World military expenditure rose by 3.7% in real terms in 2022, to reach a record high of USD 2,240 bil, according to SIPRI Military Database. Global spending grew by 19% over the decade 2013–22.
Russian-Ukrainian war was a major driver of the growth in spending in 2022. #Military expenditure in Europe rose by 13% during the year, which was the largest annual increase in total European spending in the post cold war era.
The 15 largest spenders in 2022 together accounted for 82% of world military expenditure, or USD 1,842 bil. There were some notable changes in ranking among the top 15 between 2021 and 2022. Thanks to the war in Ukraine, Russia, for example, increased its spending by an estimated 9.2% to move from fifth to third largest spender in the world in 2022, while Ukraine entered the top 15 for the first time.
Other notable changes among the top 15 included Saudi Arabia moving from eighth to fifth largest spender, ahead of the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
USA (39% of world military spending in 2022) and China (13%) remained the two largest spenders, with Russia (3.9%), India (3.6% and Saudi Arabia (3.3%) completing the top five. Together, these five countries accounted for 63 per cent of total global military spending in 2022.
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