Defence

12 countries with the largest defence spending. What is India’s position?

Story Highlights
  • The United States led the board with a $801 billion military budget, followed by China with a $293 billion budget. These two countries accounted for 38% and 14% of the global share, respectively.
  • "World military spending as a percentage of global GDP fell to 2.2 percent in 2021, down from 2.3 percent in 2020, as a result of the solid economic recovery around the world.

According to a report released on Tuesday by SIPRI, an independent international agency that conducts research on conflicts, armaments, disarmament, and arms control, global military spending hit $2,113 billion in 2021. The United States led the board with a $801 billion military budget, followed by China with a $293 billion budget. These two countries accounted for 38% and 14% of the global share, respectively.

Last year, India was the third greatest spender, with $76.6 billion, up 0.9 percent from 2020 and 33 percent from 2012.

According to the SIPRI study, the top five countries with the highest military spending in the world spent $1,305 billion out of a total of $2,113 billion last year. Meanwhile, the top 15 countries spent a total of $1717 billion, accounting for 81 percent of global consumption.

Iran was also rated in the top 15 for the first time in 20 years, thanks to an increase of 11% in spending in 2021.

The report is released at a time when the globe is still dealing with the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has lasted more than two months.

However, according to SIPRI research, the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have not slowed the increase in global military spending since 2015.

“World military spending as a percentage of global GDP fell to 2.2 percent in 2021, down from 2.3 percent in 2020, as a result of the solid economic recovery around the world. The average military spending as a percentage of total government spending in 2021 was 5.9%, the same as in 2020, according to the research.

Here’s a list of the top 15 countries in the SIPRI world military expenditure 2021 as per its respective figures and percentage of global share:

1. The US ($801 billion, accounting for 30%)

2. China ($292 billion, accounting for 14%)

3. India ($76.6 billion, accounting for 3.6%)

4. The UK ($68.4 billion, accounting for 3.2%)

5. Russia ($65.9 billion, accounting for 3.1%)

6. France ($56.6 billion, accounting for 2.7%)

7. Germany ($56 billion, accounting for 2.7%)

8. Italy ($32 billion, accounting for 1.5%)

9. Australia ($31.8 billion, accounting for 1.5%)

10. Canada ($26.4 billion, accounting for 1.3%)

11. Iran ($24.6 billion, accounting for 1.2%)

12. Israel ($24.3 billion, accounting for 1.2%)

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