2024 Report on Global Military Spending
According to the 2024 report of
the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, total
global military expenditure reached U.S.$2,443 billion in 2023,
an increase of 6.8 per cent in real terms from 2022.
U.S. imperialism and its vassals, including Canada, have spread war fever throughout the world. This has precipitated the steepest year-on-year increase in global military expenditures since 2009, encompassing the entire world as a zone for war. The jump to almost two-and-a-half trillion dollars in military spending marks the ninth consecutive year of increases.
The massive military spending arises at the same time U.S. imperialism and its principal vassals are escalating their war frenzy against Russia and China. This has directly affected Japan and its return to militarism.
World Military Expenditures in 2023
In 2023, SIPRI reports that the U.S. remains the world's biggest military spender with a 37 per cent share of the world's total and $916 billion spent in 2023. It is followed by China with a 12 per cent world share (an estimated $296 billion spent on the military in 2023); and Russia, with a 4.5 per cent share (an estimated $109 billion spent on defence in 2023, a 24 per cent increase compared to 2022).[1]
SIPRI reports Europe as a whole spent 24 per cent of the global total while the sub-region of western and central Europe alone accounted for $407 billion, up 43 per cent compared with their military expenditures in 2014.
In 2023 the Middle East saw a nine per cent surge in military spending. Israel's spending grew by 24 per cent to $27.5 billion amid its genocidal war against Palestinians, which does not take into account "donations" of war supplies from its U.S. overlord and European benefactors.
SIPRI notes, "Military expenditure refers to all government spending on current military forces and activities, including salaries and benefits, operational expenses, arms and equipment purchases, military construction, research and development, and central administration, command and support. SIPRI therefore discourages the use of terms such as 'arms spending' when referring to military expenditure, as spending on armaments is usually only a minority of the total."
War Spending of the 31 NATO Members
According to SIPRI's data, germain-foreign-policy.com informs: "U.S. military spending increased by 9.9 per cent between 2014 and 2023, Germany's by around 48 per cent over the same period, and the whole of Europe's by as much as 62 per cent. European countries also occupy a significant position in the global arms trade. France was the second largest arms exporter worldwide (behind the U.S.) in the five years from 2019 to 2023, followed in fifth to eighth places by Germany, Italy, the UK and Spain. In terms of arms imports, Europe was also the only major region to see an increase in volumes in the five-year period from 2019 to 2023. Indeed, it was a massive leap, climbing by a remarkable 94 per cent on the five-year period from 2014 to 2018. Moreover, key allies of the political West have significantly increased their imports of military hardware in the years from 2019 to 2023: south Korea (up 6.5 per cent), the Philippines (up 105 per cent) and Japan (up 155 per cent)."
As concerns spending by NATO members, the SIPRI study found that in 2023, NATO's then 31 members accounted for $1.3 trillion, equal to 55 per cent of the world's military expenditures with almost all NATO members increasing their military spending. NATO states allow the U.S. military to occupy their territory to varying degrees, which includes vast bases with nuclear weapons. Sweden joined the U.S.-led aggressive military alliance in 2024 enlarging it to 32 members.
U.S. military spending represented 68 per cent of NATO's total expenditures. The combined European share was 28 per cent, the highest in a decade, with the remaining four per cent coming from Canada and Türkiye.
SIPRI reports that the U.S.-imposed NATO target of two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of all member countries going towards war spending is increasingly seen by most NATO members as a baseline rather than a threshold to reach. In 2023, 11 of the 31 NATO members met or surpassed this level -- the highest number since the commitment was made. Another target -- to direct at least 20 per cent of military spending to equipment spending -- was met by 28 NATO members in 2023, up from seven in 2014. Equipment spending directly benefits the dominant members of the military/industrial complex such as U.S. monopolies Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, the joint European Airbus SE, French Safran SA, German Rheinmetall AG and British BAE Systems plc.
Military Spending by Country
U.S. -- 1st ($916)
According to SIPRI, as usual U.S. military spending eclipses that of all others in the world. U.S. military spending rose by 2.3 per cent to reach $916 billion in 2023. It is by far the single largest amount worldwide.
China -- 2nd ($296 billion)
"China, the world's second largest military spender, allocated an estimated $296 billion to the military in 2023, an increase of 6.0 per cent from 2022."
Russia -- 3rd ($109 billion)
"Russia's military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated $109 billion in 2023, marking a 57 per cent rise since 2014." That year, the U.S. coup d'état in Ukraine turned it into a de facto NATO base for aggression against Russia. In 2023, Russia's military spending made up 16 per cent of total government spending and its military burden (military spending as a share of its GDP) was 5.9 per cent.
India -- 4th ($83.6 billion)
"India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023. At $83.6 billion, its military expenditure was 4.2 per cent higher than in 2022."
Saudi Arabia -- 5th ($75.8 billion)
UK -- 6th (NATO -- $74.9 billion)
Germany -- 7th (NATO -- $66.8 billion)
SIPRI ranks Germany seventh for military expenditures and says it will likely rise to fifth place in 2024 due to its massive program of arms spending on the Bundeswehr amounting to around $76.4 billion.
Ukraine -- 8th ($64.8 billion)
"Ukraine was the eighth largest spender in 2023, after a spending surge of 51 per cent to reach $64.8 billion. Ukraine used 37 per cent of its GDP for military spending, which represented 58 per cent of total government spending. Ukraine's military spending in 2023 was 59 per cent the size of Russia's. However, Ukraine also received at least $35 billion in military aid during the year, including $25.4 billion from the USA. Combined, this aid and Ukraine's own military spending were equivalent to about 91 per cent of Russian spending."
France -- 9th (NATO -- $61.3 billion)
Japan -- 10th ($50.2 billion; U.S. maintains military bases in Japan)
"Japan allocated $50.2 billion to its military in 2023, which was 11 per cent more than in 2022."
For spending by other countries, click here.
Note
1. All figures from the SIPRI report are in constant 2022 U.S. dollars. All quotations from the report are available at SIPRI's website.
This article was published in
Volume 55
Number 3 - March 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/M5500310.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca