Global defence spending rises to a record $2.24 trillion in 2022 - US spent $877bn and Ukraine's rise to 640%

Last year, all countries of the world allocated a total of $2.24 trillion for defence. Expectedly, the leader was the USA, while the biggest increase was recorded in Ukraine. This was reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Here's What We Know

European countries have increased their defence spending by 13% compared to 2021. Naturally, this is due to the war in Ukraine. However, it is worth noting that European states have started investing more in armaments since 2014, when the Russian Federation annexed Crimea.

Total spending by Central and Western European countries reached $345bn and exceeded 1989 levels for the first time. This was the last year of the Cold War. The increase in costs compared with 2013 was 30%.

Finland, Lithuania, Sweden and Poland are the leading countries in Europe with 36%, 27%, 12% and 11% increase in defence spending in 2022 respectively. In monetary terms, the UK spent the most - $68.5bn, of which $2.5bn went on military assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Defence spending in Ukraine increased by 640% compared to 2021 and reached $44bn. They accounted for 34% of GDP compared to only 3.2% in 2021.

As for the Russian Federation, it increased spending to $86.4bn, i.e. by approximately 9.2%. At the same time, spending was a third higher than the budget plans. This suggests that the invasion of Ukraine has cost Russia much more than it expected.

The US invested the most in defence. The Pentagon has spent $877bn, which is 39% of the global cost. One of the reasons for the increase is financial military aid to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Countries in Asia and Oceania allocated $575 billion for defence build-up in 2022, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year. China accounted for more than half of it with $292 billion and a 4.2 percent increase over 2021.

Finally, Japan increased spending by 5.9%. This was due to threats from North Korea and China. The annual defence spending in the Land of the Rising Sun reached $46 billion, the last time such a level was observed in 1960.

Source: Breaking Defense