India is placed in the fourth position in Global Military Expenditure. World military expenditure reaches a new record high as European spending surges. Total global military expenditure increased to reach a new high of $2240 billion.Â
According to new data on global military spending, total global military expenditure increased by 3.7 percent in 2022. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released the report. Military expenditure in Europe saw its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years. The three largest spenders in 2022—the United States, China, and Russia—accounted for 56 percent of the world’s total. Total world military spending accounted for 2.2 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022.
World military expenditure rose by 3.7 per cent in real terms to $2240 billion in 2022.
Global spending grew by 19 percent over the decade 2013–22 and has risen every year since 2015. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a major driver of the growth in spending in 2022. Military expenditure in Europe rose by 13 percent during the year, which was the largest annual increase in total European spending in the post-cold War era.
Russian and Ukrainian war has pushed up the military expenditure substantially. Apart from this many other European countries boosted their military budgets in 2022. Military spending increases in parts of Asia and Oceania also contributed to global growth in 2022.
This SIPRI Fact Sheet examines key regional and national military expenditure data for 2022 and trends over the decade 2013–22.
World military expenditure, by region, 1988–2022
The five biggest spenders
The five biggest spenders in 2022 were the United States, China, Russia, India, and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for 63 percent of world military spending. The USA’s military spending increased by 0.7 percent to $877 billion in 2022. The total includes military aid to Ukraine, estimated at $19.9 billion.
In 2022 China’s military spending rose for the 28th consecutive year, to reach $292 billion. Russia’s military spending is estimated to have grown by 9.2 percent in 2022, to $86.4 billion. This was equivalent to 4.1 percent of Russia’s GDP. Ukraine’s military spending rose by 640 percent to $44.0 billion or 34 percent of GDP in 2022. The total does not include military aid supplied to Ukraine.
WORLD’S LARGEST MILITARY SPENDERS IN 2022
The 15 largest spenders in 2022 together accounted for 82 percent of world military expenditure, or $1842 billion. There were some notable changes in ranking among the top 15 between 2021 and 2022, largely due to the war in Ukraine. Russia, for example, increased its spending by an estimated 9.2 percent to move from fifth to third largest spender in the world in 2022, while Ukraine entered the top 15 for the first time. Saudi Arabia moved from eighth to fifth largest spender, ahead of the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
Six countries in the top 15 increased their military burdens in 2022: France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, and the UK. At 34 per cent of GDP in 2022, Ukraine’s military burden was by far the largest of any country in the world.
China allocated an estimated $292 billion to its military in 2022. This was 4.2 per cent more than in 2021 and 63 per cent more than in 2013. . China’s military expenditure has increased for 28 consecutive years. With military expenditure of $81.4 billion, India was the fourth largest spender in the world in 2022. Its spending was up by 6.0 per cent from 2021 and by 47 per cent from 2013.The increase in India’s spending shows the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan.
