Global military spending climbed 7 percent in 2023 amid conflicts, think-tank SIPRI says

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said in a statement that United States, China and Russia were the top spenders in 2023.

Nan Tian, senior researcher at SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said: "States are prioritising military strength but they risk an action–reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape."

SIPRI said Russia raised spending by 24 percent to an estimated 109 billion dollars. Ukraine increased spending by 51 percent to 65 billion dollars and received at least 35 billion dollars in military aid from other countries.

"Combined, this aid and Ukraine’s own military spending were equivalent to about 91 percent of Russian spending," the think-tank said.

It said NATO member countries' spending totalled 55 percent of the world’s expenditure.

"For European NATO states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook," SIPRI researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato said.

"This shift in threat perceptions is reflected in growing shares of GDP being directed towards military spending, with the NATO target of 2 percent increasingly being seen as a baseline rather than a threshold to reach."

NATO member states are expected to set aside at least 2 percent of gross domestic product for defence expenditure by the alliance.

SIPRI said most European NATO members had boosted such spending. The U.S. raised it by 2 percent to 916 billion dollars, representing around two-thirds of total NATO military spending.

The percentage changes are expressed in real terms, in constant 2022 prices, SIPRI added.