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How much is enough military spending?
Total military spending in the world is more than $200 per person
We spend more than $1800 per person
Total military spending hit a new high in 2017, at $1.7 trillion—an increase of 1.1 percent on 2016. According to Jan Eliasson, Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board, “Continuing high world military expenditure is a cause for serious concern. It undermines the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts around the world.”
Perceived Russian aggression likely drove higher spending in NATO nations, especially the 12 percent increase among Central European countries. Total NATO spending in 2017 was $900 billion, accounting for 52 percent of all global spending.
Russia has now fallen to fourth in global military spending, leapfrogged by an increasingly outward-looking Saudi Arabia. The kingdom increased expenditure by 9.2 per cent last year, reaching a total of $69.4 billion.
The U.S. retains the top spot by a significant distance at $610 billion, and accounts for 35 percent of all global military expenditure—more than the next seven highest-spending nations combined. America’s defense budget stayed largely static in 2016 and 2017, but is expected to jump in 2018 as President Donald Trump’s new budget plan goes into force.
Second-place China has continued to up its military investment. Beijing’s expenditure of $228 billion represented 13 percent of total world spending, up from 5.8 percent in 2008. China is currently pursuing a comprehensive modernization of its forces as it seeks to establish itself as a top-tier global power capable of force projection. This in itself has encouraged higher spending by its Asian rivals.
Unsurprisingly, seven of the 10 countries bearing the highest military burden are located in the ever-tense Middle East. Oman was the highest at 12 percent of GDP, Saudi Arabia 10 percent, Kuwait 5.8 percent, Jordan 4.8 percent, Israel 4.7 percent, Lebanon 4.5 percent and Bahrain 4.1 percent.
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