THE TOP 15 MILITARY SPENDERS IN 2019

The top 15 military spenders according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The TOP Military spenders in the world in 2019 were the same as those in 2018, but there were some significant changes in the rankings among the highest spenders (see table 1). Together, the top 15 countries spent $1553 billion in 2019, accounting for 81 per cent of global military expenditure.

Table 1. The 15 countries with the highest military expenditure in 2019

All but three countries in the top 15 had higher military expenditure in 2019 than in 2010. The exceptions were the United States (–15 per cent), the United Kingdom (–15 per cent) and Italy (–11 per cent). China’s increase (85 per cent) was by far the largest among the top 15.

Among the top 15 military spenders in 2019, Japan had the lowest military burden: it devoted only 0.9 per cent of its GDP to military expenditure. Saudi Arabia had the highest, 8.0 per cent. Among the top 15, the military burdens of Israel (5.3 per cent), Russia (3.9 per cent), the USA (3.4 per cent), South Korea (2.7 per cent) and India (2.4 per cent) were also higher than the global military burden.

With military expenditure of $732 billion, the USA remained by far the largest spender in the world in 2019, accounting for 38 per cent of global military spending. The USA spent almost as much on its military in 2019 as the next 10 highest spenders combined (see figure).

The share of world military expenditure of the 15 countries with the highest spending in 2019

US military expenditure was 5.3 per cent higher in 2019 than in 2018 (see table 1). This is the second year of growth in US military pending following seven years of continuous decline—between 2010 and 2017 spending fell by 22 per cent. The growth in the USA’s military spending between 2017 and 2019 can be attributed to an increase in personnel costs from the recruitment of 16 000 additional military personnel and the ongoing modernization of its conventional and nuclear weapon inventories. However, despite the recent increases, US military expenditure in 2019 remained 15 per cent lower than its peak in 2010 when the USA’s military burden was 4.9 per cent of GDP.

China, the world’s second-largest military spender, is estimated to have allocated $261 billion to the military in 2019—equivalent to 14 per cent of global military expenditure. Its military spending in 2019 was 5.1 per cent higher than in 2018 and 85 per cent higher than in 2010. China’s military expenditure has increased continuously since 1994 (for 25 consecutive years). The growth in its military spending has closely matched the country’s economic growth. Between 2010 and 2019, China’s military burden remained almost unchanged, at 1.9 per cent of its GDP.

The 6.8 per cent rise in India’s military spending in 2019 in combination with the significant fall in Saudi Arabia’s spending (–16 per cent) over the same period meant that India ranked third in 2019 for the first time. Saudi Arabia’s decrease and the increase in Russia’s spending (4.5 per cent) meant that Russia moved up one place in the rankings, from fifth to fourth, while Saudi Arabia fell from third to fifth.

At $50.1 billion, France’s military spending in 2019 was the sixth highest in the world and the highest among states in Western Europe.

Germany had the highest annual increase (10 per cent) in military spending among the top 15 spenders in 2019 and moved up two places in the rankings, from ninth to seventh.

Six of the 15 highest spenders are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): the USA, France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Canada. Together, these six accounted for 48 per cent ($929 billion) of global military expenditure. Total spending by all 29 NATO members was $1035 billion in 2019.