Global military expenditure grew 7% to $2.43 trillion in 2023, the steepest annual rise since 2009 as international peace and security deteriorated, a leading think-tank said on Monday,
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement the United States, China and Russia were the top spenders in 2023.
Nan Tian, senior researcher at SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said: "States are prioritising military strength but they risk an action–reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape."
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SIPRI said Russia raised spending by 24% to an estimated $109 billion. Ukraine increased spending by 51% to $65 billion and received at least $35 billion in military aid from other countries.
"Combined, this aid and Ukraine’s own military spending were equivalent to about 91% of Russian spending," the think-tank said.
It said NATO member countries' spending totalled 55% of the world’s expenditure.
"For European NATO states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook," SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said.
{{/usCountry}}"For European NATO states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook," SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said.
{{/usCountry}}"This shift in threat perceptions is reflected in growing shares of GDP being directed towards military spending, with the NATO target of 2% increasingly being seen as a baseline rather than a threshold to reach."
NATO member states are expected to set aside at least 2% of gross domestic product for defence expenditure by the alliance.
SIPRI said most European NATO members had boosted such spending. The U.S. raised it by 2% to $916 billion, representing around two-thirds of total NATO military spending.
The percentage changes are expressed in real terms, in constant 2022 prices, SIPRI added.