According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), total global military spending rose again in 2019, reaching over $1.9 trillion (€1.75 trillion). This figure indicates a global increase of 3.6% from 2018, the largest annual increase in a decade. The report also reveals a trend that military spending growth has accelerated in the past 5 years.
The countries with the highest recorded military spending were the United States ($732 billion), China ($261 billion), India ($71.1 billion), Russia ($65.1 billion), and Saudi Arabia ($61.9). Most notably, China and India ranked in the top three spenders for the first time.
Germany’s military spending rose by 10%, indicating the highest annual military expenditure increase in Europe and the largest increase among the top 15 countries globally. The increase in US spending in 2019 was equivalent to the entirety of Germany’s military spending the same year. Bulgaria, another NATO member, increased its military spending by 127% in 2019, mostly due to the purchase of new combat aircraft. Total military spending by NATO members was $1035 billion (€950 billion).
