Global military spending grew by 19% over the decade 2013–22 and has risen every year since 2015, the report stated.
Significantly, military expenditure in Europe rose by 13% during the year, which was the largest annual increase in total European spending in the postcold war era.
The exceptional growth was largely accounted for by substantial increases in Russian and Ukrainian spending, but many other European countries boosted their military budgets in 2022. Spending increases in parts of Asia and Oceania also contributed to the global growth in 2022.
Change in ranks
There were some notable changes in ranking among the top 15 military spenders between 2021 and 2022, which were largely attributable to the war in Ukraine that started in February 2022.
Russia increased its spending by an estimated 9.2% to move from fifth to third largest spender in the world in 2022, while Ukraine entered the top 15 for the first time (at rank 11) after a 640% increase in its military expenditure. India dropped to the fourth position from third rank in 2021.
Other notable changes among the top 15 included Saudi Arabia moving from eighth to fifth largest spender, ahead of the UK, Germany and France.
The US (accounting for 39% of total world military spending in 2022) and China (13%) remained the two largest spenders, with Russia (3.9%), India (3.6%) and Saudi Arabia (3.3%) completing the top five.
Other key takeaways from the report:
- Ukraine’s military spending rose by 640% to $44 billion or 34% of GDP in 2022. The total does not include military aid supplied to Ukraine.
- The surge in spending by
Kyiv is the largest annual increase in a country’s military expenditure ever recorded in SIPRI data (i.e. since 1949). - At 34% of GDP in 2022, Ukraine’s military burden was by far the largest of any country in the world.
- Total world military spending accounted for 2.2% of global gross domestic product in 2022.
- The five biggest spenders in 2022 were the US, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for 63% of world military spending.
- The USA’s military spending increased by 0.7% to $877 billion in 2022. The total includes military aid to Ukraine, estimated at $19.9 billion.
- In 2022, China’s military spending rose for the 28th consecutive year, to reach $292 billion.
- Russia’s military spending is estimated to have grown by 9.2% in 2022, to $86.4 billion. This was equivalent to 4.1% of Russia’s GDP.
- Military expenditure grew in four of the five geographical regions in 2022. The largest increase was in Europe (13%), followed by the Middle East (3.2%), Asia and Oceania (2.7%) and the Americas (0.3%). Spending decreased in Africa (-5.3%).
Ukraine and Russia
Military spending in Eastern Europe increased by a whopping 58% in 2022, to $135 billion. This upsurge was almost entirely due to the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which drove military spending upward in both countries.
Russia accounted for 64% of the subregional total and Ukraine for 33%.
In 2022, Ukraine’s military spending reached $44 billion after an increase of 640% —the largest annual increase in a country’s military expenditure ever recorded in SIPRI data (i.e. since 1949).
Its spending over the decade 2013–22 went up by 1,661%.
In 2021, Ukraine’s military expenditure was less than one tenth of Russia’s, but in 2022 this gap narrowed and it spent around half as much as Russia.
Ukraine’s military burden rose from 3.2% of GDP in 2021 to 34% of GDP in 2022.
Impact of Russia-Ukraine war
European military expenditure went up by 38% over the decade 2013–22, said the report.
Military spending by countries in Central and Western Europe totalled $345 billion in 2022, which was the highest level since the end of the cold war. Spending in the subregion was up by 3.6% from 2021 and by 30% from 2013. On average, countries in Central Europe recorded a higher rate of increase in 2022 (4.4%) than those in Western Europe (3.4%).
The UK’s military expenditure rose for the sixth consecutive year to reach $68.5 billion in 2022. Its spending was 3.7% higher than in 2021 and 9.7% higher than in 2013. The increase in 2022 was partly due to its donations of financial military aid to Ukraine, which totalled $2.5 billion in 2022, making the UK the second largest donor to Ukraine after the US. The UK’s military aid to Ukraine accounted for 3.6% of its total military expenditure in 2022.
Germany’s military spending reached $55.8 billion in 2022, which was 2.3% more than in 2021 and 33% more than in 2013.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany established an extra-budgetary fund of $105 billion, which will be used from 2023 to improve the military capabilities of the German armed forces. This is expected to lead to a substantial increase in German military expenditure in the coming years.
Germany is also the second largest European donor of military aid to Ukraine after the UK.
Polish military expenditure grew by 11% to a record $16.6 billion in 2022 — a burden of 2.4% of GDP, the country’s highest since 1993 and the third highest among Central and West European countries, after Greece (3.7% of GDP) and Lithuania (2.5% of GDP).
Finland and Sweden
Finnish military spending rose by 36% in 2022, to reach $4.8 billion or 1.7% of GDP. This was Finland’s highest year-on-year increase in military spending since 1962.
In May 2022, Finland and Sweden started the process to become NATO members, formally ending a policy of military non-alignment.
Finland (by 2023) and Sweden (by 2026) have pledged to meet NATO’s military spending target of 2% of GDP.
Eye on China
With military expenditure of $81.4 billion, India was the fourth largest spender in the world in 2022. Its spending was up by 6% from 2021 and by 47% from 2013.
The increase in India’s spending shows the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan. Its expenditure on capital outlays, which funds equipment upgrades for the armed forces and to the military infrastructure along its disputed border with China, amounted to 23% of total military spending in 2022.
Personnel expenses (e.g. salaries and pensions) remained the largest expenditure category in the Indian military budget, accounting for around half of all military spending.