Sharpest increase in European military spending in 3 decades: SIPRI

Leopard 2 tanks are seen in a training demonstration in Munster, Germany, May 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

Military expenditure in Europe has seen its sharpest year-on-year rise in at least 30 years, the SIPRI said in a report on Monday. Military expenditure by states in Central and Western Europe totaled 345 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. For the first time, this spending surpassed that of 1989, the period when the Cold War was ending.

STOCKHOLM, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Military expenditure in Europe has seen its sharpest year-on-year rise in at least 30 years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on Monday.

Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7 percent in real terms in 2022, reaching a new high of 2,240 billion U.S. dollars, and representing its eighth consecutive year of growth. By far the sharpest rise in spending, 13 percent, was seen in Europe. This was largely due to the conflict in Ukraine, the report said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military spending reached 44 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 -- a 640 percent surge, and the highest single-year increase in a country's military expenditure ever recorded by SIPRI. The military burden -- military spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) -- shot up to 34 percent of GDP in 2022, from 3.2 percent in 2021.

Military expenditure by states in Central and Western Europe totaled 345 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. For the first time, this spending surpassed that of 1989, the period when the Cold War was ending.

Several states significantly increased their military spending in February 2022, after the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Others announced plans to raise spending levels over periods of up to a decade; the sharpest increases were seen in Finland (36 percent), Lithuania (27 percent), Sweden (12 percent) and Poland (11 percent).

Senior officers of the Polish defence forces visit an exhibition at a military base in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on March 9, 2019. (Xinhua/Jaap Arriens)

"As a result, we can reasonably expect military expenditure in Central and Western Europe to keep rising in the years ahead," said Diego Lopes da Silva, a senior researcher with SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.

The United States remains by far the world's biggest military spender, with 877 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 -- accounting for 39 percent of total global military spending.

U.S. financial military support to Ukraine totaled 19.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. "Although this was the largest amount of military aid given by any country to a single beneficiary in any year since the Cold War, it represented only 2.3 percent of total U.S. military spending," said the report.

SIPRI's research covers international conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament.

Rafale fighter jets approach the Tanagra airbase in Tanagra, Greece, on Jan. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)