The British newspaper "The Guardian" quoted the director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London (IISS), Bastian Gegerich, as saying that this increase in defense spending during the year 2023 indicates a "deterioration in the security situation in the world," attributing this to Russian and Ukrainian military spending and Western military aid. For Kiev and the war on Gaza.

The most prominent military spending figures in the world

According to the 65th annual report of the British International Institute for Strategic Studies, entitled “Military Balance,” military spending around the world is as follows:

  • It rose by 9 percent to reach a record level of $2.2 trillion in 2023.

  • Countries' military budgets are expected to increase in 2024 as the war in Ukraine continues for the third year and international concerns extend to the Middle East in the wake of the Israeli war on Gaza.

  • Ukraine's defense budget increased nine times to reach $31.1 billion in 2023 without foreign donations.

  • Russia increased its military spending by about $108.5 billion.

  • Moscow is expected to increase its military budget by more than 60 percent in 2024, to reach 7.5 percent of its domestic product.

  • European countries and NATO countries have spent 32 percent since 2014, since Russia's annexation of Crimea, excluding the United States.

  • The United States maintains military spending leadership with approximately 41 percent of global spending and 70 percent of NATO's budget.

  • China increased its military budget by about 70 percent, along with Russia's global military spending.

  • 10 European members spent 2 percent of economic output on defense within NATO in 2023: Poland, the United States, Greece, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Britain, and Slovakia.

  • Germany spent 2 percent for the first time in a historic precedent, the first since the end of the Cold War.

  • According to the British newspaper "The Economist", the accumulation of armed crises and wars in the world comes from Gaza to Ukraine, passing through Taiwan, with the increasing number of fronts affecting the conflicts, as the new global chaos exposes the ability of the United States of America and its allies to stress, and depletes their military capabilities.

What about defense spending in 2022?

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the proportion of military spending by the three largest spending countries in 2022, which are the United States, China and Russia, amounted to about 56 percent of total global spending, and the most prominent figures were:

  • Europe has strengthened the capabilities of its armies by about $480 billion, a historic level that the continent has not witnessed since the Cold War due to the Ukraine war.

  • The United States was the largest country in terms of its military spending, amounting to $877 billion, constituting 39 percent of total global military spending and more than 3 times what China spent.

  • Beijing came in second place with 13 percent and allocated an estimated $292 billion for its military spending, an increase of 4.2 percent from 2021.

  • The combined spending of Asian and Oceanian countries reached $575 billion, 7.2 percent more than in 2021, and 45 percent more than in 2013.

  • Japan increased its spending by 5.9 percent to reach $46 billion, its highest level since 1960.

  • Britain was the largest country spending on weapons in Europe and came in sixth place, with a total of $68.5 billion.

What are the reasons for the increase in defense spending in the world?

According to British military expert Michael Clarke for Sky News Arabia, the conflict in Ukraine forced Western countries to reconsider funding the defense sector, and the lessons learned from the fighting influenced the thinking of armies, which allocated larger budgets for artillery weapons, unmanned aircraft systems, and naval boats. march, adding:

  • The escalating geopolitical tensions in the world, whether in Taiwan, the Arctic, and North Korea, in addition to the coups in the African Sahel region, were behind the rise in military spending to these historic levels in 2023, and I believe that the continuation of these crises will increase the volume of military spending to unprecedented levels during the year 2024.

  • The Russian attack on Ukraine prompted Europe to comprehensively assess security threats and collectively increased its military spending.

  • The Ukrainian war affected military planning in several countries after the armies of those countries realized the need to increase the production of military equipment and build larger stocks of equipment if they were forced to fight a long-term war.

  • Western military aid to Ukraine has increased this historic expenditure.

  • The rivalry between the United States and China has contributed to the two countries spending large investments in defense and developing new military technologies.

  • In light of the Taiwan crisis, China is modernizing its army to deter any interference and building a strong army commensurate with its growing international standing, security, and interests.

  • The Israeli war on Gaza threatens to increase the volume of military expenditures in the world during the year 2024.

  • The world has entered a highly volatile security environment with Azerbaijan's victory over Armenia and the coups in Niger, Gabon, and the African Sahel countries.

  • Conflicts have begun to require certain types of weapons other than traditional conflicts, so we are witnessing a widespread use of drones, investments in new technologies, and a return of interest in equipment such as artillery and air defense systems.