Illustration of a Russian military helicopter. Military spending worldwide in 2019 hit an all-time high since the end of the Cold War. – Russian Central Military Distric
Will the pandemic revise countries’ arms budgets? Global military spending reached its highest level in 2019 since the end of the Cold War, United States racing ahead, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) released Monday.
1.782 billion euros in military spending worldwide
Throughout the year, military spending amounted to $ 1.917 billion (1.782 billion euros) worldwide, an increase of 3.6% over one year – the largest since 2010. “Military spending reached its highest level since the end of the Cold War” in 1989, also notes Nan Tian, researcher at Sipri, interviewed by AFP.
The number one budget remains that of the United States, which increased 5.3% in 2019 to $ 732 billion – or 38% of global spending. After seven years of decline, the country’s military spending started to rise again in 2018.
Behind the United States follow China, with 261 billion dollars, an increase of 5.1% over one year, and India with 71.1 billion dollars (+ 6.8% over a year). While China’s spending over the past 25 years has closely followed the country’s economic growth curve, the investments also reflect China’s ambition for a “world-class army,” according to Nan Tian. “China has openly declared that it essentially wants to compete with the United States as a military superpower,” he said.
The country’s progress also partially explains the rise of India, explains Sipri. “India’s tensions and rivalry with Pakistan and China are among the determining factors in the increase in military spending” of the country, according to Siemon Wezeman, another researcher at the institute, quoted in a statement.
Reconsider spending against Covid-19
On its own, the top 5 of the most spending countries – including the Russia and Saudi Arabia – accounts for more than 60% of total military spending. Germany, 7th behind France, records the strongest increase in the top 15: spending increased by 10% in 2019 to $ 49.3 billion – partly due to the increased perception of a Russian threat, according to the authors of the report.
If Nan Tian notes that “the growth of military spending has accelerated in recent years”, he also warns that the trend could be reversed due to the pandemic again coronavirus that is shaking the global economy. As the world heads towards a potential recession, Nan Tian argues that governments will have to reconsider military spending in the face of sectors like health and education. “It is very likely that this will have a real effect on military spending,” he said.
But history shows that a drop in military spending in a context of crisis never lasts long, explains the researcher. “We could see a drop in spending for one to three years, then a new increase in the coming years,” he explains.
