Global military spending rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020; India ranks 3rd
Global military expenditure in 2020 is estimated to have been $1,981 billion, the highest since 1988—according to records maintained by SIPRI. India accounted for a 3.7 percent of the total world military spending in 2020, third highest, after the US and China.
The global military spending in 2020 was recorded to be $1,981 billion, an increase of 2.6 percent in real terms from 2019, data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on April 26, reveals.
"The 2.6 percent increase in world military spending came in a year when global gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 4.4 percent (October 2020 projection by the IMF), largely due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," SIPRI's latest release said.
The United States, China, India, Russia and the United Kingdom are the top five biggest spenders in 2020, accounting for 62 percent of the total military expenditure across the world.
4/6
India’s military expenditure in 2020 was 2 percent higher at $72.9 billion over 2019. "This increase can be largely attributed to India’s ongoing conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir and renewed border tensions with China, as well as India’s more general rivalry with China as the main regional power in Asia and Oceania," said SIPRI.
The United States of America, world’s largest military spender, accounted for 39 percent of the total military expenditure in 2020. Its expenditure reached an estimated $778 billion, an increase of 4.4 percent over the previous year. "This was the third consecutive year of growth in US military spending, following seven years of continuous reductions."
China’s military expenditure ($252 billion) was recorded to be the second highest in the world in 2020. "China’s spending has risen for 26 consecutive years, the longest series of uninterrupted increases by any country in the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database."
