent of the global total.

Germany's military expenditure increased by 28 per cent to reach $88.5 billion, making the country the fourth biggest spender in the world.

SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said that for the first time since reunification, Germany became the biggest military spender in Western Europe.

"The latest policies adopted in Germany and many other European countries suggest that Europe has entered a period of high and increasing military spending that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future," said Scarazzato.

The US, with US$997 billion, remained at the top of the list and accounted for more than a third, or 37 per cent, of global military spending.

-- BERNAMA-dpa