Total military spending by nations reached a record high of $2.443 trillion in 2023, according to a new report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI.
Across the globe, military expenditures increased by 6.8% in real terms over 2022, the steepest rise since 2009, according to the Swedish think tank which has tracked the military spending by countries based on open sources since the 1960s. Every region saw an increase, but Europe, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East saw the greatest growth..
“The unprecedented rise in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security,” according to Nan Tian, the report’s senior author. “States are prioritizing military strength but they risk an action-reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape,” he added.
As in the recent past, the United States topped the list of military spenders at $916 billion. It was followed by China with an estimated $296 billion, Russia at an estimated $109 billion, and India at $83.6 billion