According to Bloomberg News, military expenses globally have exceeded $2 trillion annually for the first time. It appears it is set to increase further as the European nations gear up their armed forces to respond to Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
Increasing defense budget
In 2021, nations incurred an expense of $2,113 billion on militaries, which was found to be up by 0.7% from the previous year, as per a report released on Monday, courtesy of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute or the SIPRI.
Following a brief period of plunging military spending between 2011 and 2014, the outlays have surged for seven consecutive years, as per data from SIPRI. With the full-on way between Russia and Ukraine, many governments in Europe have pledged to spend to boost their military capabilities.
Bloomberg News reports that the upturn since the year 2015 has been partially triggered by Europe’s higher spending, following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea increased the level of threat simultaneously as the US administration, under the leadership of Donald Trump, exerted increased pressure on allies of NATO for spending more on the armed forces.
In 2021, European spending constituted 20% of the total global and defense budget, the second-largest economy globally, and is estimated to make up 14%.
Bloomberg News reports that the United States remains the biggest spender as it allocates $801 billion for its armed forces in 2021, as per SIPRI. In the past 10-years, military spending in the US constituted 39% of the global expenses. While, on the one hand, the arms purchase has dropped, more funds have been allocated for military research and development, thereby implying that the United States focuses more on next-generation technologies, as per SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner.
As the European countries starting from Sweden to Spain, have decided to increase their defense budget allocation, there are indications that the priority will be to upgrade the weapon system.
