Global Military Spending Surged To US$1.9 Trillion In 2019

Flight deck crew members direct a French Rafale fighter jet on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean sea. Photo: Reuters

SCMP/AFP: Military spending surged to US$1.9 trillion in 2019, biggest increase in a decade

* Before Covid-19 struck, the world’s militaries increased spending by 3.6 per cent
* The US was the largest spender, accounting for 38 per cent of the global total

Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said Monday, marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders.

The world’s nations spent a combined US$1.9 trillion on their militaries in 2019, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Compared to 2018, that represented an annual growth of 3.6 per cent, the largest spending growth since 2010.

“Military spending has reached the highest point since the end of the Cold War,” Nan Tian, a researcher at SIPRI, told AFP.

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WNU Editor: The full report on global military spending is here .... SIPRI Fact Sheet April 2020: Trends in world military expenditure, 2019 (Relief Web).