SIPRI Report on World Military Expenditure

April 26, 2022

A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on World Military Expenditure stated that India was the world’s third-highest military spender behind the US and China. The global defence expenditure in 2021 reached an all-time high and stood at USD 2.1 trillion despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Top 5 military spenders

According to the SIPRI data, the top five military spenders in the world are:

The United States
China
India
The United Kingdom
Russia

The top 5 countries account for 62 percent of the world’s global military expenditure.

Military spending of India

According to the data released by SIPRI, the military spending of India stood at USD 76.6 billion in 2021, which is a 0.9 percent increase from 2020 and a 33 percent increase from 2012. India is facing ongoing border tensions and disputes with Pakistan and China that occasionally cause armed conflicts. Hence, India is constantly modernizing its armed forces and is increasing its self-reliance in the production of armaments.

Military spending across the world

In 2021, the US has accounted for 38 percent of the world’s military spending. China accounts for around 14 percent and the UK has moved up two ranks as it spent USD 68.4 billion. According to the report, China’s military spending has increased for the 27th year in a row. The growing assertiveness of China in the region of the East and South China seas has become a major military spending driver in countries such as Japan and Australia. Russia also witnessed an increase in its military expenditure for the third year in a row. There was a decline in Russia’s military expenditure between 2016 to 2019 due to sanctions that were imposed by the West in response to the annexation of Crimea by Russia. In 2021, high gas and oil revenues helped the country to boost its military spending.

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