I. Global developments in military expenditure, 2020

Chapter:

8. Military expenditure

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2021

Author(s):

Nan Tian

World military expenditure is estimated to have been US$1981 billion in 2020, the highest level since 1988—the earliest year for which SIPRI has a consistent estimate for total global military expenditure.¹ Global military spending was 2.6 per cent higher in real terms than in 2019 and 9.3 per cent higher than in 2011 (see table 8.1, below).² Military spending thus rose for the sixth straight year, following three years of decreases in 2012–14 and nearly unchanged spending in 2011. The global military burden—world military expenditure as a share of world gross domestic product (GDP)—rose by 0.2 percentage points in 2020, to 2.4 per cent. This was the biggest increase in military burden since the 2009 global financial and economic crisis. Military spending per capita also increased in 2020, up to $254 from $247 in 2019, as the growth in military spending continued to surpass world population growth (1.1 per cent).³ This was the highest level since SIPRI began estimating per capita spending in 1995.