Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/participants-database/classes/PDb_Session.php on line 377 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/index.php:1) in /customers/1/6/a/combonimissionaries.co.uk/httpd.www/wp-includes/rest-api/class-wp-rest-server.php on line 1758 {"id":4400,"date":"2019-05-14T17:22:51","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T16:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.combonimissionaries.co.uk\/?p=4400"},"modified":"2019-05-14T17:22:51","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T16:22:51","slug":"military-spending-around-the-world-is-booming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.combonimissionaries.co.uk\/index.php\/2019\/05\/14\/military-spending-around-the-world-is-booming\/","title":{"rendered":"Military spending around the world is booming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Total world military expenditure rose to $1822\u00a0billion in 2018, representing an increase of 2.6\u00a0per cent from 2017, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). <\/em><\/p>\n

The five biggest spenders in 2018 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France, which together accounted for 60\u00a0per cent of global military spending. Military spending by the USA increased for the first time since 2010, while spending by China grew for the 24th consecutive year.<\/p>\n

Total global military spending rose for the second consecutive year in 2018, to the highest level since 1988\u2014the first year for which consistent global data is available. World spending is now 76\u00a0per cent higher than the post-cold war low in 1998.* World military spending in 2018 represented 2.1\u00a0per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) or $239 per person. \u201cIn 2018 the USA and China accounted for half of the world\u2019s military spending,\u2019 says Dr Nan Tian, a researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) programme. \u2018The higher level of world military expenditure in 2018 is mainly the result of significant increases in spending by these two countries.\u2019<\/p>\n

US military spending grew\u2014for the first time since 2010\u2014by 4.6 per cent, to reach $649\u00a0billion in 2018. The USA remained by far the largest spender in the world, and spent almost as much on its military in 2018 as the next eight largest-spending countries combined. \u2018The increase in US spending was driven by the implementation from 2017 of new arms procurement programmes under the Trump administration,\u2019 says Dr Aude Fleurant, the director of the SIPRI AMEX programme.<\/p>\n

China, the second-largest spender in the world, increased its military expenditure by 5.0 per cent to $250\u00a0billion in 2018. This was the 24th consecutive year of increase in Chinese military expenditure. Its spending in 2018 was almost 10 times higher than in 1994, and accounted for 14\u00a0per cent of world military spending. \u2018Growth in Chinese military spending tracks the country\u2019s overall economic growth,\u2019 says Tian. \u2018China has allocated 1.9 per cent of its GDP to the military every year since 2013.\u2019<\/p>\n

Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania\u00a0has risen every year since 1988.\u00a0At $507 billion, military spending in the region accounted for 28\u00a0per cent of the global total in 2018, compared with just 9.0 per cent in 1988.<\/p>\n

In 2018 India increased its military spending by 3.1 per cent to $66.5 billion. Military expenditure by Pakistan grew by 11 per cent (the same level of growth as in 2017), to reach $11.4 billion in 2018. South Korean military expenditure was $43.1\u00a0billion in 2018\u2014an increase of 5.1\u00a0per cent compared with 2017 and the highest annual increase since 2005.<\/p>\n

\u2018The\u00a0tensions between countries in Asia as well as between China and the USA are major drivers for the continuing growth of military spending in the region,\u2019 says Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme.<\/p>\n

Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe made large increases in their military expenditure in 2018. Spending by Poland rose by 8.9\u00a0per cent in 2018 to $11.6\u00a0billion, while Ukraine\u2019s spending was up by 21 per cent to $4.8 billion. Spending by Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania also grew (ranging from 18 per cent to 24 per cent) in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u2018The increases in Central and Eastern Europe are largely due to growing perceptions of a threat from Russia,\u2019 said Pieter Wezeman, a\u00a0senior researcher with the SIPRI AMEX programme. \u2018This is despite the fact that Russian military spending has fallen for the past two years.\u2019<\/p>\n

At $61.4 billion, Russian military spending was the sixth highest in the world in 2018. Its spending decreased by 3.5\u00a0per\u00a0cent compared with 2017.<\/p>\n

Other\u00a0notable developments<\/strong><\/p>\n