Seoul, Korea
CNN
–
New reports show that the world is armed at the fastest speed near the end of the Cold War. Massive wars in Ukraine and Gaza have raged, and military tensions from Europe to Asia have skyrocketed.
The 9.4% year-on-year rise in global military spending in 2024 to $2.718 trillion, the highest ever recorded by the prestigious Stockholm Institute of Peace (SIPRI) in its annual report. This is the highest rise since 1988, the year before the Berlin Wall fell.
“Many countries have also pledged to raise military spending, which will lead to even more global growth in the coming years,” the report said.
The United States continues to be the largest military spender in the world. It’s almost $1 trillion in 2024, the report says.
Large ticket items on the US budget include the modernization of the F-35 stealth fighter and its combat system ($61.1 billion), the new US Navy ship ($48.1 billion), US nuclear weapons ($37.7 billion), and missile defense ($29.8 billion).
The US budget included $48.4 billion in aid to Ukraine. That’s three-quarters of nearly $44.8 billion of Kyiv’s own defense budget.
China has secured an estimated $314 billion in US-wide spending, following US-wide spending.
Although it did not break down Beijing’s weapons or commander spending, China said “in 2024 it announced several improved capabilities, including new stealth fighters, non-black and white aircraft (UAVs), and free underwater vehicles.”
“China continued to rapidly expand its nuclear weapons in 2024,” the report said.
Together, Washington and Beijing accounted for almost half of the world’s military spending in 2024, the report said.
However, countries involved or wary of local conflicts showed the biggest increase in spending year by year.
Israel, which launched an invasion of Gaza territory on Palestinian territory in 2023, showed a whopping 65% increase in military spending in 2024.
Meanwhile, Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, showed an estimated increase of at least 38%, but Sipri pointed out that the figure is high as Moscow is increasing its military funding with money from the region and other sources.
With more than three years of conflict in Ukraine, NATO countries have significantly raised their military budgets in response to Russia’s belligerent nature, with US President Donald Trump saying that Europe and the US-led alliance are taking on responsibility for their defense longer.
Germany has increased spending by 28% with the world’s fourth largest defence budget. Romania (43%), Netherlands (35%), Sweden (34%), Czech Republic (32%), Poland (31%), Denmark (20%), Norway (17%), Finland (16%), Turkey (12%) and Grace (11%) were other NATO members who flaunted their double digits in 2024.
“The rapid increase in spending among NATO members in Europe was driven primarily by ongoing Russian threats and concerns about the possibility of US liberation within the alliance,” said Jade Guiberteau Ricard, researcher of Sipri’s military spending and arms production program.
However, analysts said European allies may need more than money to become military self-sufficient.
“It’s worth saying that increasing spending alone doesn’t necessarily lead to significantly greater military capabilities and independence from the United States. These are far more complicated tasks,” Sirpi researcher Guiberteau Ricard said in a press release.
In the Indo-Pacific, Sipri said China’s 7% increase in 2024 showed “People’s Liberation Army spending increased for the 30th consecutive year compared to the previous year,” the “largest unbroken winning streak recorded” in the laboratory’s database.
“China’s military accumulation also affected the military policies of its neighbors, urging many people to increase spending,” he said.
Japan’s military budget increased by 21% in 2024. The largest increase in Tokyo since 1952. This has led to military spending of 1.4% of gross domestic product. This is the largest chunk of the Japanese economy, dedicated to the military since 1958.
The Philippines, which was caught up in China in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, has increased its defense spending by 19%.
And while spending in South Korea only rose 1.4% in 2024, Seoul has “the highest military burden in East Asia” at 2.6% of GDP, the institute said.
Taiwan is an island democracy of around 23 million people, the Chinese Communist Party claims itself, and vowed to seize it by force if necessary, and last year it only increased its defense budget by 1.8%, while Taipei’s military spending has risen 48% since 2015.
Meanwhile, India had the world’s fifth largest defence budget ($86.1 billion) in 2024. New Delhi’s growth over 2023 was just 1.6%, but the country’s defense spending has risen by 42% over the decade, indicating a troubling trend.
“Major military spending in Asia and the Pacific region invests increasing resources in advanced military capabilities,” said Nan Tian, director of Sipri military spending and arms production programme. “With some unresolved conflicts and growing tensions, these investments risk sending the region into a spiral of dangerous weapons races.”
In Asia, Myanmar, which has been experiencing internal conflict since the 2021 military coup, has also increased its spending by 66% in 2024. At 6.8% of GDP, Myanmar maintains the largest military burden in the Asia-Pacific region.
Military spending in Africa increased by 3% overall in 2024. Algeria is the largest Spender on the continent and ranks 20th in the world.
In the Americas, Mexico saw a 39% spike in military spending in 2024, “reflecting the government’s increasingly militarized response to organized crime,” the report said.
