Global Military Spending Falls, But Rises In Russia, Asia, And Africa

Image from National Defense

Overall Global Military Spending Falls, With Increases Seen In Russia, Asia And Africa -- Deutsche Welle

A new report has pointed to a sharp increase in military spending by nations including Russia and China. Other top spenders hailed from Africa and the Middle East, where gas and oil are fueling investment.

Global military spending totaled $1.7 trillion (1.23 trillion euros) in 2013, a decrease of nearly 2 percent from the previous year. However, the drop in overall investment in the armed forces was by no means a sign of countries across the globe of nations slowing down military development, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday.

According to SIPRI's latest report, the major cause of the 2-percent drop stemmed from changes the United States' military budget, the top spender in the world. Washington-approved budget cuts led to a 7.8 percent drop year-on-year, down to $640 billion. The withdrawal from Iraq and the winding down of operations in Afghanistan also contributed to the decrease in spending.

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More News On Global Military Spending

Military spending on the rise, except in the West -- Deutsche welle
Global military spending falls overall, but rises outside the West -- Al Jazeera
Military Budgets Fall in the West, Rise in China, Russia, Middle East -- National Defense
Global military spending drops slightly, but not far enough -- SCoop.nz.co

WNU Editor: SIPRI's fact sheet on military spending can be read here.