Annual Global Military Spending Trends Report from Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
A new report on global military spending trends for 2020 shows that global military spending increased 2.6 percent year-over-year in real terms last year to $1.98 trillion, despite the pandemic of the New Coronavirus (CCP virus) and the reallocation of some defense funds to fight the epidemic. Communist military spending increased for the 26th consecutive year.
According to a report released on Monday (April 26) by the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the five largest countries in terms of military spending in 2020 together account for 62 percent of global military spending, followed by the United States, China, India, Russia and the United Kingdom.
“We can say with certainty that the pandemic has not had a significant impact on global military spending in 2020,” said Dr. Diego López da Silva, a researcher with SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program. It remains to be seen whether countries will maintain that level of military spending in a second year of chaos, he said.
Contrasting with the general increase in global military spending is the decline in world GDP in 2020. Last year, the world was hit by a sudden pandemic of the New Coronavirus, which brought countries’ economies to a complete standstill for a time. Even though economies have since resumed operations, countries continue to impose embargoes of varying degrees due to recurring outbreaks. According to the International Monetary Fund’s forecast last October, global GDP contracted by 4.4 percent last year.
The report said U.S. military spending is estimated to reach $778 billion in 2020, up 4.4 percent from 2019. As the world’s largest military consumer, the U.S. will spend 39 percent of total global military spending in 2020. This is the third consecutive year of growth in U.S. military spending, following seven consecutive years of cuts.
Alexandra Marksteiner, a researcher with SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program, said the recent increase in U.S. military spending is largely attributable to significant investments in research and development, as well as several long-term programs such as modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and large-scale weapons procurement. This, he said, “reflects growing concern about threats from strategic competitors such as China and Russia, as well as the U.S. government’s efforts to bolster what it believes is a depleted U.S. military.”
China ranks second in the world in military spending. It is estimated that China’s military spending will total $252 billion in 2020, a 1.9 percent increase from the previous year. China’s military spending has increased for 26 consecutive years, the longest continuous increase in the SIPRI database.
SIPRI Senior Fellow Dr Nan Tian said the continued growth in Chinese military spending is due in part to China’s long-term military modernization and expansion plans, which are consistent with China’s stated desire to catch up with other major military powers. When measured in terms of military burden, Dr. Nan Tian said China is the only major military consumer in the world whose military burden does not increase in 2020, due to positive GDP growth last year.
Military burden usually refers to a country’s military spending as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP). The Stockholm Peace Research Institute has set a cautionary value of 4 percent, above which the military burden is too high.
From a global perspective, the global military burden reaches an average of 2.4 percent in 2020, up from 2.2 percent in 2019. The report finds that this is the largest year-over-year increase in the military burden since the global financial and economic crisis in 2009.
India’s military spending increased by $72.9 billion last year, and the report says India is one of the largest military spenders in the Asia-Pacific region.
Russia’s military spending rose 2.5 percent to $61.7 billion in 2020. This is the second consecutive year of growth. Nonetheless, Russia’s actual military spending in 2020 is 6.6 percent below its initial military budget, leaving a larger gap than in previous years.
In 2020, the United Kingdom is the fifth largest military spender with a total of $59.2 billion in spending. U.K. military spending is 2.9 percent higher than in 2019, but 4.2 percent lower than in 2011. German spending increased 5.2 percent to $52.8 billion, making it the seventh-largest spender in 2020. Germany’s military spending is 28 percent higher than it was 10 years ago in 2011. military spending across Europe increases by 4 percent in 2020.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international independent institute dedicated to the study of conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. The institute was founded in 1966. Based on open access information, SIPRI provides data, analysis and advice to policy makers, researchers, the media and the interested public.
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