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World Military Spending up to an all-time high

Global military spending rose to a record last year as Russia’s war in Ukraine drove the biggest annual increase in expenditure in Europe since the end of the Cold War three decades ago, a leading conflict and armaments think tank said on Monday. World military expenditure rose by 3.7% in real terms in 2022 to $2.24 trillion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement. The Associated Press has the story:

World Military Spending up to an all-time high

Newslooks- STOCKHOLM (AP)

Global military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2.24 trillion, with a sharp rise in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure, a Swedish think tank said Monday.

Spending globally increased by 3.7% in real terms, but military expenditure in Europe was up 13% — its steepest year-on-year increase in at least 30 years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, said in a report. Military aid to Ukraine and concerns about a heightened threat from Russia “strongly influenced many other states’ spending decisions.”

FILE – A Russian Armata tank, foreground rolls along Red Square during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 6, 2018. An independent Sweden-based watchdog says the world military spending has grown for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2240 billion leading to a sharp rise of 13% taking place in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

The independent Swedish watchdog said that last year, the three largest arms spenders were the United States, China and Russia, who between them accounted for 56% of global expenditure.

‘The rise “is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,” said Nan Tian, a researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.

Several states significantly increased their military spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while others announced plans to raise spending levels over periods of up to a decade. Some of the sharpest increases were seen in countries near Russia: Finland (36 %), Lithuania (27%), Sweden (12%) and Poland (11%).

FILE — A Leopard 2 tank is seen in action during a visit of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at the Bundeswehr tank battalion 203 at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. An independent Sweden-based watchdog says the world military spending has grown for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2240 billion leading to a sharp rise of 13% taking place in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure.. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, file)

Both Sweden and Finland jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022, abandoning decades of nonalignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While Finland has been admitted, Sweden’s bid to join NATO remains stalled by opposition from Turkey and Hungary.

FILE – A tank is deployed during a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing’s military intrusions, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on Wednesday, Jan 11, 2023. An independent Sweden-based watchdog says the world military spending has grown for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2240 billion leading to a sharp rise of 13% taking place in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure.” (AP Photo/Daniel Ceng, File)

“While the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 certainly affected military spending decisions in 2022, concerns about Russian aggression have been building for much longer,” said Lorenzo Scarazzato, a researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.

“Many former Eastern bloc states have more than doubled their military spending since 2014, the year when Russia annexed Crimea.”

FILE – A soldier fires a machine gun from a Leopard 2 tank at the Bundeswehr tank battalion 203 at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. An independent Sweden-based watchdog says the world military spending has grown for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2240 billion leading to a sharp rise of 13% taking place in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File )

Russia also has increased its military spending. SIPRI said that grew by an estimated 9.2% in 2022, to around $86.4 billion. That is equivalent to 4.1% of Russia’s gross domestic product in 2022, up from 3.7% the previous year.

Established in 1966, SIPRI is an international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.

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